Both extreme heat and frigid temperatures can cause dryness and flaking, particularly on the lips, where skin is thin. For a lot of us, chapped lips are inevitable in the cold weather and dry air. “In the winter there’s way less humidity in the air and so the cold air pulls moisture from the skin,” says Dr. Kiran Mian, a board-certified dermatologist at Hudson Dermatology and Laser Surgery in New York City.
The best way to prevent and get rid of chapped lips is to target the causes by keeping your body and environment hydrated whenever possible, dermatologists say. (That includes drinking lots of water and using a humidifier.) But not all lip hydrators are created equally: “One of the most important things is making sure that you are applying the correct type of lip care,” says Dr. Carmen Castilla, a board-certified dermatologist at the New York Dermatology Group in Manhattan.
Below, we rounded up everything you need to know about treating chapped lips and keeping them smooth all year long.
SKIP AHEAD What causes chapped lips? | The best products to prevent and treat dry, chapped lips | How to prevent and treat dry, chapped lips | Why trust NBC Select?
What causes chapped lips?
Chapped lips can be caused by a combination of different things, depending on where you live and certain genetic factors. Below are a few common reasons you might have dry, chapped lips, according to dermatologists:
- Environmental factors, including cold air, low humidity and indoor heat, are the biggest culprits causing dry skin in the winter. (If you have dry air in your home, invest in a humidifier to prevent chapped, flaky lips, dermatologists say.)
- The biology of the lips, however, also plays a role. Lips don’t have oil glands like the rest of the skin, making them particularly vulnerable to dryness, says Dr. Hadley King, a board-certified dermatologist in New York City. On top of that, the skin on the lips is thin, meaning moisture is more prone to escaping.
- Certain medications, including acne treatments like Accutane or isotretinoin, can also cause chronic chapped lips, says Castilla.
- Individual habits might make you more prone to dryness, like if you tend to breathe out of your mouth (especially when you’re sleeping). “The constant airflow over the lips is drying,” says Castilla.
The best products to prevent and treat dry, chapped lips
The below lip balms, masks and chapsticks are recommended by dermatologists and NBC Select staff to help you prevent and treat dry lips all winter.
How to prevent and treat dry chapped lips
No one is immune to chapped lips, even those who have oily skin. To prevent and treat chapped lips this winter, experts stress the importance of finding a lip product that works well for you. Below, we gathered dermatologists’ tips to consider when you shop.
Look for the right type of moisturizer
To heal damaged lips, experts recommend looking for formulas that have the following types of moisturizers:
- Occlusives: Moisturizing ingredients and waxes that form a physical barrier on the skin are the most important ingredients in preventing water loss from the skin in winter. The most common occlusives found in lip treatments are petrolatum (petroleum jelly), coconut oil and beeswax.
- Emollients: Ingredients such as ceramides or squalane help strengthen the skin barrier, repairing damage. “Think of ceramides like the building block of your skin barrier,” says Mian. “Using a product with ceramides in it is going to help your skin to heal and going to help it to become nice and strong so that it’s less prone to moisture loss,” she says.
- Humectants: Ingredients such as hyaluronic acid or aloe vera help to draw moisture into the skin by binding with water molecules.
To treat chapped lips, you’ll want to look for products with emollients and/or occlusives, says King. “Humectant ingredients need to be combined with emollients and occlusives to be effective,” she says. Without these key components, any water pulled into the skin by humectants can evaporate, leaving lips even dryer.
Avoid irritating ingredients
As a general rule of thumb, simpler is better. Paradoxically, many popular lip balms and chapsticks have ingredients that irritate lips and cause further dryness. “There’s a lot of products on the market and some of them can be very irritating,” says Castilla.
Added ingredients can increase the risk of putting your lips in contact with something that might be irritating to already damaged skin. Castilla says cooling ingredients like camphor and menthol (a type of alcohol) as ones to watch out for. “They give a nice cooling sensation but they can end up leading to more dry, irritated skin,” she says. If you have sensitive skin and/or skin conditions like eczema, Castilla recommends avoiding fragrances and certain irritating flavorings like cinnamon and peppermint, which are all more likely to cause allergic reactions.
Finding a nonirritating balm may require a little trial and error. “Some people might be totally fine using Burt’s Bees, which has menthol in it, but for other people, that product might cause more irritation,” says Mian. If you’ve been using a balm for several days and see no improvement (or worsening dryness), consider switching to something gentler.
Choose something you’ll actually want to use
For any product to be effective, you have to actually want to use it regularly. There’s room for personal preference in choosing the best lip treatment. Mian, for example, tends to like waxy, stick-based formulas that are easy to reapply throughout the day and don’t require the use of your finger, “which may or may not be dirty,” she says. Castilla, on the other hand, avoids chapsticks since they typically have beeswax, which can be irritating to some people. Appearance may also be important to you — choosing a balm with a matte finish over a glossy formula may make you more likely to reapply.
Meet our experts
At NBC Select, we work with experts who have specialized knowledge and authority based on relevant training and/or experience. We also take steps to ensure all expert advice and recommendations are made independently and without undisclosed financial conflicts of interest.
- Dr. Navin Arora is a board-certified dermatologist and clinical assistant professor at the Ronald O. Perelman Department of Dermatology at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. He is the founder of Borealis Dermatology in New York.
- Dr. Carmen Castilla is a board-certified dermatologist at the New York Dermatology Group in Manhattan specializing in both medical and cosmetic dermatology.
- Dr. Hadley King is a board-certified dermatologist at her own private practice in New York City. Her areas of expertise include medical and cosmetic dermatology.
- Dr. Kiran Mian is a board-certified dermatologist at Hudson Dermatology and Laser Surgery in New York City. She specializes in holistic treatments to target issues relating to hair, skin and nails.
Why trust NBC Select?
Macaela MacKenzie is a journalist and former Glamour editor who has covered beauty and wellness treatments for over a decade. Mili Godio is an updates editor at NBC Select who has written about beauty and skin care for four years. For this article, MacKenzie and Godiospoke to dermatologists about the causes of chapped lips, behavior changes that can help prevent them and the best products for remedying dryness.
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