Winter brings freshness in life with cold wind blowing from North West direction. After the effect of scotching sun during the summer season, human being would always look forward for the winter season to arrive. But, one of the negative effects of winter season is dryness in skin. Most of the people suffer from cracked and chapped lips during the winter season.
Apart from looking odd, dry lips also hurts. Sometimes dryness can give rise to bleeding in lips. But, if you are really concerned about such problems, it is the time to stop it through some homemade ingredients. The crack in lips formed due to weather condition can become larger even with little stretch. Thus, you need to be very careful.
Winter season is welcome after the scorching sun during the summer. It brings freshness and activity in the life of individuals. But winter has some negative effects on the human skin. The lips are prone to chapping and dryness because the skin on them is very thin and does not have any protective hair growth. There is no sweat or oil glands present beneath the surface. Hence the lips lose moisture much faster than other areas of the body.
Many people suffer from chapped and cracked lips due to the dryness in the environmental conditions. Chapped, or cracked, lips are the term commonly used to describe dry lips which are a common feature during winter. They can be painful and unattractive. The common symptoms include dryness, redness, cracking, flaking, and tender or sore lips. Sometimes the dry lips start bleeding also. One has to careful and takes care of lips even before the winter sets in.
Why dry and cracked lips??
There are a lot many reasons connected with chapped lips.
- Dehydration
- Dry and extreme weather conditions
- Excess saliva on the lips or corners of the mouth
- Deficiency of Vitamin A and B2
- Lip biting / licking
- Exposed to sunlight
- smoking
Causes of chapped cracked lips
Chapped lips mainly develop during the winter months due to the exposure to harsh winds or sunburn. Constantly licking ofthe lips may also develop chapped lips. Breathing through the mouth especially at night can also cause the lips to become dry and chapped. In some cases nutritional deficiencies, allergy to certain medicines,dehydration and some diseases can also be a reason for chapped lips.
Symptoms of dry chapped lips
The main symptoms of this condition are formation of cracks, bleeding, dryness, swelling and flaking. Cracked lips are slightly different from chapped lips. The main symptoms of cracked lips are cracking at the corner of the lips which makes it painful to open the mouth. The cause for this condition is excess dryness or excess moisture in the mouth,ill-fitting dentures, or a side effect of some disease like diabetes, anaemia and vitamin deficiencies.
Home remedies to treat dry cracked and chapped lips
Papaya
Chapped lips lead to itching and discomfort as well. It occurs due to the dryness of lips. You will need to hydrate your lips to get free from chapped lips. Using papaya with honey is an excellent remedy that can give you relief. Mix one tsp of honey with the same quantity of papaya pulp to apply on your lips. Papaya contains an enzyme that gives frequent relief from dryness and itching in your cracked lips.
Beetroot
Here is another natural home remedy to treat chapped and cracked lips. Beetroot is high in nutrients that help to keep lips hydrated while promoting the excellent shade of lips. It is quite easy to use and easy to get also. Apply beetroot juice directly to your lips for 15-20 minutes then wash it off with cold water. Now you can see the difference in your lips. They will be hydrated, soft, and better in appearance.
Vanilla extract
Using vanilla extract with baking soda, sugar, and olive oil is a great idea to get rid of chapped lips with a sweet essence. Take 2 tsp of sugar, 1 tsp of baking soda, 2 tsp of olive oil, and ¼ tsp of vanilla extract. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Apply this well-mixed mixture on your lips and scrub gently for one minute before washing it off. You can use this mixture for seven days so store it in an airtight container.
Cocoa butter
Cocoa butter has fatty acids that are good to conditioned lips deeply while keeping them hydrated. You need to take a small amount of cocoa butter to apply on lips. Massage your lips gently and leave it overnight. Do the same daily or alternate days to notice the best result.
Aloe vera
It is normally found in the garden. You can use the gel extracted from the Aloe Vera juice to get a perfect remedy of chapped lips. It is now possible to take Aloe Vera juice directly from the plant. Just rubbing the raw Aloe Vera leave on your lips with a slight tear that brings out juices will be quite effective. You need to repeat the process for few days to eradicate this problem entirely.
