The lips, which are the edge of the mouth and also called the lips, not only trap food in the oral cavity, but also play a role in creating a space for vocalization in the oral cavity to ensure accurate and diverse pronunciation. In addition, it can be said that the role of the lips to create a communication expression by participating in the microscopic muscle action of the face is also the main function of the lips. The lips, which play such an important role, are the thinnest and weakest part of the body, and because of the large number of capillaries distributed, they are easily cracked and chapped if insufficient care is taken.
Especially in winter, when the cold and dry weather continues, the lips are more easily chapped than in other seasons due to lack of moisture. If your lips are cracked and cracked like this, you not only pay a lot of attention to the cosmetic part, but also bleeding may occur between the cracked lips, so more careful management is important. These chapped lips can be caused not only by the influence of cold and dry weather, but also by other causes. So, today, let’s take a closer look at the various causes of chapped lips and various methods that can help you solve them.
Reason for chapped lips
The main cause of chapped lips is the effect of dry weather. Unlike other skin types, lips don’t have sebaceous and sweat glands, and because there are a lot of capillaries distributed, there is a lot of heat dissipation, so moisture dries more easily. In autumn and winter, when dry weather continues, it is easy to lose moisture, which makes your lips chapped. In addition, dry weather as well as dry indoor environments are the main causes of chapped lips, and if the use of heating products such as heaters or air heaters increases, the symptoms will get worse. In addition, it is said that the lips are easily chapped when the intake of various vitamins such as vitamin C, vitamin A, and vitamin B is insufficient. These various vitamin components are closely related to the skin health and immunity management of our body, and when they are deficient, the skin becomes brittle and loses elasticity. And it is said that these abnormal skin health affects the lips, making them crack and crack easily.
In addition, the habit of biting your lips frequently, the habit of touching your lips with your hands frequently, and exposure to excessive UV rays easily evaporate the moisture on the surface of the lips, which is said to act as a cause of chapped lips. In addition, it is known that lips are easily chapped and cracked even if there is a herpes virus that is dormant in the body and is expressed when immunity is low, diabetes, psoriasis, thyroid, and immune-related diseases. In most cases, lip chafing can be solved and prevented by paying more attention to lifestyle, unless it is caused by a disease. Therefore, it is important to familiarize yourself with the various methods that can help relieve symptoms and manage them consistently.
How to treat and manage chapped lips
1. Maintaining moisture on the lips using lip balm or moisturizer
When the dry weather continues and your lips are easily chapped, carry a lip balm or moisturizer and apply it from time to time to keep your lips hydrated and help prevent and manage chapped lips. However, even if you try to apply such a lip balm or moisturizer, if there are dead skin cells on your lips, it will not be absorbed well. It is recommended to remove the dead skin cells without irritation using a moisturizing cream rather than peeling them. Also, by warming a towel to soak the dead skin cells on the lips and gently rubbing them with a cotton swab, it is said that the dead skin cells on the lips can be removed as much as possible without irritation. In addition, using honey and brown sugar can effectively remove dead skin cells. After mixing honey and brown sugar in a ratio of 1:2 each, apply it around the lips and wash it off after 5 minutes to remove dead skin cells and manage and maintain moist lips.
2. Drinking plenty of water
It is also said that it is very important to maintain sufficient moisture in the body by constantly drinking enough water as much as it is caused by the lack of moisture on the surface of the lips for chapped and cracked lips. In addition, it is important to properly control the indoor humidity by using a humidifier, or by placing wet towels or laundry on the floor because dry indoor environments also cause chapped lips.
3. Sufficient intake of various vitamins
Lack of certain vitamins, such as vitamins A and C, is the main cause of chapped and cracked lips. In addition, if the deficiency of these vitamins continues for a long time, it can act as a cause of various diseases such as herpes labialis and labialitis. Therefore, it is important to eat enough vegetables and fruits rich in various vitamins. In particular, chapped lips occur a lot in the cold winter, so it is a good way to eat foods in which winter is the main season in a balanced way.
In addition, since the skin of the lips is closely related to the immune system, which can be called the body’s shield, it is important to reduce the excessive mental stress that causes the weakening of the immune function, and to get enough sleep and rest. In addition, there are many cases of habitually applying saliva to the lips. When saliva is applied to the lips in this way, the lips feel temporarily moist, but the digestive enzymes such as amylase and maltase contained in the saliva further promote dryness of the lips, which can cause more cracked and chapped lips. Therefore, it is recommended to avoid the habit of applying saliva to the lips.
