Dry, chapped lips? This is for you!

I've had a lot of people tell me they are always dealing with dry chapped lips and that chapstick or lip balm never seems to work.  I also struggle with super dry lips, even in the summer time and have to be careful when I wear lipsticks because my lips can start to look crackly and not good.

 

Here are some tried and true steps I take to avoid the dry lip situation:

 

1.  DRINK WATER!

Although this sounds so simple, it's probably the last thing we think of when trying to figure out why our lips are so dry.  Dry lips can be a sign of dehydration.  If that is the case, all the lip balm in the world isn't going to fix your problem!  Almost every morning I make a large pitcher of iced mint green tea.  My goal is that by the end of the day I will have drank the whole pitcher.  Just making sure I am getting enough water intake has done wonders for my dry lips!  Whenever I'm having a dry lip day it usually goes back to the fact that I've drank way too much coffee and not enough water.  So drink up!

 

2.  Exfoliate

I recently bought the ELF lip scrub at Target for $3.  It works great and I love that it is in a lipstick form which means no mess!  Before the ELF scrub, I was mixing a pinch of sugar with a few drops of coconut oil in the palm of my hand and exfoliating my lips this way.  It works great but is a bit messy and takes more time and some nights I'd just get lazy about it.  With this lipstick scrub, it's so effortless I am doing it every night. 

3.  Moisturize

I usually moisturize my lips right before I go to bed because I know I will not be eating or drinking anything and that way the balm can sink into my lips.  I love using my EOS lip balm first.  A great thing about EOS brand is that they are paraben and petroleum free and claim to be 95% organic.  After my EOS, I top it with my Nivea lip butter or CO Bigelow's Rose Salve from Bath and Body Works.  I do this every night and wake up with lips that are soft and moisturized!

 

4.  Protect for Sun Damage

 Another thing that can cause dry, peeling lips is a sunburn and sun damage!  If you are going to be outside make sure to use a lip balm or chapstick with SPF.  I really like the EOS lip balm in Lemon Drop.  I believe only the lemon flavor has SPF so make sure to check the packaging.  If your lips have already been burnt I've found coconut oil works amazing for sunburns!  Just slather this on your lips at night and they should be looking and feeling much better in the morning!

 

5.  Avoid Matte Lippies

This makes me sad.  I love the look of matte lipsticks, so pretty!  But if you have the slightest bit of dryness going on or have a lot of fine lines in your lips, matte lipsticks are not going to be your friend.

 

6.  Humidify

If you are really struggling with dry lips and even dry skin, a humidifier is said to work wonders.  I have never used one in our room for this purpose, ours is always stationed in one of the kid's rooms but if you are going insane with the dryness, a humidifier should help too!

7.  Prime Your Lips

If you've done all the above and your lips still aren't looking the greatest but you're dying to wear some color on your lips, MAC's Prep + Prime Lip works great as a base under your lipstick.  It helps to smooth your lips and adds a little bit of moisture under your lipstick.  I actually need to be picking up a new tube of this since I've used mine up!  I would love to find a good dupe for this to save a few dollars!  Anyone know of one?

Hope these simple tips and tricks will help you!  They've worked great for me!