Why do lips dry out?
Before looking for a way to quickly moisturize your lips, you should find out the cause of the problem. Depending on what formed the basis for the lack of moisture, you can choose a suitable remedy for complete restoration.
Causes of dry lips:
- Harmful environment. Cold, heat, windy weather and poor air quality. Cold and heat provoke a decrease in moisture in tissues. The condition worsens during strong winds.
- Stress. Situations when a person is very nervous and involuntarily licks his lips (a standard human reaction). The saliva that covers the delicate skin dries quickly, drying out the problem area.
- Medicines that affect the salivary glands, for example, drugs aimed at reducing appetite.
- Oral care products with high fluoride content. The element is characterized by a dehydrating effect. Thin skin is not able to retain moisture for a long time, as the dermis does on other parts of the body.
- Cosmetics: long-lasting lipsticks, matte formulations, tints and products with a dry/powdery effect. Pigments for artistic makeup. Powdering for better durability of conventional products speeds up drying.
- Unhealthy lifestyle: poor nutrition worsens the situation with vitamin saturation of the whole body. Lack of water (maintaining water balance is the key to health), alcohol, and tobacco are harmful.
- Diseases that cause dry mouth. These include allergic reactions, lip burns, dental diseases, inflammatory pathologies, bacterial and hormonal diseases.
Excessive dryness can be caused by a cold with a profuse runny nose and nasal congestion. With frequent inhalation and exhalation through the mouth, the lips become chapped and dry. During such a period, it is especially important to know how to keep your lips moisturized.
Reasons for the development of cheilitis
The main causes of the disease include:
- Dermatoses seem to be the most common cause of cheilitis. Skin diseases such as psoriasis, lupus erythematosus, syphilis, tuberculosis, lichen, also often provoke inflammation of the red border of the lips.
- Thyroid diseases.
- Allergies to various kinds of external factors, professional activities.
- Adverse weather conditions.
- Hereditary predisposition.
- Decreased immunity, gastrointestinal diseases.
What should healthy lips look like?
Those who know how to moisturize their lips can boast of their naturally beautiful appearance. The natural red hue is due to the location of blood vessels near the surface.
Signs of healthy lips:
- smooth skin;
- smooth texture;
- pleasant natural shade;
- no peeling or cracking.
Healthy lips have even, uniform pigmentation without light or dark areas. Healthy skin looks elastic, it is not prone to irritation, peeling and allergies.
If a whitened area is detected, it means that the delicate skin does not receive enough hydration or there are not enough vitamins in the body:
- A,
- E,
- WITH.
First you need to learn how to use the right cosmetics. This applies to all people, because even if there are no problems with the lips, a careful attitude will not be superfluous.
You need to be able to choose the right cosmetics. And the first thing people pay attention to is the composition. Oil-based products should contain only natural ingredients:
- jojoba oil,
- cocoa,
- shi,
- nut oils.
It is best to buy products at a pharmacy or labeled “pharmacy product”. This means that cosmetics:
- passed dermatological tests,
- approved by experts
- considered safe.
In addition to moisturizers, there are small life hacks to improve the color and contour of your lips.
Shock freezing is often used: using ice to massage the lips. With prolonged exposure to cold, the appearance of the lips deteriorates, but short periods of exposure to shock cold cause the capillaries to expand sharply. Blood flows closer to the skin and provides:
- more active saturation with oxygen and nutrients,
- more saturated lip color.
The most common advice for lip care is the use of special lipstick. But there are several ways to moisturize your lips without chapstick.
Types of cheilitis
All types of cheilitis are divided into two groups:
- symptomatic (cheilitis, as a manifestation of the underlying disease);
- true (as an independent disease).
Types of symptomatic cheilitis and their clinical manifestations
The symptomatic group includes the following types of cheilitis:
- Eczematous - develops against the background of eczema, characterized by redness, swelling, burning and pathological changes in the skin of the lips. If left untreated, it becomes chronic.
- Macrocheilitis - this form of cheilitis is considered a component of Melkersson-Rossolimo-Rosenthal syndrome. There is severe itching and swelling of not only the lip, but also other parts of the face.
- Atopic - a predisposition to allergies to medications and food is a prerequisite for the development of inflammation. It manifests itself as peeling, redness, itching of the skin of the lips, and the formation of cracks in the corners of the mouth.
TOP 5 salon techniques
Women who are faced with dry lip skin sometimes do not know what to do with such a deficiency.
The most effective and fastest results are provided by cosmetic procedures. Here are the most popular ones:
Laser resurfacing
Used quite often. The essence of the method is to eliminate dead skin particles using a laser beam.
Sanding is not for everyone. If there are deep injuries, you will have to heal them first.
Non-injection hydration with hyaluronic acid
The surface of the lips is pre-cleaned. Then a concentrated composition of useful components and vitamins is applied.
Therapeutic substances penetrate deep into tissues using an electroporation apparatus.
The procedure provides complete hydration, improved color, and increased volume. The results obtained will last 2 – 4 months.
After this, you will need to repeat the manipulations. The impact of the unit is carried out under local anesthesia, so pain is not felt.
CONTRAINDICATIONS
- women during pregnancy and breastfeeding;
- people with malignant and benign tumors;
- patients with diabetes mellitus;
- patients with pathologies of the cardiovascular system.
Injection method
To replenish the lack of moisture, special fillers are used. They contain hyaluronic acid and lidocoine, which are necessary for painless injections. This procedure is called contour plastic surgery.
The result is not only hydration, but also enlargement of the lip area. This fact stops many.
But you need to understand that it is not necessary to greatly enlarge your lips, since an experienced doctor can introduce a small amount of fillers, so you will not notice much of a difference in size.
