Lack of self-protection
Dry lips: these are the mistakes to avoid
When it’s cold outside and warm inside, lips dry out particularly quickly
© Tetiana Mandziuk / Getty Images
Lips have no sweat or sebum glands that protect them from drying out. Due to the lack of a grease film, they quickly become brittle and cracked, in the worst case they even burst and bleed. The care of dry lips is all the more important.
When the outside temperature drops and the heating is turned up, our lips dry out particularly quickly. The skin begins to tighten, becomes rough and cracked – or even tears. Not only does it look ugly, it is also very painful. Especially when the corners of the mouth tear and become infected. In addition to the freezing cold outside and the warm air inside, there can be other reasons that promote dry lips. Which these are and how to keep your mouth hydrated is explained in more detail below.
The most common causes of dry lips
It’s not just temperature fluctuations that cause your lips to dry out. In fact, there are numerous causes:
Your body is getting too little liquid: If you don’t drink enough throughout the day, your lips will dry out. In addition, people who sweat profusely or who suffer from diarrhea lose too much fluid.
If you are under stress your body may shut down certain functions that it considers to be less important. This also includes the production of saliva, which keeps the mouth and lips moist.
Usually serve Care pens to protect the lips from drying out. However, if you apply them too often, your lips can get too used to them – and dry out once you don’t use them.
Dry lips can also be an expression of a deficiency symptom. You miss Vitamin B2, zinc or iron, it could be due to your diet – for example, if you do not consume meat, fish or dairy products.
Periodically suffer from Herpes? The viral disease is not only extremely annoying and painful, it also dries out your lips. Unfortunately, the infection cannot be stopped, but it is easy to treat.
Properly caring for dry lips: this is how it works
Healthy drinking behavior
To prevent your body from drying out in the first place, which would inevitably affect your lips as well, you should drink enough fluids – ideally in the form of water (with or without carbon dioxide) or unsweetened tea.
Natural lip care
Only use lip balm sticks that do not contain mineral oils such as MOSH, MOAH and POSH. According to Stiftung Warentest, almost all natural cosmetic products are recommended, for example from Weleda, Logona or Sante.
Balanced nutrition
In order to prevent deficiency symptoms, you should eat a balanced and healthy diet. If you wanted to avoid animal products, you can balance your vitamin B2 balance with vegetables such as kale, peas or broccoli. Iron is found in lentils, sesame seeds, and pumpkin seeds.
The best home remedies for dry lips
- Cover your lips with a little olive oil – its moisturizing effect should make chapped lips velvety again, similar to a cosmetic grease stick.
- Cream your lips with honey overnight – its antiseptic and antibacterial properties soothe minor inflammation. Manuka honey is even more suitable.
Use a little oil and sugar to make a lip exfoliant. It is primarily used to remove small pieces of skin and to care for the lips.
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Source:Stiftung Warentest
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