But it happens the other way around - a woman’s lips dry out, become chapped and hang like rags, bringing regular moral (and often physical) suffering. Most often they dry out and crack in winter, but the problem can also occur in other seasons, since the reasons for it can be different.
What are the reasons for dry lips and what to do about it?
- The first reason is weather influences. Dry winter winds, as well as hot summer winds, can blow moisture from your lips. Ultraviolet radiation from the sun works in a similar way. That is why it is recommended to use sunscreen for lips during increased solar activity. This can be a balm or a special sunscreen lipstick with SPF
- The habit of licking lips (including the corners of the lips). The fact is that saliva contains enzymes that help digestion. But their frequent exposure can draw moisture from delicate skin. This may also explain why the corners of the lips of the mouth crack.
- You don't drink enough water. This is also one of the main reasons why lips dry out. Our body needs water, and you have heard more than once that you need to drink up to two liters of it per day. And it’s water, not tea, coffee or beer. Therefore, if your lips are peeling, you know what to do - start drinking more water
- Lack of vitamins C and B is another possible cause of dry lips. Pay attention to your diet and try to balance it
- Of course, a painful state of the body can also cause dry lips. In this case, the problem may resolve on its own after recovery. Well, probably, water can also help to cope with the disease faster and give the body the necessary moisture
- Age is another explanation for why lips constantly dry out. Of course, it is not relevant for young girls. But with age, the work of the sebaceous and sweat glands decreases, and the body produces less moisture. Including on the lips
- Inflammation of the delicate skin of the lips as a result of an allergy to some irritants can cause itching and dryness.
- Bad lipstick or other lip care products. Not everything that is sold on store shelves has a harmless composition. And your lips may react to this - you may notice this if the problem arose after starting to use a new product. The solution is simple - change it. And you may need to find something to treat your chapped lips.
- Another unexpected reason why women’s lips (and men’s too) become dry is toothpastes and mouthwashes. They often contain flavorings, foaming agents and other substances that can cause allergic reactions. Moreover, they can appear not only inside the oral cavity, but also on the lips, the delicate skin of which is exposed to unexpected effects.
- Irritations caused by other reasons. Moreover, among them there may be a reaction to food products - orange peel, mango, carrots, pineapple, cauliflower, ginger, coriander, mint and others. There may be a reaction to medications such as antihistamines, nasal decongestants, or blood pressure medications, which also have side effects such as dry mouth. Smoking or alcohol abuse may also be the cause of chapped lips.
Causes
The skin of the lips easily becomes chapped and becomes dry because it does not have its own protective mechanism - sweat and sebaceous glands. Intense exposure to wind leads to rapid dehydration of the skin, and it begins to peel off. Moreover, there is no big difference whether the wind blows cold or hot. In addition, the following factors contribute to faster chapped lips:
- Dry indoor air . During the cold season, indoor air is often dry due to the operation of heating systems and heaters. In such an environment, the skin begins to lose precious moisture, and the lips are the first to react to this.
- Vitamin deficiency . Deficiency of vitamins A, E, C in winter and spring provokes deterioration of the skin condition.
- Disease . Any disease accompanied by an increase in body temperature leads to the body losing fluid in large quantities and the lips begin to dry out. Nasal congestion, which often occurs with colds and acute respiratory diseases, forces a person to breathe through the mouth, because of this, the oral mucosa and skin of the lips lose moisture and dry out.
- Licking lips in the wind . It just seems that this bad habit helps to moisturize the skin of the lips. In fact, wet skin exposed to wind is more susceptible to dehydration.
- Allergic reaction . Individual intolerance to the components of toothpaste, lip or facial cosmetics, medications, or food products can lead to dry skin of the lips.
Why cracks may appear on the labia, causes and treatment
Cracks in the genitals are a violation of the integrity of the mucous membrane of the skin, caused by various internal or external factors and accompanied by various unpleasant sensations when touching and urinating. The location of cracks is usually radial. The main characteristic symptoms: pain, burning sensation, itching and hyperemia (overflow of blood vessels). Other manifestations are also possible.
Cracks on the labia majora and minora are not a separate disease, but a painful condition that indicates the presence of any external aggressors or disturbances in the functioning of the body. With timely consultation with a doctor and immediate initiation of treatment, the beneficial effect of therapy, as a rule, becomes noticeable quite quickly. If it persists for a long time, if the patient does not want to go to the doctor, the edges of the cracks may be subject to callus, and then it will be more difficult to treat them.
What to do
If your lips are chapped, then the first thing you need to do is get rid of the dried crusts as quickly as possible; for this it is recommended to do peeling. Then the skin of the lips must be moisturized and nourished using masks. The procedures for resuscitating chapped lips may have to be repeated several times.
