Looking for a Chapped Lips Survival Guide? Get Pro-Tips Now!

If you think that those chapped lips are just a seasonal inconvenience, then you are wrong! Chapped lips are often identified as a sign that your lips’ moisture barrier has been compromised and now your lips are exposed to different environmental stressors. 

So, understanding the different causes of this phenomenon and what exactly your lip has been craving is integral before you lunge forward and pick a random lip care regime.

Without any further delay let’s start off with some pro-tips to keep your lips smooth, hydrated and protected on the go!  

Lips are delicate and that is for a particular reason. The skin of your lips is substantially thinner than the rest of your face which makes it difficult to attract and retain the essential moisture content, resulting in chapped lips. According to the research study by Osseiran et al. (2018), the uppermost layer of the skin, stratum corneum, retains water to keep the skin hydrated. However, it was also observed from the research that if the stratum corneum is thinner, it is more susceptible to retain water due to reduced barrier function. Weakened barrier function of the skin, as per Green et al. (2022), offers lesser protection while being unable to prevent Trans-epidermal Water Loss (TEWL). It results in the appearance of chapped lips, full of irritation, flaking and dryness. 

Furthermore, lips do not have sebaceous glands or hair follicles unlike the rest of the skin in the different parts of the body (Kim et al., 2021). So, the skin of your lips is unable to produce its own sebum to keep them moisturized. At this point different intrinsic and extrinsic factors start taking over your lips while taking advantage of your lips’ inability to create its own sebum or its weakened barrier function. With huge number of nerve endings, the lips are more prone to perceive sensations than any other part of the body, thereby creating a burning, tingling or tightening sensation. 

• Weather Changes: 

The cold gust of air, during the winters, contains limited moisture, which makes the lips dry and dehydrated while losing their natural softness, resulting in roughness and flakiness. Furthermore, Chirikhina (2022) observed that the dry winds strip the lips of it thin and delicate moisture barrier while making the lips unable to prevent TEWL. Contrarily, excessive or regular exposure to sun’s harmful UV radiation often causes the skin of the lips to appear dark, dull, tightened, flaky and more prone to peeling and painful cracks, resulting in chapped lips (Sissons, 2025). 

• Lip Licking Habit: 

Lip licking or picking is a common habit and somewhat 6 out of 10 people are into it. It is so common among people that a specific medical code has been assigned to it while naming it lip licker’s dermatitis which is further defined as an irritant contact dermatitis due to saliva (Spahn, 2021). The habit destroys the thin and delicate moisture barrier of the lips while severely challenging its capability of staying moisturized and hydrated throughout. According to Peyrot des Gachons and Breslin (2016), the human saliva contains different digestive enzymes like alpha-amylase that irritates the lip skin while degrading the delicate moisture barrier, thereby exposing the lips to a wide range of environmental stressors. As the moisture barrier of the lip skin is damaged the lips starts losing moisture faster than usual while making them dry, dehydrated and flaky, resulting in chapped lips. 

• Allergic Reactions and Matte Lip Products: 

Using harsh chemical-induced lipsticks and matte lip products often irritates the lip skin. These types of products often weaken and damage the natural protective barrier of your lips which leads to excessive dryness, irritation and painful cracks, resulting in the appearance of chapped lips (Aad.org, 2026). Harsh chemicals like drying alcohols, artificial fragrances etc. in lip products often trigger allergic reactions, increased sensitivity and inflammation, resulting in peeling and discomfort of the lips’ skin (Britt, 2024). Furthermore, widely used ingredients in toothpastes like Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) and irritating flavouring agents like cinnamaldehyde (cinnamon) or mint dehydrates the lip skin (Budanur, Yaş and Sepet, 2016). So, if your lips are in regular contact with these types of harsh ingredients, it is more prone to wear off the delicate protective layer, losing moisture and resulting in chapped lips. 

• Nutritional Deficiencies: 

Chapped lips are often caused due to deficiency of certain nutrients. It was observed from the study by Ajmera (2020) that Vitamin B and Iron deficiency are some of the major contributing factors for chapped lips. Furthermore, Bhutta and Hafsi (2017) found that inadequacy of B2 (riboflavin) and B3 (niacin) often leads to inflammation and cracking around the lips while resulting in severe discomfort, dryness, flakiness and skin tightening. Similarly, insufficiency of iron often affects the supply of oxygen to the lip skin cells which affects the ability of skin’s tissue repair, finally resulting in cracked dry and chapped lips (Wright, Richards and Srai, 2014). The deficiency of the above-mentioned nutrients often affects the capability of the skin to stay moist and resilient while the barrier function gets compromised. So, addressing these nutritional deficiencies is integral for resolving the chapped lips problem. 

• Dehydration: 

Insufficient water intake can significantly impact on skin’s level of hydration, particular the lips’ skin. When the human body gets dehydrated due to insufficient water in-take the skin starts losing its moisture content, while becoming dry, cracked and completely dehydrated (Lacey et al., 2019). The lips’ skin is specifically susceptible to get dehydrated due to its thinner moisture barrier, and reduced oil producing glands, thereby making them more vulnerable to moisture loss (Mijaljica et al., 2024). Therefore, ensuring proper hydration helps in fixing the barrier function while keeping the lips moist and smooth.  