Mustard oil
Indian Kitchen especially in Bengal, Mustard oil is used repeatedly. Whether they cook fish or that of meat, cooking will be always done through the mustard oil. Thus, it is quite easy to get in the kitchen. If your lips are had cracked and it very painful, you must dip your finger in the mustard oil and apply it on your lips. It may burn for some time, but will be very effective for your cracked lips.
Glycerin
With the arrival of winter season, people keep enough of glycerin at the stock to reduce dryness in skin. You can now apply just two drops of glycerin on your lips before going to bed. As soon as you get up in the morning, your lips will be fine.
Petroleum jellies
These are also a good source of moisturizing your skin when it is affected by the winter climate. As compared to other natural home remedies, petroleum jellies can give temporary remedy to your lips.
- Clean your lips: Before starting with clean your lips well.
- Apply petroleum jelly: Now apply Petroleum jelly on your lips evenly forming a coat to your lips.
- Leave it on: Let the petroleum jelly stay on your lips for some time. It will soften your lips and flakes too. Let it stay on for ten minutes.
- Massage with a cloth: Now take a clean a little damp cloth. Hold it on your index finger, gently rub or massage your lips. This will remove the petroleum jelly and the flakes too without much pain.
- Apply lip balm: Again you can apply the petroleum jelly or a lip balm on your lips to prevent the flakes from appearing again. Vaseline or lip balm mostly contains mineral oils, paraffin and waxes, which will melt on your skin and helps to strengthen and repair it. It forms like a coat on your lips not letting any moisture from the skin to lose, thus retaining hydration of your lips intact.
Butter/ ghee
If you have kids at home or your breakfast generally consists of bread and butter, applying this natural home remedy will be easier for you. The Indian butter or Ghee is also quite effective to treat your cracked and chapped lips. Just apply it in small quantity and get moisturizing effect for a longer period of time.
Cucumber
You must have known that, cucumber is really a good food for skin. Many women consume this fruit to get clear and glowing skin. You can now peel a cucumber and cut it into pieces. Now put it in the mixer to get some juice out of it. After applying this juice in your lips, you must keep it for 5 – 10 minutes to get best result.
Honey
It is a great moisturizer that has healing and antibacterial properties to treat chapped lips. Honey and glycerin at night gives softer lips in the morning.
Sugar
It helps in exfoliating dead cells and to restore the natural softness of the lips. Apply a paste of honey and sugar on the lips.
Rose petals
It make a paste of rose petals after soaking them in milk for a few hours. Apply this paste on chapped lips three to four times in a day. This remedy will help in keeping the lips moisturized
Coconut oil
Coconut oil is a natural moisturizer that help in the healing of chapped lips caused by cold or dry weather
Castor oil
Castor oil is another good treatment for dry and chapped lips. It can be applied on the lips as it is or it can be used by mixing it with few drops of glycerin and few drops of lemon juice.
Milk cream
The high fat content in milk cream makes it a great natural lip moisturizer. Apply fresh milk cream on the lips, leave it for a few minutes and then wipe it off with cotton ball dipped in lukewarm water.
Honey and vaseline
Vaseline is a ready-made product available in any grocery/medical shop. The bottled honey which is available in the market can be mixed with Vaseline to obtain a solution, which is excellent in treating dry lips. Honey has natural healing agents and antibacterial properties, and Vaseline is used to soften the skin, provide nourishment and preventing dryness.
Strawberry and sugar
Exfoliate your lips during winter as the dead skin over your lips can be really dangerous. You need to take a strawberry and get juice out of it. Take it in a small container and add half spoon of sugar. Now apply this mixture on your lips. Use your fingers to slowly rub it. Keep for sometime say for 20 minutes. Once you can feel it has dried and become sticky in appearance you can wash it away easily. You must try this today to stay away from chapped lips.
Mango butter
Mango butter is extracted from the kernels of the mango tree which has the power to cure dry lips
Humidifier
Since dry air is responsible for making lips cracked, this can be undone with the help of the humidifier. With the help of this particular humidifier your skin will retain adequate moisture that is required for your skin to retain. If you can see your lips are getting chapped and getting cracked, it will be important to place the humidifier around you in a room. Your chapped lips will become moisturized.