Peeling
There is no need to use special cosmetics to peel chapped lips. Simple ingredients that are found in every home are quite suitable. For example, take a pinch of sugar and mix with a teaspoon of liquid honey, massage your lips with this mixture for several minutes. Even regular Vaseline is suitable as a peeling agent. Soften it and lubricate your lips with it, take a toothbrush with soft bristles, and lightly rub the dry skin with it for two minutes.
Masks
Immediately after peeling, you need to apply masks made on your own at home to your lips:
- Cottage cheese . Mix fresh cottage cheese and heavy cream in 2:1 proportions. Apply on lips for 15-20 minutes.
- Cucumber _ Grate the cucumber, add 1 tsp to the pulp. olive oil. Place the mixture on your lips for 15 minutes.
- Sour cream . Take 1 tsp. fresh homemade sour cream, add 1 tsp. vegetable oil (preferably olive) and a couple of drops of lemon juice. Apply to lips for 10-15 minutes.
When the mask has finished working, rinse off any remaining residue with warm water and lubricate your lips with moisturizing lipstick or tea tree oil; it not only moisturizes the skin, but also has a wound-healing effect.
Did you order an ambulance?
Of course, you shouldn’t call 103 and demand an ambulance for such trifles.
In such a trivial case, you can provide emergency assistance to yourself, and in familiar, home conditions, without using anything that requires serious special training. But we’ll study what exactly is useful now. Honey has been known for its healing properties for a very, very long time. Even our great-great-great-grandmothers worshiped this incredibly beneficial product for beauty and health. And in our case, it is almost irreplaceable. One thing is bad: it’s difficult to resist and not eat a healing delicacy ahead of time!
It is better to use honey in the form of a mask. It is enough to warm it up a little - under no circumstances in the microwave, only in a water bath! After all, in a microwave oven, honey becomes nothing more than a dummy, losing almost all its beneficial properties. Next, the heated honey is applied to the affected area of chapped lips in a not too thick layer (otherwise the medicine will begin to flow down), where it is left for at least half an hour.
Moisturize... with oil!
The benefits of oils in skin care have been widely known for a long time; they are loved no less than honey. And, if your lips are chapped, you shouldn’t lose sight of the benefits of oils. Moreover, the choice of which oil to use is truly great:
- Regular butter will perfectly nourish the lips, creating a thin protective film on the skin. And this will help her recover without continuing to be exposed to external factors.
- Coconut oil is loved for its amazing skin moisturizing properties. This will come in handy for dry, cracked lips.
- Due to its hardness, applying cocoa butter to the lips is, of course, more difficult, but since it is an excellent regenerating product, it should not be overlooked.
- Shea butter greatly softens and nourishes the skin, which means it will help speed up the healing of damage and make it easier for the skin to recover.
There are a great variety of oils, and almost every one will be useful. You should refrain from essential oils, especially irritating ones, like peppermint oil, as it will not only not help heal cracks, but will also cause pain. For the rest, the above oils, apricot kernel oil, milk thistle, almond, olive, castor and many others should be applied to the lips as often as discomfort is felt.
When the skin on the lips is chapped, cracked and hurts, it means that its upper layer has been negatively impacted from the outside or outside. And it, damaged, will inevitably begin to die off, remaining a dry crust and gradually peeling off and peeling off. It doesn't look the most pleasing to the eye. It is absolutely forbidden to bite or peel off rags of skin!
It is important to remember that you should not use aggressive coarse scrubs in this case - the lip area is already injured, and if handled carelessly, the area of damage may increase. Therefore, you should scrub your lips carefully, without making significant efforts. What is needed for the scrub?
- A teaspoon of finely ground salt.
- A little Vaseline.
The ingredients are mixed until the consistency of a medium liquid scrub. It’s hard to say how much Vaseline is needed for this; this is the case when you need to select the ratio by eye. The resulting scrub is gently rubbed into the lips, without using force, and then washed off. It is good to use a mask on the lip area after this product.
If your lips are chapped and sore, using a salt scrub may be difficult due to discomfort. After all, the salt will corrode the damaged areas, causing even more severe pain. In this case, fine salt can be replaced with semolina. And if the discomfort persists and does not disappear when changing the scrubbing element, it is better to postpone this procedure for a day until the wounds have healed a little.
Protein Rescue
The benefits of protein-rich dairy products also became the talk of the town not yesterday. They will also help in the case of treating chapped lips, playing the role of a mask. The ingredients for this product can most likely be found in any refrigerator, and if not, you can definitely buy them at your local grocery store. This is about:
- Heavy cream (from 30% and above).
