Ready to say goodbye to dry lips? Say hello to lip masks—an easy way to pamper your pout and help your lips feel their best.

July 29, 2021

Are you dealing with dry lips? Sometimes winter and poor personal care can get the best of us and dry lips show up without an invite. But, you can experience chapped lips any time of year if you neglect that area of your skin. The result? They can feel tight, flakey, and downright uncomfortable. Here’s the thing—dry lips are really just your body’s way of saying they’re thirsty for additional hydration and need some extra special care. But, what are some of the causes of dry lips and how can you pamper your pout? Here’s everything you should know about perfecting your pucker. 

What May Cause Chapped Lips

So, why does the skin on your lips get so much dryer than other parts on your body? First off, the skin is thinner. That skin also doesn’t have any oil glands, so it can’t produce moisture on its own. This means that without deliberately hydrating your lips—be it with your hourly chapstick application or a nightly moisturizing routine—they can easily dry out from weather, sunburn or breathing with your mouth open. But, those aren’t the only reasons you might experience chapped lips. Let’s take a closer look at some of the other possibilities.

External Factors

You might scorn humidity in the summer for frizzing your hair, but you should be thanking it for helping to keep your skin hydrated and giving you those soft lips you love. Here’s the thing, when winter rolls around and that summer humidity disappears, your lips no longer have a natural airborne moisturizer. But, be careful about spending all of your time outdoors in the summer trying to get a hold of all that humidity. Frequent sun exposure can also be one of the causes of dry lips—especially the bottom one.

It’s not all about weather either. When we say external factors, we’re also talking about the food on your plate. Spicy food can compromise the skin’s barrier on your lips, which could make dry lips worse. And the heat in those shishito peppers from Japan or those chorizo tacos from Mexico might leave you licking your lips in an attempt to cool them down. As a result, the saliva from your tongue may strip moisture from the lip’s skin. So, while you might love trying the local cuisine during your travels, consider steering clear of spices if you’re especially prone to frequent chapped lips.

Let’s not forget about water, either. When your body is dehydrated, your skin may be more prone to becoming dry—and this can go for anywhere on your body, but especially your lips.

Other Considerations

Let’s say you’ve increased your water intake, eliminated all spicy food, and frequently started applying chapstick, but you still can’t figure out how to get rid of dry lips. Well, it might be out of your control. Let’s chat allergies. That red lipstick you love to wear and the rose-scented moisturizer you can’t live without may not be as loved by your skin. In fact, you may experience an allergic reaction on your lips due to pigments in makeup, skincare products, and fragranced products. The result could include dry, dry lips. But, it’s not always allergies. It could also come down to nutrition. Without the right amount of iron, zinc and B vitamins, your skin may suffer, which could result in dryness of your lips.

How to Help Get Rid of Dry Lips

So, we’ve identified some of the causes of chapped lips, but now we have to figure out how to revive those soft lips you long for. Here are some of the most important do’s and don’ts for pampering your pout:

Do’s

• Listen to your lips: Do they feel tight and dry? They’re telling you they need some hydration—be sure to apply lip balm early on. 
• Stay hydrated: Drink at least 64 ounces of water every day. Why? When your body is dehydrated, your skin can dry out—especially on your lips. 
• Protect your lips: Venturing out into dry weather? Whether it’s hot or cold, be sure to apply a lubricating lip balm (with sunscreen containing SPF 30 or higher) before you head out the door.​
• Use a lip mask: Since you can’t apply chapstick while sleeping, lip masks can do the job for you. Products with feel-good formulas can leave lips feeling smooth, soft, and supple, like the Artistry Studio™ Pampered Pout Lip Balm + Overnight Mask. Made with shea butter and starfruit nectar, this lip mask instantly softens and relieves dryness. Best of all, it can double as your go-to lip balm during the day for lasting hydration if you choose not to wear it as a lip mask at night.
• Turn on your humidifier: We get it—you can’t always peel your fingers off the keyboard during your virtual meeting or class when working from home. But, what if your lips are in desperate need of some hydration? Consider using a humidifier, which can add extra moisture into the air for hands-off hydration that will leave your lips feeling a little more loved.
• Exfoliate your lips: You probably give your body a good scrub every once in a while, so why not your lips? Dry lips contain a layer of dry skin that can block moisture from being absorbed. That means those lip masks and balms might be going to waste. Don’t have a lip scrub product you love? Try making your own with a mixture of sugar and baking soda.

Don’ts

• Use drying products: This includes anything that contains fragrance, salicylic acid, camphor, or menthol. These may cause skin irritation and reduced hydration, which could lead to dry lips.​
• Breathe through your mouth: Start putting that nose of yours to work. Mouth breathing can dry out your lips. You might not be able to help it when you’re sleeping, but pay special attention to how you breathe during the day.
• Wear flavored lip balms: A strawberry-flavored lip balm can be hard to resist, but flavored products can cause you to lick your lips more than usual. And, all of that extra saliva on the surface can dry your skin out and leave you with dry lips.
• Smoke: Besides the obvious adverse effects it has on your overall health, tobacco can irritate the sensitive skin around your lips, which may cause them to dry out and crack.

Now that you’ve got all the tools to succeed, say goodbye to dry skin and give your lips the love they deserve. Between using the right products and adopting skin-healthy habits (or avoiding the harmful ones), you can achieve a softer and smoother smooch all day long.