Winter season may provide some relief from the high temperatures and scorching summer, but it also brings along a lot of dryness in the air and harsh winds, causing your skin to become even drier.
The skin on our lips is different and much thinner than the skin on other parts of the body, making them easier to crack and chap, and much more important for each person to take care of them. Also, our lips have fewer sebaceous glands and are unable to produce the natural melanin that filters the sun. This means that they have little or no protection of their own.
Luckily, there are a few steps you can take to keep your lips healthy and beautiful, even during the cold winter weather. After all, when the weather changes, you need to adjust your daily skincare a bit to account for the changes in sunlight, humidity and temperature.
Prioritise Healthy Choices & Drink Water
A healthy and complete diet is vital not just for your skin condition but even for your lips. Vitamins, minerals and other nutrients directly affect the condition of your lips. To keep your lips happy and lovely, you should follow a well-balanced nutrition plan! For instance, vitamin A is an essential nutrient for healthy lips. Consider including carrots, apricots and milk products in your diet to get more vitamin A.
Try to refrain from salty, hot and spicy foods, which can irritate your lips and make chapping worse for some people. Thus, you may want to limit or avoid these foods if your lips are chapped. Once your chapped lips have healed, you can resume eating these products.
Additionally, one of the many benefits of drinking plenty of water is that hydration keeps your lips moisturised and contributes to healthier and less chapped lips. While you may don't feel a lot thirsty during winters, try to keep the body well hydrated by drinking at least eight glasses of water throughout the day. You can also drink juice and decaffeinated tea to meet your daily fluid requirement.
Try Out CBD Lip Balm
While a lip balm is a must-have during the cold season, the balm infused with beneficial CBD oil offers an effective skincare solution for your lips, enhances your beauty and allows you to experience the potential CBD effects, at the same time.
When used in a CBD lip balm, it works to moisturise dry, damaged and cracked lips. Cannabidiol, better known as CBD oil, is very nourishing and has anti-inflammatory properties that can help to soothe chapped skin, preventing it from becoming flaky or dry.
CBD is loaded with antibacterial compounds that help to protect your lips. As an antioxidant, CBD can help the skin fight free radicals and save over-exposure to the elements. It may also help to diminish redness and irritation around the lip area and can be useful if you are subjected to cold sores, the effects of allergies, or have sore lips due to dehydrated epidermis. While you can easily find CBD oil-infused lip balms, you can also make your own CBD lip balm using your best CBD oil, a few key components and essential oils.
Don't Lick Or Bite Your lips
Some individuals think that licking the lips helps to prevent the dryness, but it can actually make the problem worse. As much as you can be tempted to lick the lips when they feel dry or to bite off dry skin from them, do not do it. It will only lead to cuts, bleeding and even drier, flaky and cracked lips.
Enzymes and bacteria in saliva meant for digesting our food can irritate and damage the lips, leaving them in worse shape than ever before. Also, once the moisture evaporates after you have licked your lips, it will leave the lips even drier as they lose the moisture into the cold and dry air. Instead, break the lip-licking cycle and apply a moisturiser or some lip balm every time you find yourself biting or licking your lips.
What's more, try not to breathe with your mouth open. Imagine how much moisture needs to be removed if all that dry air is blowing over it.
Use An Air Humidifier
The air in your home can become dry during the winter, which in turn might cause chapped lips. Using a cool-mist humidifier as well as bringing plants may help to maintain moisture and prevent lip chapping. Consider investing in a humidifier and using it in your bedroom at night or on extra cold days.
However, make sure to keep the humidity levels in your home around 30 to 50% as the air that is too humid allows bacteria and other microorganisms to grow.
Apply Your Lipstick
The good news is that it is useful to use some lipstick before you step out. Since your lips have no natural protection, wearing an opaque lipstick will help you add a layer to them and protect against sun, wind, dirt and cold as well as prevent chapping. They are also fun to wear during the dreary months of cold winter.
However, make sure to choose the right lipstick to prevent your lips from drying out, especially in the harsh winter season. Lipsticks are available in different formulas on the market. Some are creamy, while others are so matte that they dry the lips with their natural oils and chemicals in the composition. So, use your favourite lipsticks when stepping out, but avoid drying lipsticks.
Keep Your Lips Hydrated Overnight
While you are awake, you know when your lips are dry, but this can be a problem when you sleep as the air around you tends to dry out your lips. It's no secret that our skin goes into this recovery and rejuvenation mode when the body is sleeping at night.
Therefore, if you are using any lip cream, DIY lip packs or some petroleum jelly, then do so at night as well. Your lips will reap the benefits of lip products the most during the night.