- Soft cottage cheese (it is also acceptable to use children’s cottage cheese, but regular soft cottage cheese will be better).
This simple set of ingredients should be warmed up a little and then mixed thoroughly. The resulting substance is smeared on the lips, leaving for 30-60 minutes. Then the excess cosmetic product is removed, and the lips are lubricated with a moisturizing hygienic (decorative cosmetics should be put aside for a while) lipstick or oils of your choice.
As you can see, any of the first aid recipes for chapped lips is ridiculously simple. And if you use them in a complex of scrub - mask - hydration and nutrition, then you will be able to get your lips in order in record time. The main thing is not to be lazy in carrying out all these activities. It will heal itself, of course, but we can significantly speed up this process.
Prevention
To prevent repeated chapping, you must remember to apply hygienic lipstick to your lips before each time you go outside, and then, if necessary, decorative lipstick. To prevent drying of the skin of the body and lips in particular, you need to drink enough liquid daily. Doctors advise drinking at least 1.5 liters per day.
If, despite regular lip skin care, chapping is not a rare occurrence, but a constantly recurring phenomenon, then you need to visit a doctor to find out if everything is okay with your health. If a vitamin deficiency is detected, you need to take a course of multivitamin preparations, purchase a hygienic lipstick containing vitamins A and E. It is also worth adjusting your diet and adding more foods containing vitamins A and E. If it turns out that an allergic reaction contributes to frequent chapping, you need to determine what exactly your individual intolerance manifested itself to, and abandon this remedy or product forever.
Doctors say that the disease is easier to prevent than to treat. This expression also applies to the problem of chapped lips. It is better to apply hygienic lipstick or ordinary vegetable or butter to your lips every day, several times a day, to prevent drying out, than to then look for the answer to the question of what to do if your lips are chapped.
How to get rid of the habit of biting your nails
To get rid of the habit of biting your nails, answer honestly the questions: where and when do you have the desire to put your fingertips in your mouth. Make it a rule to monitor yourself and stop the action halfway if it has already begun. If talking to yourself doesn't help, then find something to replace the temptation to taste your fingers. These can be inanimate objects or food. For example, anti-stress toys that can be squeezed in moments of excitement, or rosary beads that can be fingered constantly when your hands are free, will come in very handy. As for food, dried or hard fruits, such as apples or pears, will help. However, if you bite your nails often, then this method is not convenient, as it disrupts your normal diet.
Take advantage of professional help from psychologists and attend several sessions. Perhaps these sessions will give you the opportunity to understand the underlying reasons for the experiences that led to the formation of the habit. During your appointments, use calming pharmaceuticals or home-made herbal infusions.
Sometimes it happens that without realizing it, people bite their nails if they feel hungry. Therefore, during the period when you are getting rid of addiction, monitor your diet and regimen.
Additional tricks to help you break the habit
Combining psychological methods of breaking a habit with other techniques is much more effective than each method individually. For example, buy bitter varnish at the pharmacy and treat your nail plates with it. The bitterness of the varnish will not allow you to put your hands in your mouth; over time, a reflex will develop: the brain will associate your fingertips with bitterness. It is also worth lubricating the skin around the plates with vegetable oils or any creams, since the skin there is often dry and cracked.
As mentioned above, women can get their nails done. There is a chance that the habit will disappear, but it is not as high as with an integrated approach. Usually the extended plates are hard, but there may be teeth marks on them - this will spoil the appearance of the manicure.
Men are recommended to use bitter polish and get a salon manicure. In addition to the bitter aftertaste, the psychological principle of men is at work - it’s a pity to spoil what money was paid for.
Since young children do not understand the principle of psychological introspection, they need to be weaned off using physical means. For example, cover your fingertips with adhesive tape. Be sure to accompany your actions with a story about why this is being done and what the habit of biting nails leads to. In addition, it is necessary that the child is constantly busy and does not remember about nails. Tell teenage girls in detail that their fingertips will take on an unaesthetic appearance in the future if the habit is not eradicated.
To summarize, we can only advise one thing: get rid of the problem of nail biting in a comprehensive manner. Seek help from a psychologist and use available home and pharmacy remedies.
Getting rid of the habit of biting your nails is also a social task. It is usually unpleasant for people around to watch and hear someone nearby biting their nails. If the problem is neurological in nature (an obsessive and irresistible desire), then the help of a specialist is needed. A psychologist and psychotherapist will determine the internal cause of onychophagia and prescribe therapy. You may need to take mild sedatives, which will reduce anxiety and increase stress resistance. Having learned what will happen if you constantly bite your nails, the patient can try to stop on his own, but with serious psycho-emotional factors this is usually not possible.
