The problem of dry and chapped lips is familiar to many people firsthand. It is especially often encountered in winter, when cold winds blow and it is frosty outside. How to care for lips so that they remain soft and attractive? What to do if you have chapped lips?
Why do lips crack
The skin on the lips is thin, soft and sensitive. It cannot independently resist external influences. Lips suffer from frost, and from heat, and from wind, and from dry air. Weathered skin turns red, begins to peel and crack, wounds appear on it, which can bleed during a conversation or an attempt to smile. All this is not very beautiful, and besides, it also hurts. But the causes of cracking of the skin on the lips lie not only in external factors. Often a person is to blame for what happens to his lips. Trouble can start for the following reasons:
- The habit of licking lips. A person may not even notice this bad habit behind him. Just constantly at home or on the street wets lipssaliva. Oddly enough, but after that, the lips dry even more and crack as a result.
- The habit of biting lips. This problem occurs in both children and adults, and it harms the condition of the skin.
- Disregard for protective, nourishing and moisturizing lip balms. It is necessary to apply such funds not just before the exit, but a little in advance. In frosty weather, special protective cosmetics (balms) should be used. All lip products must contain UV filters.
- Due to the frequent use of waterproof cosmetics or lipsticks that dry out the skin.
- Rhinitis. If the nose is stuffed up for a long time, then, due to breathing through the mouth, the lips become wet, moisture evaporates from their surface faster, and they crack.
- Irrational nutrition also affects the condition of the skin. If a person has chapped lips, then he most likely lacks vitamins.
- The habit of tearing off the dried skin on the wounds. Cracks due to this habit do not heal longer. In addition, infection can get into the wound.
Maybe you got sick?
Cracked lips may not be so safe. They are a sign of some diseases or an independent disease. Dry, chapped lips are a common symptom of gastrointestinal problems and anemia. And if cracks appeared in the corners, then this is most likely angular stomatitis. In the people, this disease is called "jam". There are several medical names for this disease, in addition to the above: angulitis, cheilitis and others.
If the corners of the lips are cracked, how to treat the pathology? This must be determined by the doctor. The fact is that jamming can be of two types: streptococcal and candidal. Their treatment varies.
Problems of young children
Chapped lips are a common problem in children. An adult can overcome bad habits, but it is difficult for kids to explain what they are doing wrong. If you are sure that your baby is he althy, he does not have anemia, and he does not lack vitamins, then give him more water. But it is desirable that the baby does not drink or eat on the street, this worsens the condition of the skin of the lips. And also, if a child has chapped lips, lubricate them with baby balm, Bepanten cream, sea buckthorn oil. In case of severe skin damage, consult a doctor - he can prescribe medications, for example, Solcoseryl.
How to restore the beauty of the lips: peeling
Pieces of flaky skin appear on rough, weathered lips. They interfere and often cause a desire to tear off the skin. This cannot be done. It is better to peel at home to remove the damaged layer. There are a lot of recipes for this procedure, here are some of them:
- Honey and sugar. In a teaspoon, mix some honey and sugar, then apply the mixture on your lips. Massage with light movements for about two minutes, then rinse with cool water. Once lips are dry, apply a nourishing balm.
- If your lips are chapped, you can use a mixture of Vaseline and ground coffeeor with sugar. This mixture is also rubbed with massage movements for 2 minutes, and then washed off.
You can exfoliate dry skin particles from your lips not only with a scrub, but also with a soft terry washcloth. It must be kept moist and clean to prevent infection. Lips should also be moist, this is important! It is not necessary to rub the skin strongly, all movements should be neat and soft. After the procedure, be sure to use a nourishing lip balm.
Moisturizing masks
The problem can be eliminated with moisturizing masks. Everything you may need for treatment is on the shelves of the refrigerator or in the kitchen cabinets:
- For the mask you will need fat cottage cheese and cream. You need to mix quite a bit, for the next procedure it is better to prepare a new portion. The mask is applied for 10 minutes and washed off with warm water.
- Olive oil perfectly nourishes and moisturizes the skin. You just need to apply it on the lips and hold it for a while. The oil will restore skin elasticity.
- Cucumber mask. For this recipe, you will need a fine grater to grate the cucumber. It is better to apply gruel lying down. It should stay on the lips for about 15 minutes.
- Honey and sour cream. These two products do not need to be mixed. First, sour cream is applied, and after 15 minutes - honey. This recipe helps a lot if you apply sour cream in the morning and honey before bed.
- Butter. Chapped lips? Lubricate them every half hour with butter. This will quickly restore the skin.
Whatevereat this?
We have already talked about the lack of vitamins. You can buy multivitamins at the pharmacy or separately vitamins A and E. But sometimes the lips crack due to a lack of biotin. This substance can be obtained with food. Eat more nuts, almonds, eggs, especially yolks, fish and liver. If there are enough of these products, then you will forget about chapped lips.
So, you have received several answers to the question: "How to treat chapped lips?" Which one is right for you, see for yourself. Some recipes can be combined. But you must always remember that the problem will not get rid of too quickly. It may take several days to eliminate it, during which the products for nourishing and moisturizing the skin will be applied repeatedly.
