Keeping lips feeling and looking their best is challenging during harsh winter weather as well as extreme summer heat that can dry and chap them. In fact, many of us have a perpetual dry lip problem that makes us unable to get through a day without our lip balm. Current research estimates that around one in four adults in America experience this particular problem with dry and flaky lips. However, here is how to get soft lips and maintain them to disrupt that dependency and cycle of suffering from excess dryness, cracking, peeling, and chapping once and for all.
Importance of Protecting the Lip Moisture Barrier
The outer layer of our skin is the epidermis that is protected by a dead layer of cells called the stratum corneum to make up the moisture barrier for our skin. This barrier is vital for protecting the skin from incoming germs and substances, free radicals while keeping the water within the skin intact. Consider this protective layer of skin as the first line of defense. However, unlike the rest of our skin, the skin barrier of the lips is extremely thin, which makes them prime candidates for dehydration.
How to Avoid Dry Lips in That Quest for Soft Lips
Choose the Best Lip Balm for Soft Lips
Not all lip balms are created equally in this quest for how to keep them in soft condition. Make it your mission to read the ingredients and avoid ones with fragrances, lanolin, salicylic acid, artificial dyes, flavors, and cooling agents such as camphor or menthol. The reason is that they dehydrate your already dry lips and may also cause allergic reactions.
A better choice would be searching for one with petroleum jelly, which can lock in moisture since it’s an occlusive along with humectant such as honey, aloe, shea butter, coconut oil, or argan oil that is fragrance-free without color or delicious flavor.
Exfoliate Your Lips Without Damaging Them
Dry lips that peel need exfoliation to shed the rough, flaky skin. While this is essential, you don’t want to be overzealous and scrub too hard or often and cause lips to bleed from small cuts. Once or twice a week is a good idea with a chemical exfoliating product that has an alpha hydroxy acid such as lactic acid or mandelic acid.
Another suggestion is using a homemade lip scrub that you apply gently with your fingers. Try my DIY lip scrub recipe that delivers smoothness when I need to solve peeling lips. It also provides a better base for lipstick application.
Hydrate and Nourish Your Lips From Within
Drinking enough water and eating healthy foods to keep your lips hydrated and nourished from within is something else that should be considered. Try to eat more electrolyte-rich foods like fruits, vegetables, nuts, and dairy since they help with fluid balance in the body for maintaining hydration.
You also want to limit salty foods and snacks. The reason you may want to give up the chips when faced with dry lips is because salt is left behind on the lips, causing us to lick our lips. This makes the problem worse because that fragile skin barrier is compromised further.
Dry lips are uncomfortable and lessen how you feel about your appearance. Hopefully, what I shared in this post on how to get soft lips will help change all that for you in the future.
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