How to Keep Your Lips Moisturized and Soft (Even Through Winter)

Frigid, windy temperatures are hard on the body—anything and everything from your bones, muscles, hair, skin, and lips all suffer in cold, harsh climates. Since lips don’t contain oil glands like the rest of your skin does, they often become chapped much more easily than other areas where your skin is exposed. This makes it essential to have a good lip care routine to keep your lips soft and healthy all year round.

In this article, you will learn: 

• Causes of Dry Lips
• How to Hydrate Dry Lips
• How to Make an Exfoliating Lip Scrub
• How to Look for Nourishing, Soothing Ingredients That Lock in Moisture
• Why Apply Face Oil to Your Lips?

Causes of Dry Lips

There are several causes that could be to blame for dealing with a dry pout.

Constant Licking

Nobody enjoys the look and feel of chapped lips. (Is there anything more uncomfortable than the frequent feeling of burning, cracked lips?) Since we’re constantly licking our puckers throughout the day as we speak, eat and drink, they tend to dry out pretty quickly. When this process happens over and over again, lips become dehydrated and feel drier than ever. This happens when saliva evaporates and more moisture escapes from the lips, leaving us with a rough and dry external layer of skin.

Colder Temperatures

Cold weather is another common cause of dryness. The harsh cold air in the winter time already requires us to add heavier layers of skin care products just to protect our natural skin barrier. The same applies to our lips. During these colder months, our lips demand more TLC, and that includes drinking more water, using lip scrubs at least once a week, and applying hydrating products on them to keep them soft and luscious.

Certain Medications

Some medications also have side effects like chronically-chapped lips. If this is the case, keep reading to learn about several quick, easy, and natural ways you can remedy this.

How to Hydrate Dry Lips

Inner Hydration Comes First

Thankfully, there are ways to protect your lips and keep them soft all year long, even when you live in a cold, windy climate or spend a lot of time out in the sun. For starters, it’s important to remember to drink water whenever you feel thirsty to fight dehydration and keep your epidermis properly moisturized.

Don’t Forget to Exfoliate for Softer Lips

There are many benefits to exfoliating for soft lips.

• The same way exfoliating your face 1-2 times a week can reveal softer, baby-like skin, exfoliating your lips often can help to remove dead skin cells.

• Exfoliating helps increase blood flow and circulation to create a naturally plump pout without the use of lip fillers.

• Spending an extra minute during your morning or nighttime routine exfoliating can also instantly improve the texture of rough, scaly lips.

• The improved blood flow also brightens up dull, lifeless lips and gives them a naturally pinker, lively color.

• You can also count on a quick lip scrub to act as the perfect primer, prepping for lipsticks and any other products you want to apply.

Keep reading for a simple DIY exfoliating lip scrub that’s easy to make and will work wonders on hydrating even the driest lips.

How to Make an Exfoliating Lip Scrub

A sugar scrub made from a mixture of coconut oil and organic cane sugar may seem simple, but it can make a dramatic improvement in the smoothness and moisture levels of your lips.

You can make your own sugar scrub at home by combining a ¼ cup of organic granulated cane sugar with a ½ cup of coconut oil. Simply use your fingers to massage the sugar scrub onto your lips in a circular motion for thirty seconds. A portion of the scrub should absorb into your skin, but you can wipe off whatever sugar is left over. This gentle sugar scrub can also be used on your face, hands, and body. If you don’t have the time to exfoliate your lips with a sugar scrub on a regular basis, you can even exfoliate your lips with a clean toothbrush!

How to Look for Nourishing, Soothing Ingredients That Lock in Moisture

After using your DIY lip scrub, frequently apply lip balm and lock the moisture in with a hydrating blend of oils. Since lips don’t have oil glands, you can’t depend on your natural oils to kick in! By locking in the moisture with a lip balm that contains naturally hydrating ingredients such as coconut oil, beeswax, shea butter, cocoa butter or olive oil, you can ensure maximum hydration without any irritating ingredients. Avoid lip balms that contain ingredients like petroleum jelly, mineral oil, phenol, and artificial colors and dyes since they can do more harm than good. Since natural ingredients are the most effective for treating chapped, dry lips, you can just as easily make your own homemade lip balm out of coconut oil or flaxseed oil, which are both filled with essential fatty acids. It’s truly one of the most inexpensive, self-care products you can easily make at home to garner instant results.

Why Apply Face Oil to Your Lips?

After applying a thin layer of lip balm, maximize your results by topping off your luscious lips with our Extraordinary Face Oil for healing/sensitive skin or anti-aging skin. Both versatile formulas can also be used on your face to lock in moisture throughout the day.

Our Extraordinary Face Oil for healing/sensitive skin contains calming ingredients such as chamomile, lavender, and gorgonian to provide gentle, lasting hydration. Our formula for anti-aging contains pure rose and jasmine to soothe skin, improve discoloration and boost elasticity and suppleness. After exfoliating your lips and applying a hydrating lip balm, soothe dry, chapped lips with either of our Extraordinary Face Oils that increase the production of free fatty acids, which are essential for achieving a healthy, youthful appearance while also keeping your lips comfortably moisturized.

To combat dry, chapped lips all year long, care for your lips on a regular basis and protect them as early and as often as possible. Keep a stash of lip balm in as many places as possible, including your purse, your car, near your bed, and near your desk at work. When lip balm is easily accessible, you’ll be less tempted to lick your lips and therefore you’ll avoid the uncomfortable cycle of dry, chapped lips.