There are many blood vessels and nerve endings in the lips, and the skin there is thin; there are no sebaceous glands and fatty lining in it. This is why lips are so sensitive. This is even very good for some purposes, but exactly until the delicate skin cracks and the lips turn into a desert landscape.
Let’s figure out why this is happening.
Why do lips crack
Cold
When it’s freezing outside, unprotected lips immediately feel it. The vessels in the lips constrict and cease to nourish the surface of the lips. And if you do not protect yourself (do not close your mouth and do not use special cosmetics), then the frost also affects the moisture in the upper layers of the lips’ skin. Thin skin, losing fluid, becomes dry and fragile.
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Heat
Although it does not constrict the blood vessels (quite the opposite), the heat contributes to the body’s general dehydration. A dry feeling appears on the tongue, throat, and, of course, on the lips. Lack of moisture increases the fragility of delicate skin, hence the cracks.
The habit of licking lips
When saliva dries up, lips lose moisture and natural lubrication, so they crack more. If you have a habit of licking or biting your lips, watch for when it is strongest. As a rule, banal stress is to blame for this.
Allergy
Have you noticed that sometimes you eat a product, and it burns everything in your mouth? Perhaps this is how oral allergy syndrome manifests itself, from which lips can also deteriorate.
Dangerous food
Some foods do not cause allergies; for example, food with many kinds of vinegar (salads or canned food), some fruits with a high acid content (citrus fruits, kiwi), hot spices, salty snacks irritate and dry the skin, which immediately becomes covered with a network of cracks.
Bad cosmetics
Expired or simply low-quality cosmetics, of course, have not made anyone better.
But sometimes, even the means of trusted brands cause chapped lips. Moreover, dryness appears even if you take hygienic lipstick specially made so that such problems do not occur. So this lipstick doesn’t suit you.
Take a closer look at how your lips feel after applying lipstick. Do you need to apply the product three times a day? Otherwise, the skin shrinks from dryness? Buy another lipstick that works for you. It may take a long time to search.
Aggressive peeling
If you constantly use harsh scrubs or even lip brushes while washing your face, you can damage your delicate skin and create ugly cracks. So be careful with smoothness.
Infections
The most common infection that affects lips is the herpes simplex virus, the so-called cold sore. Exacerbations pass without problems unless a bacterial infection is attached. In some cases, the lips are chapped, especially in the corners, due to a fungal infection – candidiasis. This is a common thrush that has developed in the mouth. This often happens in children.
You need to go to the doctor if the inflammation is pronounced, the lips are red and sore, dry lips do not go away by themselves, or if there is a white coating around the cracks.
Once you heal the infection, the cracks will disappear. How and what exactly to treat in such cases, the dermatologist will tell you, because the treatment depends on what kind of infection you have.
Where do jams in the corners of the mouth come from?
The cracks in the corners of the lips, the so-called seizures, are the most disgusting because they hurt a lot, do not allow you to open your mouth, and do not go away for a long time. Their appearance’s main reasons are the same as for normal-dry lips, but there are additional factors.
- Chronic diseases. For example, diabetes mellitus or any skin disease.
- Lack of vitamins A or B2, possibly iron deficiency. But this is a condition that occurs only with an unbalanced diet. Therefore, switch to healthy foods and a full diet so as not to suffer from skin problems. To find out if you have enough iron, get a routine blood test.
- Humidity. If the corners of the lips are constantly wet with saliva, the wrong bite may be blamed. Check with your dentist. Perhaps it will be possible to fix this.
How to heal chapped lips at home
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When the lips are already chapped and rough, you need to make a little effort so that the unpleasant symptoms go away. First, you can’t bite your lips or tear off tough skin scales, even if you really want to. So we only more injure the skin and prolong the flaking.
Secondly, moisturize your lips with special balms or lipsticks. It is better not to buy products in jars to touch them with your fingers and not apply a pack of microbes to the lips and the balm.
Thirdly, try natural and as simple as possible means based on wax, petroleum jelly. The more impurities in the composition, the higher the probability that this balm is not suitable for you.
What to do to keep your lips from chapping
The main prevention is simple.
- Drink water as soon as you feel a dry mouth.
- Use indoor humidifiers.
- Protect your lips from the sun with a cream with a UV filter or lipstick.
- Protect lips from frost with hygienic oily lipstick or petroleum jelly
- In winter and autumn, cover your mouth with a scarf from snow, rain, and wind.
- Use only high-quality cosmetics.
- Avoid eating irritating foods.
- Learn to stay calm and not nervous.
Adapted and translated by Wiki Avenue Staff
Sources: Life hacker
