Dry Lips: Causes And Treatment

dry lips – The skin around the mouth is much more sensitive to environmental influences than the skin on the rest of the body. You will feel this especially in winter. Many people suffer from dry lips at this time of year. These then become cracked and irritated. If you don’t pull the emergency brake in time, you can even get sore lips. Read how dry lips develop and what you can do about it!

This IS HOW DRY LIPS HAPPEN!

The area around the mouth opening consists of three different zones: On the outer edge, the skin is very similar to the facial skin. Hair, sebaceous glands and sweat glands are located here. In the mouth there is mucous membrane with salivary glands. The transition zone between this inside and outside is commonly referred to as the lip.

Horny Layer Of The Lips Is Thin

Experts refer to the transition zone as lip red because you can see the blood showing through. The reason for this is that the outermost layer of skin, the horny layer, is very thin at this point. In addition, there are no color pigments in the skin of the lips. The lips are particularly sensitive because the cells in the horny layer rarely die and become horny.

On the other hand, this happens continuously on the other parts of the skin on the body. There, the dead corneal cells together with sebum form a kit that shields the skin from the outside and makes it supple.

Dry Lips: The Cause Is The Lack Of Self-Protection

The lips also dry out quickly, since the skin on the lips has hardly any sebaceous glands.

The other reason why you get dry lips easily: Here there are no sweat glands to moisten the lips. Cold and wind have such an easy game. With dry heating air in winter, cracked lips are inevitable.

A lack of vitamin B2 and the trace element iron can also contribute to dry lips.

Moistening With The Tongue Does Not Help

If you’re comfortable with this and frequently have dry or chapped lips, you can try moisturizing your lips with your tongue. But that only makes it worse. The saliva keeps evaporating and drying out the lips even more. This also reduces the already scarce fats.

Dry Lips Can Become Inflamed

The lip red then often shows deep cracks that itch and burn. Broken skin can easily be infected by bacteria and fungi. Lip infections are painful and can last for months.

To clarify whether your lips may be inflamed, it is better to go to a dermatologist. There are other factors that can cause fractured lips, such as medications.

What To Do Against Dry Lips?

In order to give dry lips no chance right from the start, consistent lip care is advisable. Apply lotion to your mouth area regularly or use lip balm. Even if you already have chapped lips, this is the first therapeutic approach. Oily and moisturizing products moisturize your lips and reduce (further) drying. There are a variety of products with different ingredients.

Proven Ingredients

The basis of the care products against dry lips are fats, oils and waxes, to which care additives are added. Chamomile products, for example, have proven effective because they soothe the skin. Bisabolol is the main active ingredient from real chamomile.

Another proven helper against dry lips is dexpanthenol. This active ingredient keeps the lips moist. It also has anti-inflammatory and wound curative properties.

Don’t forget the sunscreen either

Pay attention not only to care products, but also to a sufficient sun protection filter. The skin cells in the lips do not produce melanin, i.e. no pigment. As a result, the lips lack their own sun protection, which otherwise occurs in most parts of the skin. That’s why you get a sunburn very quickly here.

You should pay particular attention to this on a skiing holiday, as the snow reflects the radiation and thus amplifies it. Therefore, apply at least SPF 30 to the lip area.

Home Remedies For Dry Lips

If you don’t want to go to the pharmacy to get something for dry lip, you might find what you’re looking for in your own kitchen. For example, the following is said to soften dry lip again:

Honey (apply a thin layer to lip, leave on for five to ten minutes, then blot with a dry cloth)

Avocado (contains vitamin B2)

Olive oil (pat on lips at night before bed)

A “cream” made from honey and quark is said to help with chapped lips (let it sit for about ten minutes and then dab it off). However, this is not scientifically proven.

Two other tips that can counteract dry lips: drink enough (at least 1.5 liters of water a day) and ensure that there is sufficient humidity in your living and working spaces