Winter Lip Care

Hi All,

So I've been noticing more and more with clients this season their struggle to keep their lips soft and supple. Many are dealing with chapped, dry, cracked lips. 

Here are some tips to prevent this from happening or to repair the damage. 

When the temperatures drop and the wind picks up (especially in the mid west!), it can become increasingly difficult to keep your lips moisturized. 

1. Don't lick your lips! 

Your saliva contains acids that help break down food which can irritate your lips' delicate skin. Licking your lips only adds to dehydration. 

2. Drink TONS of water!

I am very guilty of not drinking enough water this time of year. To help prevent dryness, it's important to stay hydrated from the inside--out! Make yourself drink 2 glasses upon waking up and going to bed. Making this a ritual will help with dehydration.

3. Apply Lip Balm at night.

You lose so much moisture at night! Especailly since most of us sleep with our mouths open (glamorous as it is), it's extremely drying. By applying a balm before bed, it helps to slow that process. When purchasing a lip balm, beware of ingredients such as, eucalyptus, menthol or camphor-- these can cause dryness or irritation. 

My favorite: 

          

Burts Bees Beeswax Lip Balm

With all natural ingredients that work, this balm tops the charts for me!

4. Exfoliation.

I preach about exfoliation often! It makes such a huge difference! There are a couple different ways to handle it, I'm splitting it into 2 parts. 

Part One: 

I am a big fan of home remedies, mostly because of sensitivities, but also because they work! If your lips are dry, but not cracked, you can give this trick a try once every week to two weeks. 

Take a little sugar with some oil (coconut, olive, etc), and create a paste. Take your finger and gently scrub this mixture in tiny circular motions on your lips. This helps to gently scrub off any dead skin, and the oil helps to moisturize. Once you finish, take a dry rag and wipe off the sugar, apply some balm and voila! soft supple lips! 

Part Two: 

Another exfoliation trick, that's a little more gentle and easy to do, is to take your toothbrush after brushing your teeth, and gently brush your lips. This helps stimulate blood flow and gently removes dead skin. This is something you can mindlessly do every day. 

If you are suffering from severe cracked, dry lips with pain or bleeding, you can seek out a medicated treatment to get them under control, and then try some of the above tips for upkeep. 

Hope this helps you as we slowly but surely make our way into spring with lots of bright lipsticks!