Winter Complaint: Chapped Lips

It's that time of year again!  Seasonal changes can cause major shake-ups in your skin and hair routines.  Winter weather hits and suddenly your skin is dry and flaky, your hair is a static-ky mess, and your lips are chapped and painful.  But don't fret!  Getting rid of chapped lips easy! 

Take note: the information provided here is for mild occurrences only.  If your chapped lips are severe and/or chronic, you might want to seek a physician's advice.  There are prescription treatments available and it could be indicative of something more serious than a winter annoyance.

First, exfoliation helps tremendously.  Dampen the edge of a washcloth and rub it over your lips until they're smooth.  This gets rid of the dry flaky skin less painfully and way more effectively than biting your lips (yeah, we're all guilty of it sometimes).

After you've exfoliated, apply a thick layer of one of Philosophy's super moisturizing Lip Shines before bed and leave it on overnight.  I swear, you'll wake up with brand new lips.  This is a whole level up from the likes of Chapstick and Carmex.  They come in about a million delicious flavors (I'm partial to Red Velvet Cake) and release new flavors pretty frequently.  And since they've dropped in price, they're now only ten dollars!  I've tried other products but always go back to this one to treat my chapped lips.  It really works.

Now that your lips are no longer chapped, the final step is prevention.  You could keep using your Philosophy Lip Shine, but I personally can't stand that kind of thick lip gloss texture during the day so I prefer to use lip balm.  This is when classic cherry Chapstick comes in handy.  Burt's Bees is also extremely popular.  Whatever lip balm you like, the key is to choose one that is moisturizing and sun protecting.  Lips are more susceptible to sunburns so try to pick a balm that contains SPF. 

Lip balms are everywhere and generally pretty cheap, so it's super easy to experiment.  This winter I'm trying out the Smooth Spheres line from eos.  The packaging is clever and fun, the application couldn't be more perfect, and it does a fantastic job of keeping my lips smooth and hydrated.  Plus, it's all natural, smells delicious, and is only three dollars!  Who could ask for more?  This company is genius.