Guys, do your lips always get chapped?
Yeah… that might be your fault.
Hey everyone!
Lissette here for DNews.
Chapped lips are terrible.
It’s that uncomfortable dry sensation on your lips, flaky or cracking skin, and in
some of the worst cases, bleeding.
They're more common in certain seasons or climates.
But what causes your lips to chap in the first place?
To start, the skin on your lips is much more sensitive than the rest of the skin on your
body.
Your lip structure is just different.
While it is made up of the epidermis and dermis like the rest of your skin, the outermost
layer of the epidermis-- the stratum corneum-- is much thinner on our lips.
So thin, that it allows more visibility into our blood vessels - giving our lips that reddish
color.
What’s more, lips don’t have sweat glands to provide moisture or hair to provide protection
from the sun.
This helps explain why lips get more chapped in the cold winter months or after catching
some rays on a hot sandy beach.
The excess wind, lack of moisture in the air, and UV rays can cause your lips to lose moisture,
burn - and they end up being chapped.
Yeah, chapped lips can just be a sunburn...on your lips.
But it isn’t always the weather’s fault.
Sometimes you end up doing it to yourself.
Have you ever woken up with super dry lips, especially when you’re congested?
Well, this could be because you were breathing through your mouth, removing the moisture
from your lips!
And perhaps even worse, is the act of licking your lips excessively.
It may sound counterintuitive, but as the saliva evaporates from your lips, it sucks
away heat and moisture, leaving your lips potentially drier than before you licked them.
Many products we use and foods we eat can also be the culprits.
These range from irritating cosmetics, to toothpastes, medications, figs, food colorings,
and, wait for it… even lip balm.
While some lip balms may be helpful, others can make chapped lips worse.
I know, this one really got me too.
But, the problem is ingredients in some lip balms…
Like propyl gallate, or phenyl salicylate, can be skin irritants, and another, salicylic
acid, helps skin slough off more easily!
One super common lip balm ingredient that you may love is Menthol - it tastes and smells
delicious but it's also an alcohol and can dry out your lips.
So what can you do restore moisture to your dry, chapped lips?
Staying hydrated, breathing through your nose, and using a humidifier during dry months helps,
not to mention avoiding licking your lips, staying away from harmful products, and reducing
sun and wind exposure.
But if you’ve just gotta get your lip balm fix, the Mayo Clinic says to try some good
ol petroleum jelly.
But, the trick here, and with anything you use for your chapped lips, is to make sure
that it works for you.
We all have different allergies, sensitivities, and reactions to different products.
So, what may work for your pout, may not work for someone else’s.
This is a pretty common problem for people in the winter, but different seasons will
affect our bodies in surprising ways!
For example, did you know winter can alter your genetics?
Julia has the scoop in this video.
Guys, do you have any science questions?
What should we look into next?
Tell us in the comments, subscribe for more DNews and thanks for watching!