Flowers to treat chapped lips
Do you have lifeless flaky lips?? No matter its winter or summer, lips always need more moisture for the shine. Here is what Mother Nature has for our lips.
Rose petals + almond oil + honey
Here is the perfect combination of overnight lip balm/cream for those glossy and beautiful lips.
- Take a container and warm 1 tablespoon almond oil
- Take it off the stove
- Add handful rose petals
- 1 teaspoon of honey
- Store it in a container
- Rub this mix on to your lips very generously and leave it over night.
Overnight application helps lips drench and infuse the moisture and vitamins off the herbs and oils. Feel your lips to be wonderfully glossy and hydrated!
Marigold
Also called Genda or Calendula – magical flower – we almost find them in any Indian markets – helps treat pain and swelling associated with chapped lips. Rub few petals of marigold petals between your fingers to extract the juice. Directly apply on to the lips and feel the difference.
How to exfoliate lips
Use any moisturizing and scrubbing agent to do the job. Below are few scrubs for lips.
Olive oil + sugar
Take few sugar granules in your palm and add 3-4 drops of olive oil to make granular paste. Rub generously over your lips for about 2 minutes. Unleash the fresh lips.
Honey + sugar
Few sugar granules mixed with few drops of honey works best to peel off those minute flaky dry skins on lips.
Lemon + sugar
Take few granules of sugar in to your palm and add few drops of fresh lemon juice to it. Scrub your lips to remove flaky skin for about 5 minutes very generously. Wash and apply a drop of oil or glycerin.
Natural solutions for chapped lips
Despite the best efforts, most people end up with chapped lips during the long, cold winter months. The natural solutions given below help to bring back the luscious and smooth appearance of the lips.
Protect against wind
Wind on the face may be a thing of great fun, but with great fun comes a price. Here the price is dry skin and chapped lips. It is always suggested to cover up the face with a scarf or face patch in order to protect the skin against the wind.
No to spice
Spicy foods are tasty and there will obviously be a craving for it. But it is better to avoid having hot and spicy food during the winters because sometimes even spices (too much of it) can be a cause of dryness of the skin. Also, spicy food tends to bring a burning sensation on the dry cracked lips.
Dermatologist
The natural causes like wind, weather etc. might not be the only reasons for the skin drying up and the lips becoming chapped. Sometimes there can be an allergic reaction too. It is better to consult a dermatologist if none of the natural remedies seems to work.
Gently exfoliate
The lips must be gently exfoliated to get rid of the dead skin cells during the winter months when the lips become dry and scaly. The best way to exfoliate the lips is by massaging the lips with sugar and jojoba oil or olive oil. A little honey can also be used to scrub the lips. The dead skin cells can also be removed with the natural enzymes of papaya. This can be done by rubbing mashed papaya directly on the lips.
Moisturize the lips
Lips need more moisture in winter than in any other season. They can be moisturized with a natural, petroleum-free balm that contains some of the nourishing ingredients or by homemade ingredients like aloe gel, vitamin E, natural oils like almond, olive and coconut, and honey. Some other options to moisturize the lips include rose petal extract mixed with raw milk, butters like coconut butter, cocoa butter, and mango butter.
Use an ointment.
Lips that are damaged may need some treatment. They can be treated by combining a few drops of nutmeg essential oils, mandarin essential oil, and vitamin E oil, and applying it on the lips two to three times a day. Another healing option is to apply the juice of neem leaves on cracking and chapping lips. Calendula lotion also helps to heal and soften the lips.
Treat overnight
The most hydrating balm or moisturizer can be applied on the lips to restore and rejuvenate them. Even butter or ghee can be applied on the lips and left overnight. The lips will become soft and smooth by morning.
Soothe the burn
Sometimes the lips become red and burnt either by licking or by overexposure to the sun. The most common natural solution is to apply potato juice or Aloe Vera gel on the lips. The starch from the potato will give a cooling effect on the lips and soothe the burnt lips.
