Before talking about chapped lips causes and their various solutions, you need to know that the skin on your lips is thinner than the skin of the rest of your body, making it more sensitive and delicate. Also, the lips don’t have any oil glands (Sebaceous glands), which secrete oils that keep its skin moisturized and protected. As a result, they become more susceptible to dryness.
So, some of the main causes of chapped lips include:
- Dehydration,
- Cold and dry air because of winter or air conditioner,
- Too much sun,
- Licking of the lips,
- Vitamin deficiencies and
- The type of lip balm you use.
I bet you didn’t expect to see the last item on the list coming!
So we will be expantiating more on the most difficult causes to understand:
Vitamin Deficiencies
Specifically iron, zinc, and Vitamin B12.
If you’re not getting enough vitamin B12, you might experience dry lips and cracking at the corners of the lips. That’s because vitamin B12 helps your body repair cells, so if you don’t have enough, it’s more difficult for your body to repair normal damage to the lips.
What to do about it: Make sure you’re getting enough vitamin B12. Most adults need to consume 2.4 micrograms (mcg) of vitamin B12. To get that, eat more foods like fish, eggs and other animal products that naturally contain vitamin B12; or breakfast cereals that have been fortified with vitamin B.
Lips Licking
Licking your lips might feel great at the time and your lips might feel moist temporarily, but in reality, this habit is causing them to dry out. When you lick your lips, you’re coating them in saliva. Not only does it evaporate very quickly to leave lips drier than before, but your saliva is also full of enzymes that are too harsh for the delicate lip skin. These enzymes can remain on the lips and cause them to feel dry and uncomfortable.
What to do: When you catch yourself licking your lips, try applying a non-irritating lip balm instead. You can purchase one here.
You could also do something to distract yourself, this will help you to keep your mind on something else.
The lip balm type
When you feel the need to apply a lip balm frequently, more than every two hours, it can be a sign that your lip products are actually drying your lips out rather than moisturizing them. It all comes down to the ingredients. Lip balms that contain menthol, phenol, or salicylic acid make your lips drier. While the balm might feel good, it creates a cycle of over-drying and therefore overuse.
What to do: Check the ingredients list of your favorite lip products before buying. Choose balms with healthy ingredients, while avoiding harsh ingredients. Go with this instead: Castor seed oil, Ceramides, Mineral oil, Shea butter, Sun-protective ingredients, such as titanium oxide or zinc oxide, etc. Here are some effective lip balms you can use.
Bonus: Harsh Sun
Sommer season comes with a lot of sun and you do not wanna find yourself at the beach without protecting your lips from UV rays to prevent lips dryness and sunburns.
Using a Sun Protecting lip balm that also moisturizes your lips is necessary and important. The higher the sun protecting factor (ranging from SPF 10 to SPF 50+), the broader the spectrum coverage.
Our lip balm with SPF 50+ protects against both UVA and UVB rays and has a broader spectrum coverage. Consequently reapplication is not every after one hour, but after 3 hours if you’re still exposed to the sun.