What to do to prevent chapped lips this season.

It’s important to take immediate action when you lips start to chap—otherwise, your lips and the corners of your mouth run the risk of developing painful cracks.

The instinct to lick your lips makes the chapping worse. As saliva evaporates, it dehydrates the skin further. Saliva which contains acids that help break down food can irritate compromised lip skin. Another common mistake is peeling, or biting off skin flakes. Picking at the already thin skin of the lips can lead to bleeding and severe discomfort. This slows the healing process and irritates the skin further. That could lead to an infection or a cold sore.So, here are the things you should you do to prevent your lips from chapping:

Protecting Lips With Balm: Your lips need a shield to stay in shape. A balm provides a buffer between your delicate skin and the weather or indoor heating, so never let your lips go nude. Skin heals better when it’s kept moist, so I suggest wearing a balm or ointment especially at night. The goal is to seal in moisture and get extra hydration with beneficial oils.That barrier will also help seal deep cracks and splits from infection and irritation.

Water: If dehydration is the cause of your problem, check your water intake. Make sure you stay hydrated at all times, and remember that soda, tea, juice, and coffee are not substitutes (they can actually make the problem worse).

Honey: Apply a little honey with the aid of wet finger. Honey is a humectant with natural anti-bacterial properties.

Aloe Vera: Aloe vera’s excellent healing properties help to heal dry and burned lips. You can apply aloe vera gel or fresh aloe vera pulp directly to your lips to cure them.

Don’t lick your lips: Licking your lips constantly doesn’t moisturize them. It only brings wetness to your lips for a moment and then it disappears, rather causing more cracks to your lips.

Scrubbing the lips:

-A tablespoon of brown sugar or white sugar
-A dash of honey (just enough to make the sugar really stick together) OR a bit of olive oil/coconut oil
-A teeny tiny little drop of vanilla (it makes it smell yummy, but isn’t necessary.)
-A small container

Read Also: 5 Habits That Make Your B00bs Sag

It’s important not to use this too much-our lips are fragile after all-but it really does the trick getting rid of all that dead peeling skin and revealing the soft skin underneath. follow up with an all-natural homemade lip balm to get that moisture in there.

Again, don’t overuse this, but it is a great tool when it comes to dealing with chapped, peeling, lips. If you like you can combine the brown and white sugar, but either will do the trick. If you would rather avoid the sticky honey, you can substitute with olive oil or coconut oil.