Diet for cracked, chapped and dry lips
Just like the skin on the rest of the body the skin on the lips has to be kept hydrated.Here are some dietary tips for relieving cracked and chapped lips.
- Adequate water and fluids must be taken on daily basis.
- A healthy diet comprising of several vitamins, minerals. In order to keep the body healthy. Fruits and vegetables rich in antioxidants must be included in the diet.These help the body from the harmful effects of free radicals.
- Vitamin A is an important vitamin for the good health of the skin as it helps in repair and maintenance of the tissues.Milk, apricots, carrots and milk products are a rich source of Vitamin A
- Vitamin C found in citrus fruits and several vegetables helps to protect the body from sun damage and also helps in tissue repair. Vitamin C increases the production of collagen which makes the lips fuller and suppler
- Nuts, leafy vegetables and eggs contain high amounts of vitamin E which helps to prevent lines and wrinkles on the skin. Ageing is also a cause dryness of the lips,it is important to supply the body with adequate amounts of vitamin A.
- Similar to cracked heels chapped or dry lips are a common problem. Common symptoms are dryness, redness, cracking, and flaking. The main causes are vitamin deficiency, allergic reaction, dehydration, smoking, exposure to harsh sun and wind in cold weather.
- Sugar helps in exfoliating dead cells and to restore the natural softness. Apply a paste of honey and sugar on the lips. Rub and wash it off after 10 minutes with lukewarm water.
- Honey is a good moisturizer and it possesses anti bacterial properties to treat chapped lips. Apply only honey 2-3 times a day.
- Rose petals help in keeping the lips moist and in regaining their natural color. Soak petals in milk and make a paste and apply at night on the lips.
- Coconut Oil is a natural moisturizer that helps to heal chapped lips caused by cold or dry weather.
- Castor Oil is also beneficial for treating chapped and dry lips.
- Milk Cream serves as a good lip moisturizer. The fat content of the milk works wonders in softening the lips. Apply fresh milk cream on the lips, leave it on for few minutes and then wipe with cotton ball dipped in lukewarm water. You can get beautiful and rosy lips like a baby.
Always apply SPF based sunscreen lip balm to avoid dark, dry and scaly lips, when going out of the house. Consume lots of water to keep the body hydrated. Include tomatoes, carrots and green leafy vegetables as they are rich in vitamins. Make it a habit to apply a natural lip balm containing shea or cocoa butter before sleeping. Try and avoid licking, peeling and biting the skin of the lips. The dead dry skin from the lips must be cleaned with a cotton ball dipped in warm water.
Lips are the most delicate and sensitive part of the body. Cracked and chapped lips are a common problem in winter which can be painful and unattractive. These lips lose their gloss and can also be infected easily. They are usually a result of dryness. Common symptoms of cracked lips are dryness, redness, flaking, and sore lips. In few cases the skin of the lips may also peel. In other cases when the lips become too dry small tears appear on the surface that can lead to great discomfort and also bleeding.
Natural remedies to treat chapped lips
Jojoba oil
It is known as one of the best nourishing oils for the skin. It helps in softening and lubricating the lip during winter. It also helps in growing new skin cells to treat cracked lips. Simply apply few drops of jojoba oil on the lips. Leave it for 15 minutes before wiping the lips.
Shea butter
It contains natural healing of lips. Shea butter also acts as a natural sun block and makes a perfect natural lip balm that can be used in winter to protect chapped lips.
Beeswax
It is also a great ingredient used in making lip balm for preventing chapped lips during winter. It is a natural skin softener with anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties in it.
Lemon juice
Lemon juice is another effective ingredient forlip care. Lemon juice mixed with cream or milk is a perfect home remedy for chapped lips. Mix the two ingredients and store it in the refrigerator. Apply it on the lips daily before sleeping. Effective results will be visible in just three days.
Green tea bags
Green tea bag can be used as natural home remedy for chapped lips. This is one of the oldest home remedies for chapped lips. Pressed hot used tea bags against the chapped lips for 4-5 minutes.
