Cold weather can be rough on your lips. One day they’re a little dry. A few days later, you’re dealing with peeling skin, cracks at the corners of your mouth and that uncomfortable tight feeling every time you smile.
And then you lick them.
It feels better for about five seconds.
Unfortunately, that’s usually not helping.
Chapped lips are especially common during the winter months when we’re bouncing between cold outdoor air and dry heated air indoors. The good news is that a few changes to your routine can often make a noticeable difference.
Along with following these dental tips for winter, here are some practical tips for preventing and treating chapped lips when cold weather arrives.
Why Do Lips Get Chapped?
The skin on your lips is different from the skin covering much of the rest of your body. It doesn’t have the same protective oil glands, which leaves your lips more vulnerable to moisture loss.
Winter adds another challenge. Cold temperatures, wind and dry indoor heat can all contribute to dryness. Sun exposure can play a role too, even when it’s freezing outside.
Then there are our habits. Licking your lips is probably the biggest culprit. When dry lips feel uncomfortable, licking them seems like the obvious solution. But as the saliva evaporates, your lips can become even drier.
Biting or picking at peeling skin doesn’t help either.
Sometimes the cycle becomes: dry, lick, drier, and lick again. Breaking that cycle is a good place to start.
How to Prevent Chapped Lips
If your lips tend to become dry every winter, don’t wait until they’re cracked and painful to start taking care of them.
Drink Plenty of Water
Cold weather doesn’t always make us feel thirsty the way a hot summer afternoon does, so it’s easy to forget about hydration.
Keep drinking water throughout the day. Water is important for your overall health and oral health, and staying adequately hydrated can help prevent the dryness that makes you want to continually lick your lips.
Add Moisture to Dry Indoor Air
Your furnace keeps you warm. Your lips may not appreciate it quite as much.
Heating your home can significantly reduce indoor humidity during the winter. If the air feels particularly dry, a humidifier can add moisture back into your environment.
Running one in the bedroom may be particularly helpful overnight, especially if you tend to breathe through your mouth while sleeping.
Protect Your Lips Outdoors
Winter doesn’t mean the sun disappeared.
Choose a lip balm with SPF 30 or higher when you’re going to spend time outdoors. It can help protect your lips from sun exposure while providing a barrier against cold, windy conditions.
Reapply it as needed, particularly when you’re outside for an extended period.
Stop Licking Your Lips
Easier said than done. But if you’re constantly licking dry lips, try reaching for lip balm instead.
Saliva isn’t a moisturizer. Once it evaporates, your lips can be left feeling even drier than before.
Treating Chapped Lips That Are Already Dry
Prevention is great when you catch the problem early. But what if your lips are already peeling and uncomfortable?
That’s when the goal shifts toward protecting the damaged skin and giving it a chance to heal.
Choose Your Lip Balm Carefully
Not every lip product is going to feel good on already irritated skin.
If your lip balm burns, stings or tingles, don’t assume that sensation means it’s working. Some ingredients can actually irritate dry or damaged lips.
Products containing ingredients such as menthol, camphor, eucalyptus or strong fragrances may bother sensitive lips.
Instead, look for simple moisturizing and protective ingredients. Petrolatum, ceramides, dimethicone, shea butter and other bland emollients can help seal in moisture and protect the skin while it heals.
And apply it regularly. You don’t need to wait until your lips feel painfully dry again.
Be Careful With Flaking Skin
This is where the temptation to pick starts. Try not to.
Pulling off loose skin can remove healthy skin along with it, creating small wounds and making your lips bleed.
You also don’t need to aggressively scrub your lips to make them smooth again.
If there’s significant peeling, concentrate on moisturizing and allowing the skin to heal naturally rather than trying to scrub every flake away.
Apply a Thicker Layer Before Bed
Nighttime is a great opportunity to give dry lips some uninterrupted moisture.
Apply a generous layer of a bland lip ointment or moisturizer before going to sleep.
If you sleep with your mouth open, using a humidifier in the bedroom at the same time may also help combat the dry air surrounding you for several hours each night.
Don’t Bite Your Lips
Dry skin can make the surface of your lips feel uneven.
It’s incredibly tempting to bite off that one annoying piece. Don’t.
Repeated biting can prolong irritation and potentially create sores that take even longer to heal.
What About Cracks at the Corners of Your Mouth?
Dryness doesn’t always affect the center of the lips.
Sometimes painful cracks develop specifically at one or both corners of the mouth.
Occasional cracking can happen when the area becomes irritated or excessively dry, but persistent cracks at the corners of the mouth can have other causes and may require professional evaluation.
If the area keeps splitting open, becomes increasingly painful or doesn’t improve, don’t continually treat it as ordinary chapped lips without having someone take a look.
Can Your Toothpaste Irritate Chapped Lips?
Possibly. When the skin around your mouth is already irritated, certain ingredients in oral-care products may make that irritation more noticeable. Pay attention to patterns.
If your lips consistently burn or become irritated immediately after brushing, mention it to your dentist. Don’t stop brushing your teeth, of course, but there may be an alternative toothpaste that’s more comfortable for you.
And after brushing, gently rinse away toothpaste residue left around the outside of your mouth.
How Long Should Chapped Lips Take to Heal?
Ordinary chapped lips should begin improving once you remove the source of irritation and consistently protect the skin. They won’t necessarily look perfect overnight. Give them some time.
What we don’t want is a lip problem that never seems to heal, repeatedly develops in the same location, becomes severely painful or looks significantly different from your usual winter dryness.
That’s when it’s worth getting it checked rather than buying yet another tube of lip balm.
When Are Chapped Lips Something More?
Most dry winter lips aren’t a serious problem. Still, not every persistent change to the lips is caused by cold weather.
Pay attention to areas that don’t heal, recurring sores, unusual lumps, significant swelling, persistent discoloration or other changes that stick around.
Your lips are part of your mouth, and they’re something your dentist can examine during a routine dental visit.
If something doesn’t look or feel right, mention it.
Healthy Lips Are Part of a Healthy Smile
We spend a lot of time talking about teeth and gums, but they’re not the only parts of your mouth that deserve attention.
While you keep your teeth healthy with brushing, flossing and regular dental visits, give your lips a little attention too.
For most people, treating chapped lips comes down to fairly simple things: protect them from the elements, keep them moisturized, drink enough water and resist the urge to lick, bite or pick at irritated skin.
And if something isn’t healing? Don’t ignore it.
At Shorewood Family Dental Care, we examine more than just your teeth during routine dental visits. If you’re looking for teeth cleaning near Joliet, our Shorewood office serves patients from Joliet and surrounding communities.
Call us at 815-725-5991 or contact us online to schedule your next visit.
