5 Ways To Treat Chapped Lips Naturally
It is often believed that chapped lips are a consequence of cold and dry weather. However, that is not completely true. You can get chapped lips even in summers, spring, or any other time of the year.
The prime cause of cracked and dry lips is insufficient hydration. The skin of lips, unlike the skin of any other body part, does not have oil glands to produce its own oil. Consequently, it is much easier for your lips to get dry in case they do not receive proper hydration.
Although lip balms can help treat chapped lips, natural home remedies can be a much better solution to get rid of the problem naturally. Here are some of the easy home remedies to cure chapped lips:
1. Coconut Oil
A study by the National Library of Medicine shows that virgin coconut oil displays anti-inflammatory properties, which means that apart from treating chapped lips, it is also capable of helping you get rid of the pain of cracked lips. Furthermore, it is an emollient, which signifies that it is capable of locking-in moisture in your skin. As a result, using coconut oil as a natural balm on your lips several times during the day can help you combat the problem of chapped lips. The antibacterial properties of the oil will also keep your lips away from any germs and bacteria.
2. Petroleum Jelly
Petroleum jelly is known for its properties of locking moisture in your skin. It is used as an ingredient in most lip balms and can help you protect the natural moisture of your skin. However, it does not provide any extra moisture that might be essential if you have ultra-dry lips. In such circumstances, you can moisturize your lips using a lip balm and apply it as a protective layer to avoid losing hydration.
3. Sugar Exfoliation
Dead skin tends to get accumulated on your lips when they are dry. A gentle sugar exfoliation can help you get rid of this dead skin and restore the moisture of your skin. Use powdered sugar and coconut oil to create your own sugar exfoliator. Mix the two ingredients well and scrub your lips. Make sure that you are using clean and gentle hands for scrubbing the skin. After you are done exfoliating, apply some more coconut oil for moisturization.
4. Aloe Vera
Aloe vera has numerous health benefits. It helps moisturize the skin, treat sunburn, get rid of acne, etc. The plant has a natural moisturizing gel in its leaves, which can be used for treating cracked and dry lips. Aloe vera sucks the moisture from the air and provides it to the skin, thus helping it to restore the skin’s lost hydration. It also has sugars called mucopolysaccharides, which allow lips to stay soft and supple in all seasons.
5. Avocado Butter
Avocado butter has antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties that help heal dry skin, acne, and type of skin irritation. It also used an emollient and thickener in lip balms. Furthermore, its healing properties help get rid of the dead skin cells and restore new ones. Avocado butter also has fatty acids and oleic acid that are beneficial for healing the wounds of cracked and dry lips. Although avocado butter is easily available in the market, you can also make your own by grinding avocados at your home.
The aforementioned home remedies can help you get rid of chapped lips, however, to avoid letting your lips get dry, you must keep in mind a few things:
- Licking your lips over and over again can cause dryness. Even though you feel like you are treating chapped lips with saliva, licking leads to more dryness and sometimes even skin infections.
- Smoking is also one of the reasons that can result in drying the sides of your lips. If you want to treat chapped lips, try quitting smoking.
- Dehydration is a major cause of dry lips. Consequently, it is extremely important to increase your water intake during the day.
- If you are using any lip products like lipsticks and lip balms, ensure that they do not contain any drying ingredients like phenol, menthol, camphor, etc.
Do let us know which of the above-mentioned home treatments did you like the most? If you have any other home remedies, let us know in the comment section below!
