Natural Ways To Avoid Chapped Lips

1. Stay hydrated!

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If you aren't hydrated, you're lips aren't going to be either! The most crucial thing to stopping your lips from chapping is keeping your body hydrated! Keep drinking lots of water throughout the day and your skin will become naturally more plump and hydrated as a result.

2. Avoid licking your lips

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Lip licking is a habit that can totally dry your lips out - even if you think it's doing the opposite! But when you lick your lips they then dry, taking out more moisture and leaving them dryer than before! So hold back on the lick-lipping if you don't want chapped lips.

3. Apply lip balm frequently

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Lip balm is, of course, intended for the very reason of hydrating your lips so that you don't get chapped lips! Applying lip balm is a super easy way to keep moisture and add moisture to your lips. Carry one around with you and get in the habit of applying it.

4. Don't use Vaseline!

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Petroleum jelly or Vaseline is one of the go-to products we think of using when we have dry lips. But it's not the best thing we could be using because although Vaseline locks in our natural moisture, it doesn't add any moisture. And, it makes our lips reliant on Vaseline for moisture which can make them even drier!

5. Use a gentle lip scrub

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Removing dead skin cells from our slips is a good way to make sure that our lips don't get too crusty and chapped. All you need is a gentle lip scrub to massage in and the outer layer that's all dead and dry will be removed. Do this occasionally, and not daily!

6. Avoid wearing matte lipsticks

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Matte lipsticks really do suck all of the moisture out of our skin because they have no moisture in them. Glossy lipsticks are much more hydrating for our lips because they have added moisture, and so they don't remove as much from our lips, so it's something to think about when you're applying your next lipstick!

7. Avoid harsh weather

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Harsh weathers have one of the biggest roles to play in giving us chapped lips. When it's super cold outside the air takes all of the moisture from your lips and it's hard to keep them feeling soft. When it's too warm the hot air also pulls the moisture from your skin leaving you feeling dry!

8. Use a lip mask

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Lip masks are a great way to get moisture back into your lips. You can do this overnight, even for 10 minutes here and there, whenever you have the time. They lock in a lot of moisture giving your lips a quick moisture boost that will help them from getting chapped.

9. Don't pick your lips!

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Why is it that as soon as we have chapped lips, we want to pull off the dead skin? Even when we're tugging at a piece of dead skin and it hurts there's something that makes us want to keep on tugging. But don't do this. Then you'll have chapped, cut, and sore lips.

10. Massage your lips frequently

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Massaging is a great way to encourage blood flow to the area, and when blood flow increases so does oxygen. Both of these things could help your lips feel more moisturized and it's super easy and quick to do. Give them a massage every night to avoid getting chapped lips.

11. Eat a balanced diet

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Really it all comes down to our diet, doesn't it? Our bodies are based on what we eat, and so we have to provide them with the correct things. If you don't want chapped lips and it's happening a lot, take a look at your diet because if we don't have enough vitamins and nutrients it can lead to dry lips.

12. Drink less caffeine and alcohol

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Caffeine and alcohol are super drying as they take moisture from your body. Your lips are also touching them when you drink it so they are also taking even more moisture from your lips. Although it's tempting to wake yourself up with a coffee and unwind with a glass of wine, hold back a little, and see if it helps your lips.

13. Use a lip balm with natural ingredients

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If we're applying a tonne of lip balm and our lips are still chapping...then it could be the kind you are using. Not ALL lip balms work and some have the opposite effect. Check to see if it has natural ingredients in it such as beeswax or honey, these should make a huge difference.

14. Use a humidifier

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If the air is dry around you, some of the moisture from your body will most likely be taken into the air around you. If the air is full of moisture, some of that moisture will be going back into your skin and so using a humidifier can do this! It's a sure way to make sure your surroundings aren't chapping your lips.

15. Avoid allergens

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When you have allergies or foods that don't agree with you they can trigger chapped lips. When these things irritate your foods it will naturally make them more dry and susceptible to chapping. So if there are foods you notice irritate your lips or body, try and avoid them!

