Tips to Protect Your Lips from Cold, Dry Winter Weather
Winter is the time of the year where the majority of things become just a bit more complicated than usual. The cold weather forces us to hide under multiple layers of clothes to stay warm and dry and it also brings the need to start taking better care of our skin and of course protect your lips.
During winter, the skin on your face is exposed to all outdoor elements. Sadly, this is the part of your skin you can’t wrap in warm clothes and thus protect it. Instead, you’ll need to resort to various skincare products that will help you battle the cold and dry winter weather.
Our lips are arguably the most compromised part during this weather, as not only are they exposed but they can also be quite prone to chapping even when the weather is kinder. That being said, here are some of the ways you can protect your lips during winter and provide them with some extra love and care.
Use lip products
One of the easiest ways you can ensure that your lips stay healthy and protected during winter is to use various lip products. Just like you probably have a dedicated skincare routine, you also need to develop one for your lips during this harsh period. That’s why you should always make sure you moisturize your lips well before you head out, and use some sort of an ointment-based lip balm to lock the moisture in. Of course, none of that will be enough if you don’t exfoliate your lips regularly. By exfoliating your lips, you’ll remove all the dead skin that would otherwise prevent other products from seeping in. Some of the best lip products are the ones with natural components you can easily find here https://www.herbaldynamicsbeauty.com/collections/lip-care.
Avoid licking your lips
Aside from treating your lips with the care they deserve, you should also avoid licking your lips when you’re outside. When our lips feel dry, our natural instinct is to lick them to make them moist. However, the saliva we put on our lips by doing so will actually only cause them to dry out faster, especially if it’s not only cold but windy outside. Aside from this, our saliva actually contains enzymes that are designed to break down and digest food. Those enzymes can, therefore, only further compromise the integrity of your lips.
Avoid cooling products
Although maybe too obvious of an advice, but you should really avoid using any lip products that have a cooling effect during winter. Even though this type of lip product may seem soothing, they actually dry out your lips even faster. So, once you feel that your lips are dry, you apply more product and fall into a vicious cycle of constantly feeling the need to apply something that initially may feel soothing, but is actually causing more harm than good. Instead, look for products that contain beeswax and similar thick ingredients that will form a protective layer over your lips and not only shield them from cold, dry air and wind but moisture as well.
Don’t forget about SPF
Finally, even though it’s wintertime, that doesn’t mean you can – or should – stop using products that contain SPF. Even though the winter sun never looks or feels as “aggressive” as summer sun (subjectively speaking) that doesn’t mean that it can’t still hurt your skin. So, make sure you protect not just your face but your lips as well with a product that contains SPF.
Just a bit more love and care will help you keep your lips feeling nice and looking healthy and juicy all throughout winter. So, make sure you do your part and provide your lips with all the care they deserve.
12 Comments
Kate Sarsfield
I find that building up a sweat dries out my top lip (from the salt) so always try to use balm when gardening in cold weather.
heather
I take super good car of my lips and am constantly putting lip balm on daily. I have lip balm all over the house, in my purse and in the car.
Kate Sarsfield
Now that I wear a mask everywhere, my lips are much better. I even wear it in the house to keep my nose warm in the winter!
Rosie
I have a batch of DIY cream melting on the lowest temp on the stove right now, so the mixture only gets warm enough to melt. Shea butter is very emollient, and when I make lip balm, I use beeswax. I use organic ingredients (and raw if possible), and it is still way less expensive than buying products, and you can add what you like for essential oil, etc. A few adds I like are rosehip oil, cocoa butter, rose essential oil. Right now I’m going to use lemon.
I have lip balm tubes in my Amazon cart, I’d like to try putting my DIY lip balm into tubes rather than small jars. Another project in the making!!
megan allen
Thank you for this awesome advice! My lips aren’t as bad as my hands right now! I barely go anywhere. The store and the doctor. I avoid going out in the cold at all costs and that was before the pandemic! But my hands are still so dry!! The constant hand washing, sanitizer and disinfecting isn’t helping my case at all!
Dana
Now if only I could get my heals to quit getting so rough (why do they do that in the winter?).
Stephanie H
Good to know! Burts Bees peppermint is my FAVE, but I’ll need to start trying others in the winter months. Ty!
Rosie
I make my own lip balm, b/c I’m a addict at using this stuff! This post just made me realize, though, that my own concoctions don’t have any SPF. Hmmm I have to figure this out. And this just made me run and put some lip balm on, too!
Crystal K
And wear your mask! Masks are awesome for keeping you warm and helping you avoid the harsh winter wind, which will help you avoid dry lips. Win-win!
Dana Rodriguez
These are awesome tips. I have to wear lip products year round but winter makes all of my skin dry.
Kelly Kimmell
My skin has been especially dry this winter, my lips too. Thanks for the tips.
Tamra Phelps
The minute I think of not licking my lips, I have the urge to lick them, lol. My skin is dry all over with this weather.