You can also perform lip biorevitalization. This is a procedure during which hyaluronic acid is injected into the skin layers.
In this case, the lips do not change in size, but enormous hydration occurs.
Vitamin complex
A mask enriched with vitamins is applied to the surface of the lips. The composition also includes other substances with beneficial properties:
- fixed oils;
- natural fruit acids;
- nutritional ingredients;
- beeswax.
A pronounced positive result will be visible after the first visit to the cosmetologist’s office.
Collagen mask
Suitable for quickly getting rid of flaking, giving softness and smoothness to the skin. The therapeutic effect of the mask lasts for 5 hours.
However, the procedure cannot be repeated too often. The ideal option would be sessions held twice a week.
Problem: sores and crusts appear in the corners of the mouth!
Who is guilty? As a rule, streptococcus, sometimes fungi of the genus candida. From frost, dry air or lack of vitamins, local immunity decreases, and all sorts of “evil spirits” begin to multiply in the corners of the lips. If the cause of cheilitis (as doctors call seizures) is a streptococcal infection, first a blister appears, which, upon bursting, forms a festering wound, and then a crust. If the culprits of the jams are fungi, then the surface of the lips becomes red, shiny, as if covered with varnish, a little later sores appear, sometimes a grayish-white coating.
Sometimes jams appear due to poorly fitting dentures, wearing braces and improper bite. Saliva accumulates in the corners of the lips, causing damage to the skin and creating a favorable environment for the proliferation of microorganisms.
What to do? Ointments containing antibiotics or antifungal components will help get rid of sores and cracks. And to prevent seizures from appearing again, make sure that your diet has enough vitamin B2 (there is a lot of it in legumes, unrefined grains, green leafy vegetables and dairy products), vitamin PP (its main source is cereals), vitamin A (contained in in carrots, green and red vegetables and fruits, beef liver) and vitamin E (vegetable oils, eggs, spinach, seeds and nuts are rich in it).
In facts and figures: about 90% of people are infected with the herpes simplex virus Read more
Treatment of cheilitis
This disease requires special treatment, depending on the cause, type and degree of the inflammatory process. The main methods of treating cheilitis:
- local treatment of the surface of the skin of the lips with disinfectant solutions, ointments, vitamin oil solutions;
- physiotherapeutic methods: Bucca radiation, ultrasound, laser therapy;
- a course of vitamin therapy;
- rinsing the mouth with decoctions of medicinal herbs.
If necessary, to eliminate the causes of the disease, specialized specialists may be involved: a dermatologist, an allergist, an infectious disease specialist.
Diagnostic features
If inflammation appears on the lip, it is advisable to visit a therapist, for children a pediatrician, if indicated, an infectious disease specialist, a dentist, or other specialized specialists. Diagnosing cheilitis is usually not difficult - a specialist will conduct an examination, listen to complaints and prescribe a series of tests. If the allergic nature of the disease is suspected, allergy tests may be recommended, and if plaque appears, it is advisable to take a scraping. To detect endocrine and other disorders that may cause the disease, biochemical blood tests and other diagnostic methods are often prescribed. In rare cases, a biopsy is required to differentiate cheilitis from other pathologies. This will help to exclude the malignant or precancerous nature of inflammatory formations and prescribe the correct treatment.
Expert opinion
- Cosmetologist
- Surgeon
Michelle Ellern
practicing cosmetologist-dermatologist
Dry lip skin, covered with cracks and crusts, does not look very pleasant and brings a lot of discomfort. To get rid of the deficiency and restore health and beauty to the skin, you can use salon methods, pharmaceutical preparations, as well as folk recipes. It is in combination that you can get an excellent effect. Proper daily care will help prevent problems from occurring.
Theda Contis
plastic surgeon
The skin on the lips is very thin and delicate and reacts sharply to any irritants.
Negative influences in the form of temperature changes, weather or stress cause harm to sensitive skin. Dry skin on the lips and around the mouth is a serious drawback that can greatly ruin your appearance. For complete elimination, you need to consult a specialist. It is better to entrust the choice of the appropriate method to a cosmetologist. Caring manipulations will protect the sensitive skin of the lips from the negative effects of many factors, maintaining its health and attractiveness.
It is easier to prevent a deficiency from occurring than to fight it later in every possible way.
Proper care (4 stages)
To prevent your lips from drying out, you need to surround them with care and attention.
With proper regular care, you will never know what tightness, cracks, or jams are. Daily care includes 4 stages.
Cleansing
Twice a day, dirt, decorative cosmetics, and dust are removed from the skin.
The procedure is carried out using a cotton pad moistened with micellar water, lotion, nourishing cream or any other makeup remover with a plant base.
If none of the above is at hand, plain warm water will do.
Exfoliation
Peeling is necessary for deep cleansing of the epidermis. The procedure will be especially relevant in the presence of peeling.
Soft cosmetic preparations are suitable. Exfoliation is carried out once a week to remove dead skin cells.
Massage
Performed together with peeling, as well as daily, as an independent procedure. The ideal massage is carried out with a soft toothbrush for a few minutes.
It is carried out intensively, but carefully. The lips are first lubricated with cream or vegetable oil.
Hydration and nutrition
Both effects are achieved by daily use of hygienic lipstick or moisturizing gel. Almond, olive, and shea oils are good for this.
These substances provide hydration, nourish the skin, and accelerate wound healing.
Before going to bed, nourishing products are applied to the skin to saturate the tissues with vitamins and give it a velvety feel. Purchased products must have a special composition.
The most useful will be: fatty acids, peptides, herbal extracts, hyaluronic acid, vitamins B, A, E, plant oils.
