How to Take Care of Your Lips

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By Joan Pohutsky DNP, NP-BC

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner- are your lips ready? This part of your face can be easily overlooked, yet they are one of the most sensitive areas of the face prone to dehydration, damage, and irritation. Dry, chapped, and cracked lips can leave you feeling less than confident, especially when you’re looking to flaunt your best pout.

But what makes them so vulnerable, and how do you properly care for your lips? With a few simple steps, you can ensure that your lips are soft, supple, and ready to shine for Valentine’s Day (and beyond).

Why Are Our Lips So Vulnerable?

Dry, chapped, red, sore, cracked lips, also known as cheilitis, can be exacerbated by:

Anatomical factors: Skin on the lips is thinner than the rest of the face and lacks sebaceous glands, which produce natural oils. This can quickly lead to epidermal barrier dysfunction.

Environmental factors: Extreme weather conditions, such as cold, windy, dry, or very sunny climates.

Allergies and Irritants: Sensitivities to lip products, food, toothpaste, and certain medications.

Stress: Psychological and emotional stress can lead to repetitive mechanical trauma, like lip licking or constant rubbing.

Other conditions: Actinic cheilitis, caused by sun damage, can lead to skin cancer if not treated. It can also, less commonly, be a result of nutritional deficiencies such as B12 or iron.

Treatment: Caring For Your Lips

Treating the underlying cause is important, as is following general guidelines including:

  1. Hydration

Drinking water is important for your overall health, but drinking more water alone will not improve cracked, dry lips. Look for products with the following:

Hyaluronic Acid, Honey, Ceramides, Vitamin E, Oils, Oils, Dimethicone, Petrolatum, or Shea Butter

Using a humidifier and regularly applying lip balm with active ingredients can help lock in moisture externally and provide protection.

  1. Gentle Exfoliation

Exfoliating your lips helps to remove dead skin cells, improving smoothness and preventing lips from looking rough and flaky. However, the thin and delicate skin on the lips makes gentle methods of exfoliation crucial so as not to impair your skin barrier – once or twice a week is usually enough. If your lips are particularly chapped, skip exfoliation until they heal! Exfoliating cracked lips can worsen irritation. Look for gentle lip scrubs that contain sugar, honey, or olive oils, then gently massage the scrub into your lips with small circular motions and rinse with lukewarm water.

  1. Avoid Trauma: Harsh Products and Lip Licking

The lips are a common location for contact dermatitis, a rash that manifests as inflammation, redness, itching, and discomfort. Contact dermatitis develops due to skin sensitivities or allergic reactions to certain ingredients in products used on or around the lips. Common culprits include:

Toothpaste and other products such as mouthwash, denture cleaner, and dental floss can contain fluoride, sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), and flavoring.

Citrus, Cinnamon, and other acidic foods

Metal in orthodontic devices and dental restoration

Medicines like neomycin and bacitracin

Fragrances and preservatives

It may feel like licking your lips is a quick fix for dryness, but it actually can worsen the problem. Enzymes in saliva can irritate the delicate skin on the lips and evaporate quickly, leaving your lips even drier than before. Instead of licking, use a soothing lip balm whenever your lips feel dry.

Choose a product free of potential irritants, especially those containing eucalyptus, camphor, flavoring, fragrance, lanolin, menthol, oxybenzone, phenol, propyl gallate, and salicylic acid.  Artificial fragrances, dyes, and alcohols can further dry out and irritate your lips.

Also, avoid long-wear and matte lip formulas if your lips are already feeling dry or cracked. These products often contain drying ingredients that exacerbate lip irritation. If you must wear a long-lasting lipstick, layer it over a nourishing lip balm to create a moisture barrier.

  1. Daily Sun Protection

Just like anywhere else on your body, your lips are vulnerable to the sun’s harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays. Exposure to UV light can cause sunburn, premature aging, thinning of the lips, and increase the risk of skin cancer including basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and melanoma.

Protect your lips by using a mineral lip balm with SPF 30 or higher. Look for products with broad-spectrum coverage to protect against both UVA and UVB rays, containing zinc oxide or titanium oxide. Reapply regularly throughout the day, especially if you’re spending time outdoors, in the water, or perspiring, and consider sun-protective clothing like wide-brimmed hats.

  1. Diet and Lifestyle

Deficiencies in certain vitamins and minerals can lead to lip inflammation, which can be prevented by a balanced diet rich in essential nutrients such as:

Vitamin A, B Vitamins, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Iron, Zinc, Magnesium

Additionally, alcohol consumption should be limited due to its diuretic effects contributing to chapped, discolored lips. Don’t smoke, as it can break down collagen and elastin, decreasing volume and thus causing vertical wrinkles, or “smoker’s lines.”

Summary

Be sure your lips are part of your skincare routine by maintaining healthy habits like hydration and sun protection. Make an appointment to see us if you have any new or changing lesions on your lips or would like to discuss restoring your lips’ appearance with safe and effective procedures that yield natural-looking results.

 

Happy Valentine’s Day—here’s to love and healthy, happy lips!

 

 

 

Sources

American Academy of Dermatology. (n.d.). How to heal dry, chapped lips. American Academy of Dermatology. Retrieved December 30, 2024, from https://www.aad.org/public/everyday-care/skin-care-basics/dry/heal-dry-chapped-lips

Devgan, L., & Singh, P. (2023) Clinical assessment of a topical ceramide and hyaluronic acid based lip treatment in perceived lip aesthetics. ResearchGate. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Lara-Devgan/publication/381229429_Dr_Devgan_Platinum_Lip_Plump-_Clinical_assessment_of_a_topical_ceramide_and_hyaluronic_acid_based_lip_treatment_in_perceived_lip_aesthetics/links/6662a48bb769e769191d78e7/Dr-Devgan-Platinum-Lip-Plump-Clinical-assessment-of-a-topical-ceramide-and-hyaluronic-acid-based-lip-treatment-in-perceived-lip-aesthetics.pdf

Fonseca, Allene MDa,b; Jacob, Sharon E. MDc,d,e; Sindle, Allison MDf,*. Art of prevention: Practical interventions in lip-licking dermatitis. International Journal of Women’s Dermatology 6(5):p 377-380, December 2020. | DOI: 10.1016/j.ijwd.2020.06.001

Lugović-Mihić, L., Špiljak, B., Blagec, T., Delaš Aždajić, M., Franceschi, N., Gašić, A., & Parać, E. (2023). Factors Participating in the Occurrence of Inflammation of the Lips (Cheilitis) and Perioral Skin. Cosmetics, 10(1), 9. https://doi.org/10.3390/cosmetics10010009

Park K. Role of micronutrients in skin health and function. Biomol Ther (Seoul). 2015 May;23(3):207-17. doi: 10.4062/biomolther.2015.003. Epub 2015 May 1. PMID: 25995818; PMCID: PMC4428712.

Shang J, Feng X, Chen Y, Gu Z, Liu Y. Human lip vermilion: Physiology and age-related changes. J Cosmet Dermatol. 2024; 23: 2676-2680. doi:10.1111/jocd.16317