The problem of dry and chapped lips is familiar to many by hearsay. Especially often they encounter it in the winter, when cold winds and frosty blow on the street. How to care for your lips so that they remain soft and attractive? What to do if your lips are chapped?
Why lips crack
The skin on the lips is thin, soft and sensitive. She cannot independently resist external influences. Lips suffer from frost, and from heat, and from the wind, and from dry air. The weathered skin turns red, begins to peel and crack, wounds appear on it that can bleed during a conversation or attempt to smile. All this is not very beautiful, but in addition, it also hurts. But the causes of cracking of the skin on the lips lie not only in external factors. Often a person is to blame for what happens to his lips. Troubles can begin for the following reasons:
- The habit of licking lips. A person may not even notice this bad habit. Just constantly at home or on the street wetting his lips with saliva. Oddly enough, but after that the lips dry even more and as a result crack.
- The habit of biting your lips. This problem occurs in both children and adults, and it harms the skin condition.
- Neglect of protective, nourishing and moisturizing lip balms. To apply such funds is necessary not just before the exit, but a little in advance. In frosty weather, special protective cosmetics (balms) should be used. All lip products must contain UV filters.
- Due to the frequent use of waterproof cosmetics or lipsticks that dry the skin.
- Runny nose. If the nose is blocked for a long time, then, due to breathing through the mouth, the lips get wet, moisture evaporates from their surface faster, and they crack.
- Poor nutrition also affects the condition of the skin. If a person has chapped lips, then he most likely lacks vitamins.
- The habit of tearing dried skin on the wounds. Cracks due to this habit do not heal longer. In addition, an infection can get into the wound.
Maybe you got sick?
Cracks on the lips may not be so safe. They are a sign of certain diseases or an independent disease. Dry chapped lips are a common symptom of gastrointestinal problems and anemia. And if cracks appeared in the corners, then this is most likely angular stomatitis. The people call this disease "seizure". In addition to the above, there are several medical names for this disease: angulitis, cheilitis and others.
If the corners of the lips are chapped, how can I treat the pathology? This should be determined by the doctor. The fact is that the jam can be of two types: streptococcal and candidal. Their treatment varies.
Problems of young children
Chapped lips are a common problem in children. An adult can overcome bad habits, but it’s hard for kids to explain what they are doing wrong. If you are sure that your baby is healthy, has no anemia, and does not lack vitamins, then give him more water. But it is desirable that the baby does not drink or eat on the street, this worsens the condition of the skin of the lips. And also, if the child has chapped lips, lubricate them with baby balm, Bepanten cream, sea buckthorn oil. In case of severe skin damage, consult a doctor - he may prescribe medications, for example, Solcoseryl.
How to restore the beauty of lips: peeling
Pieces of flaky skin appear on hardened, weathered lips. They interfere and often cause a desire to break off the skin. This cannot be done. It is better to carry out peeling at home to remove the damaged layer. There are a lot of recipes for this procedure; here are some of them:
- Honey and sugar. In a teaspoon, mix a little honey and sugar, then apply the mixture on the lips. Massage with light movements for about two minutes, then rinse with cool water. After the lips have dried, apply a nourishing balm.
- If your lips are chapped, you can use a mixture of petroleum jelly with ground coffee or sugar. This mixture is also rubbed with massage movements for 2 minutes, and then washed off.
Exfoliating dry skin particles from the lips can be done not only with a scrub, but also with a soft terry washcloth. It must be moist and clean so as not to infect. Lips must also be wet, this is important! It is not necessary to rub the skin strongly, all movements should be neat and soft. After the procedure, be sure to use a nourishing lip balm.
Moisturizing Masks
The problem can be eliminated with moisturizing masks. Everything that may be needed for treatment is on the shelves of the refrigerator or in kitchen cabinets:
- For the mask, you need fat cottage cheese and cream. You need to mix a little, for the next procedure it is better to prepare a new portion. The mask is applied for 10 minutes and washed off with warm water.
- Olive oil perfectly nourishes and moisturizes the skin. You just need to apply it on your lips and hold it a little. Oil will restore skin elasticity.
- Cucumber mask. For this recipe you will need a fine grater to grate a cucumber. Gruel is better to apply lying. She should stay on her lips for about 15 minutes.
- Honey and sour cream. These two products do not need to be mixed. First, sour cream is applied, and after 15 minutes - honey. This recipe helps a lot if you apply sour cream in the morning and honey before bedtime.
- Butter. Chapped lips? Lubricate them every half hour with butter. This will quickly restore the skin.
What would you like to eat?
We have already talked about the lack of vitamins. You can buy multivitamins at the pharmacy or separately vitamins A and E. But sometimes the lips crack due to a lack of biotin. This substance can be obtained with food. Eat more nuts, almonds, eggs, especially yolks, fish and liver. If there are enough of these products, then you will forget about chapped lips.
So, you got several answers to the question: "How to treat chapped lips?" Which one is right for you, see for yourself. Some recipes can be combined. But you always need to remember that you won’t get rid of the problem too quickly. It can take several days to eliminate it, during which the means for nourishing and moisturizing the skin will be used repeatedly.