16. Don't have your showers too hot

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Hot showers are not good for your skin as the excessive heat will dry your skin out. It's much better the keep the heat milder, which will not dry your skin out so much. Hot showers and dry lips are not a good combination. So cool down your showers to avoid chapping!

17. Turn the aircon off!

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Blasting the air-con might make you feel good on a hot summer's day, but you'll probably notice that your skin feels super dry after a day with air-con and it may even feel slightly irritated. As a better option to aircon, try opening your windows for a breeze! Or, keeping the aircon to a minimum.

18. Stay away from super acidic foods

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Studies show that acidic foods can dry your skin out more when they come into contact. So when you're eating lemons and oranges etc, although they are super good for you they may make your lips feel dry. So, if you; 're trying to avoid chapped lips perhaps steer clear from acidic foods for a while.

19. Steer clear from alcohol-based mouthwashes

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As we previously mentioned, alcohol takes moisture from our body and skin making us feel dry. So when you're using mouthwash it is a good idea to check if it is alcohol-free as this will dry out your lips less, meaning that your lips are less likely to get chapped!

20. Use aloe vera and vitamin E

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Aloe Vera and vitamin E are both two great things in maintaining the natural moisture barrier of our skin. They are both soothing too, so they can help keep chapped lips at bay. Look for moisturizers or products with these two ingredients to help moisturize your lips.

21. Don't bite your lips!

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Lip biting is often a habit that people do when they're nervous or distracted, but when your teeth are scraping the skin it's also taking out the moisture from your skin. It will leave your lips feeling dry and cracked and very possibly....super chapped too!

22. Practice deep breathing

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Deep breathing is definitely not something we would immediately associate with the moisture of our lips or as a way to avoid chapped lips. But deep breathing is great for maintaining moisture in the whole of your body as it increases the blood flow to all areas!

23. Keep away from spicy foods

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Spicy foods are delicious (if you're a spice lover anyway) but they can dry out your lips as the spice can irritate your lips making them feel tingly. And you probably won't notice but the spices can slowly dry them out. If you don't want to cut out the spice, then just make sure you wash them after eating!

24. Incorporate vitamin C into your diet

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You'll often see Vitamin C as an ingredient in moisturizers and this is because it's an important vitamin to hydrate the body and to help retain moisture. But aside from putting it on through skin care, it's even more important to incorporate it into your diet!

25. Breathe through your nose not your mouth

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Breathing through our mouth is one of the worst ways to dry out our mouth area. You will not keep the moisture in and after breathing through your mouth you'll probably feel like you have a dry mouth, throat, AND lips. If you can, it's better to breathe through your nose and keep the moisture locked in.

26. Make sure you have healthy fat in your diet

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Healthy fats are the good kind of fats that we should be having lots of in our diet. So it's things like fatty fish, or avocado and nuts. They're all super beneficial not only for our health but also for keeping us moisturized from the inside out. You can even feel the layer of fat on your lips after oily fish which is also great to hydrate.

27. Use a lip SPF

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The sun saps our skin's moisture, and especially when you burn in the sun. Protect your lips from burning with SPF, because if you've ever sunburnt your lips before you'll know that it's not a pleasant experience at all and it's pretty inevitable that they'll chap!

28. Don't use flavored lip products

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Fruity lip balm, strawberry scented, watermelon lip oil...it lures you in because it sounds amazing, right? But while the flavoring sounds and smells appealing, it's actually not doing your skin any good and in fact, it could be drying them out even more. So opt for flavorless and unscented lip products.

29. Don't crank the heating up

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Heating is the number one culprit when it comes to giving us chapped lips. When the heating is on, the air is dryer and it means the moisture will leave our skin. And, when the heating is on outside and you step outside into the cold, these changes in temperature are another thing to dry out your lips!

30. Protect your lips when you're swimming in chlorine pools

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Swimming is great fun and a great way to excessive so we're not suggesting you don't get in a pool. But if you don't want chapped lips you could either keep your head out of the water or even better protect them with a waterproof lip balm to stop the chlorine from drying them out.