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Writer's pictureNicole Salter

I use organic lip balm and my lips are still chapped - why??

Updated: Oct 14, 2022


Remember the days when all lip balm was called Chapstick and everyone had one in their pocket, the cap all rimed with dirt, and you rolled it up to apply it and smacked your lips with cherry flavor? And then some people figured out we probably shouldn't be putting petroleum on our lips, and then most people didn't care and continued to use Chapstick and Vaseline and everything else?

Chaptstick

And then a few brave souls were like F this and they decided to make lip balm from all natural ingredients and WOW it was amazing except...some days you'd find yourself chewing dry, dead skin from your bottom lip going wait, I use natural lip balm. what is going on????

We're here to help you explain and hopefully solve that First World problem.

Why Your Lips Get Dry

It's a good idea to know why your lips get dry in the first place so you don't even need to use lip balm (or at least, not as much).

If your lips are dry, sore, red, peeling, and even bleed, obviously you need to do something about it. But what is causing this in the first place? The obvious answer is, baby it's cold outside, and when the heat comes in indoors it's powerfully drying - not a good combo.

Dry, cracked lips

But dry lips can have other causes, such as dehydration, allergies, infections, certain medications, and of course, the common cold and flu.

Is Lip Scrub a Good Idea?

Okay I'm bracing myself now for all the haters given the popularity of lip scrubs, but I am anti-lip scrub. I love body scrubs, they are one of SaltZ&Co's best-selling products for a reason, but your lips are not made of the same type of cells as the rest of your body. Scrub that stuff off and your lips will make more of it. You could very easily be causing more irritation and harm than good, especially if you use a scrub with a strong essential oil, an artificial fragrance oil, or a coarse grain of sugar that just strips your lips.

Pink lip scrub

If you want to heal your lips from the inside out, by all means do a single scrub to start from fresh, but that should not be your go-to solution for cracked lips where the skin is splitting and dry.

6 Tips To Banish Dry Lips Forever

Okay so nobody said that having great lips wouldn't take some work. Fortunately, it's easy work and the payment is lips that any Kardashian would pay a fortune for.

1. Quit smoking. Are you a madman/madwoman? In case you needed another reason to quit, pursing your lips around a little stick many times each day and then lighting it on fire and sucking so the toxic smoke can go directly onto your lip area doesn't sound like such a good idea. As a former smoker, I'm allowed to fully see and state the idiocy of the process.

2. Drink lots of water. Your body needs hydration, and certain parts of our body that are meant to be moist, such as the sinuses, are the 'canaries in the coal mine' of dehydration. If you start getting a lot of nosebleeds, it's the same idea: drink more water and try to introduce more moisture into your environment through a humidifier, diffuser, or even a fish tank.

Glasses of ice water

3. Add moisture before you add the barrier. A lot of people make the mistake of slathering lip balm straight onto dry, cracked lips. The good news: you are preventing whatever moisture is already there from escaping. The bad news: you barely have any moisture to retain in the first place. Carefully apply a light lotion or cream to the lips (we like Lubriderm) on first, then add your lip balm one it has absorbed, and feel the incredible difference.

4. Take your lipstick off at night. We should not have to tell you this, but please.

5. Stop licking and chewing your lips. If your lips are dry, licking them helps for about as long as peeing in your pants helps on a cold winter's night. Just don't. Saliva does nothing but strip moisture from your lips.

6. Examine the ingredients in your natural lip balm. Could it be that you are allergic to one or more of them? Can you try different varieties and brands? Or, are there ingredients in the lip balm that you can't really pronounce or aren't even sure of? Do your own research to make sure you are putting only safe things on your lips.

If all else fails, something plain and pure like coconut oil, will not last long on your lips, but will at least moisturize for a while until you reapply!

For a great natural lip balm in wonderful tasty flavours, try I Kissed A Boy and see if you like it. Here are my own lips, no makeup, at 40 after 20-plus years of smoking, but trying hard to make up for it with lip care.

Nicole Salter's lips

PS: What is your favourite lip balm? Let us know!

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