In comparison to other parts of the face, the lips have
it rough, literally. Physiologically unique, the lips
are predisposed to be the driest spot on our face or body
for that matter. While the face is covered in a nice,
relatively thick, protective layer of skin that, if we
are careful, remains intact and prevents dryness, the
lips are virtually naked in comparison. Most of us need
lots of help to keep our lips smooth and moist.
Lips do have a layer of "skin" (stratum corneum)
like the face, but it is exceptionally thin and transparent,
barely covering the vulnerable mucous membrane underneath.
In fact, the reddish color of the lips comes from the
concentration and proximity to the surface of blood vessels
and the ultra-thin, transparent layer of skin which allows
the color to come through vividly. Have you ever wondered
why lips can turn blue in the winter? It's because in
extremely cold weather or when body temperature drops,
blood vessels in the lips shut down, becoming poorly oxygenated,
making the lips look blue as a result. Lips also have
minimal to no sebaceous glands and zero sweat glands.
Water loss on the lips is three to ten times higher than
other parts of the face or body (Source: British Journal
of Dermatology, March 2004, pages 563-567). These physiological
facts combined with climate changes (winter dryness, living
in an arid climate), all contribute to making dry lips
a recurring, persistent problem.
When lips become dry (especially for men, who don't wear
lipstick), we tend to repetitively lick them in a futile
attempt to restore moisture. Even though licking your
lips may, for a few seconds, make them feel better, it
is actually making matters worse! Your tongue transfers
saliva from your mouth to your lips which actually eats
away and destroys the thin layer of skin covering the
lips. This can easily become a vicious cycle leading to
painful, cracked, sore lips.
What to do? Keep your lips covered! You can restore dry
lips with consistency and patience. But chapped lips are
not going to disappear in a day, and missing even one
day of treatment can drive lips back to dryness.
One of the major causes of dry lips is sun damage (Source:
Dermatologic Surgery, February 2005, pages 173-176) which
can occur even when it’s cloudy and you're not in bright
sunlight. That means during the day a well formulated
emollient lip balm, lip gloss, or lipstick with an SPF
15 of greater with the UVA protecting ingredients of titanium
dioxide, zinc oxide, or avobenzone (butylmethoxydibenzoylmethane)
is vital.
When not in the sun, especially at night, as part of
your before-bedtime skin care routine, apply an emollient
lip balm or clear thick gloss to your lips. Watch out
for lip products that contain skin irritants such as menthol,
camphor, peppermint, or citrus or those that are highly
fragranced. These ingredients have no benefit for the
lips and end up compounding the problem. Never letting
your lips be "naked" can actually keep your
lips in beautiful shape regardless of the weather.
You may have heard a rumor that lips can adapt to or
become addicted to lip balm. It isn’t possible. But if
the lip balm you are using contains irritating ingredients
(and lots of them do) or is poorly formulated, lacking
skin friendly oils, emollients, and water-binding agents,
your lips will remain dry. Even if a lip balm is otherwise
beautifully formulated, if it contains irritating, drying
ingredients, there is no way the beneficial ingredients
can be of significant help.
One other thing to be aware of: Using a matte lipstick
or one of the new long-wearing lipstains can also cause
dry lips any time of year but even more so during the
winter or in an arid environment.
Cheilitis, the medical term for dry lips, can be caused
from other factors besides a change in the weather: Dry
scaling of the lips and cracks at the side of the mouth
are common in riboflavin (vitamin B2) deficiency. Similar
findings may be seen with niacin and B6 deficiency (Source:
Pocketguide to Micronutrients In Health and Disease, Dr.
Robert Zimmerman, 1999, Thieme). This type of dryness
can also be caused by a yeast (candida) infection (diabetics
are particularly prone to this condition). Treatment with
an oral anti-yeast medication, (such as Nystatin Oral
Solution, available by prescription only) may help. Too
much vitamin A (more than 25,000 IU) in oral supplements
may cause lips to become severely chapped (Source: www.emedicine.com).
Lastly, those taking the prescription anti-acne drug Accutane
should have been informed (and have no doubt experienced)
just how dry lips become while on this medication so they’ll
need to take extra care.