Lips get cracked, dehydrated and dry causing it to wear that chapped appearance. So, potent care for reversing the chapped lips problem is basically two-fold. Firstly, deep moisturization is what your lips are craving to get rid of it dehydrated state. Secondly, your lips require nourishment and proper healing to get back the delicate moisture barrier which is long devastated while being exposed to different intrinsic and extrinsic factors. 

Before starting off with a moisturizing and nourishing care regime, it is essential to remove the dead and dry skin cells which creates a flaky appearance on chapped lips (Aad.org, 2026). For that using a gentle lip scrub is mostly recommended as it helps in gently removing the dirt and dead skin cells from the uppermost skin layers of the lips while preparing the lips to absorb the nutrients of the nourishing products or stay hydrated as humectants are applied. 

After you are done with that gentle scrubbing, you can finally start your lip hydration care routine with generally available lip moisturization like lip balms, jellies etc. They help in soothing and moisturizing the dried lips. It was observed from the research of Trookman et al. (2009) that using deep moisturizing solutions, that are not harsh and helps in replenishing the moisture loss of the lips helps in recovering and reversing the dry and dehydrated lips to smooth, soft and healthy lips. Moreover, as per the recommendations of American Academy of Dermatology using non-irritating lip balm or colourless petroleum jelly can be helpful in improving the moisture content of dry and dehydrated lips, without causing irritation or inflammation (Aad.org, 2026). So, seeking natural lip care products is essential to maintain the sanity of your lips. 

After settling the problem related to moisturization you can go ahead and focus on healing and reversing the damage that has been already done to your lips. During this phase, you can look up for different healing ingredients like honey, beeswax, candelilla wax etc. to improve the barrier function while protecting your moisturized lips against the environmental stressors. The use of a combination of nourishing and hydrating ingredients helps in strengthening the delicate moisture barrier of your lips while preventing TEWL, thereby reducing the chances of the chapped lips scenario. 

Bottom of Form 

• Honey: 

Honey or the derivatives of honey are excellent natural remedy for treating chapped lips as they act as natural humectants. While working as a natural humectant, honey helps in attracting and retaining the moisture while preventing TEWL (Suwiński and Nowak, 2024). So, it helps to lock in moisture within the lips’ skin for prolonged hydration and prevention of the causes of dehydration. 

• Shea Butter: 

With emollient qualities, Shea Butter deeply nourishes the lip skin while holding in moisture. The ingredient is packed with essential fatty acids and Vitamins like A and E which helps in penetrating the deeper layers of the lip skin and repair dryness (Lin, Zhong and Santiago, 2018). So, it creates a breathable moisture barrier and thereby helps in nourishing and reversing the effects of chapped lips. 

• Coconut Oil: 

Rich in essential fatty acids, especially Lauric acid, coconut oil acts as an effective emollient that deeply penetrates the skin while attracting and locking in moisture to protect sensitive lips from drying out (Abdalla, Aroua and Gew, 2024). Therefore, using coconut oil helps in nourishing the dehydrated lips while supplying ultimate nourishment, for soft and smooth lips.

• Almond Oil: 

A lightweight natural care option that can help with chapped lips due to its Vitamin E content (Santos-Longhurst, 2019). It deeply moisturizes the delicate skin while creating a protective barrier against moisture loss and preventing dehydration as means of avoiding painfully cracked and chapped lips. 

• Beeswax: 

It works miraculously in reversing chapped lips by creating a breathable moisture barrier on the delicate lip skin (Aad.org, 2026). Strengthening the moisture barrier helps in retaining moisture content and preventing TEWL, which makes the lips smooth, soft and healthy.  

Lip care is all about understanding what your lips are craving. So, understanding the care priorities is essential as it helps to pick proper care solutions. Without proper care you can potentially throw your lips to a situation where the moisture is continuously drawn out while leading to persistent dryness, flaking, irritation and painful cracking. 

Preventing dry, dehydrated and chapped lips requires a balanced approach of nourishing and moisturizing the lips’ skin to ensure that the moisture loss is replenished while strengthening the moisture barrier. 

There are different ingredients and ready-to-use products available in the market, but you are the master of your lips and thereby you know what your lips are craving. So, choose wisely! 

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• Abdalla, S., Aroua, M.K. and Gew, L.T., 2024. A comprehensive review of plant-based cosmetic oils (virgin coconut oil, olive oil, argan oil, and jojoba oil): chemical and biological properties and their cosmeceutical applications. ACS omega, 9(44), pp.44019-44032. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11541506/
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• Sissons, C., 2025. Causes and home remedies for dark lips. Medical News Today. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/326104
• Spahn, C., 2021. All About Lip Licker’s Dermatitis. Medical News Today. https://www.healthline.com/health/skin/lip-lickers-dermatitis
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