Why does it work
Both sugar and baking soda act as exfoliants in this recipe.
The mixture also soothes the burning sensation that accompanies chapped lips. Vanilla extract adds a pleasant aroma to this lip scrub. Now that you know how to get rid of chapped lips, what are you waiting for? The main purpose of these products is to remove dead and flaky skin from the surface of your lips and reveal the soft skin underneath. To maintain this softness, nourishing agents are also included in the protection. Follow these simple natural solutions to treat chapped lips at home and get soft and supple lips in no time.
Drug therapy
Medicines for the treatment of chapped lips can be prescribed in different forms:
- cream;
- ointments;
- balms;
- oil solutions.
Drugs are prescribed depending on the degree of damage to the skin:
- in case of mild chapping, it is necessary to use moisturizing and regenerating agents;
- when cracks and wounds appear, it is necessary to use antibacterial drugs;
- if edema or acute cheilitis occurs, the specialist will prescribe hormonal therapy.
The most popular and frequently prescribed are oil solutions of vitamins, hydrocortisone ointment and topical antibacterial agents.
Lip care rules
Proper care of thin and delicate skin is the basis for the beauty and health of lips.
- Monitor the humidity and temperature in the room: t 20-21 C, humidity 50%;
- Avoid excessively hot/cold foods;
- Do not wipe your lips with a towel after washing or showering;
- Lubricate your lips with a special moisturizer every time after water procedures;
- If you are prone to dryness, lubricate your lips with natural cocoa butter;
- In summer, use lipstick or balm with an ultraviolet filter;
- During the cold season, use wide scarves. Before going outside, moisturize your lips with olive oil and use a special protective lipstick. Hygienic lipstick moisturizes the skin of the lips and prevents moisture evaporation.
- For people whose lips are constantly chapped, this life hack will help. Add 15-20 drops of olive oil to an empty, washed lip gloss tube and carry the product with you. At the first signs of drying out the skin of your lips, lubricate them with an applicator dipped in oil.
We invite you to familiarize yourself with the stages of preparing a chewing tooth for a metal-ceramic crown
What about the children?
There is one category of people who should be treated and protected from chapped lips in a special way. We're talking about children. Due to their age, it is impossible for them to use first aid products such as scrubs and masks, and it becomes much more difficult to prevent unpleasant sensations. In this case, there is a set of recommendations.
Prevention
It is possible and necessary to prevent the appearance of cracks on children's lips! Just don’t use your own hygienic lipstick - it probably contains components that are undesirable for ingestion or can cause allergies. But there is a way out - you should visit a pharmacy or a children's store.
Manufacturers of children's cosmetics have long taken care of babies, and there are entire lines of protective cosmetics available for use from birth. Well, such products should be used not only on the lips and not only for the sake of treatment. Approximately half an hour before going out, the weather protection product should be applied to the baby's entire face.
In addition, you should also be careful when choosing your first toothpaste. Dentists recommend using it from the first tooth, which usually grows in at about six months of age. And the composition of the teeth cleaning product should still not contain fluoride.
When turning to food products in search of a medicine for your child who has chapped lips, you should first take into account the tolerance of the chosen product and the age of the baby. Of course, if such a problem occurs to a baby, say, two months old, he can only be helped with a special remedy 0, i.e.
But by one year and older, the range of ways you can help your baby increases. In particular, it is acceptable to use butter or baby cottage cheese. But you should be careful! They can only be used if the child does not have individual intolerance and is already familiar with these products!
From two years of age, it is also permissible to use honey as a treatment. But, again, we should not forget about such selection criteria as individual tolerance. The same goes for cold-pressed coconut oil. It is also allowed for oral use, so it can be applied to a child’s lips if there is no individual allergy.
What to do if your lips are very chapped?
Special care products, such as lip balms and lipsticks, can help protect against adverse environmental factors.
What to do if your lips are very chapped and you need to quickly restore their attractive appearance. To restore your skin, you can use, in addition to peeling and masks, the following products:
- Lip balm is the first thing that comes to mind. During your recovery, remove your usual lipstick and gloss. Avoid any cosmetics at all except moisturizing balm. But apply the balm to your lips more often.
- Vitamin E serves as a good protection against drying out. You can buy it at the pharmacy. Available in capsule form.
- Instead of balm, you can apply natural products to your lips, such as sour cream and honey. Sour cream will protect against drying out, and honey will serve as a peeling agent and at the same time a bactericidal agent. You can alternate applying these products. For example, sour cream in the morning and honey in the evening.
- In addition to the above methods, a light massage has a good effect on the skin of the lips. It can be done using a regular toothbrush. To enhance the effect, apply a couple of drops of olive or any other moisturizing oil to the brush.
