Health Tip: Caring for Chapped Lips

Protect and moisturize them daily

URL of this page: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_134504.html (*this news item will not be available after 05/30/2013)

By Diana Kohnle

Friday, March 1, 2013

Related MedlinePlus Page

Mouth Disorders

(HealthDay News) -- Cold winter temperatures and bitter winds can leave your lips dry, chapped and sore.
The Cleveland Clinic lists these suggestions to help prevent and soothe chapped lips:

Moisturize lips each day with a balm or lip moisturizer that contains ingredients like cocoa butter, vitamins A and E, beeswax, petrolatum or dimethicone.
Re-apply another layer of lip protection before heading out into harsh weather conditions or in dry indoor air.
Protect lips from sunburn with a balm that has an SPF of 15 or higher; apply a balm under lipstick if you wear it.
Choose a balm that includes an alpha-hydroxy acid to soothe and exfoliate lips that are already chapped; you can also exfoliate them by coating with lip balm, gently brushing lips with a toothbrush to remove flakes, and then wiping clean and applying more lip balm.
Try not to lick your lips, because it actually dries them out.

HealthDay