Dries and tightens lips (English)

Chapped lips, dry and painful, abundantly covered with small wounds, from which blood leaks from time to time - many have probably encountered this unpleasant problem. It causes not only aesthetic discomfort, but also physical discomfort, because it is accompanied by unpleasant sensations. Dry skin indicates either improper care or pathological processes occurring in the body. If you pay attention to this symptom in time, you can not only restore beauty and health to your lips, but also prevent the development of dangerous diseases.

The skin of the lips is very delicate and sensitive, subtly reacts to weather conditions, mechanical damage, lack of moisture and beneficial elements in the body. For various reasons, dryness, peeling, cracks and wounds may appear. If you do not pay attention to these signs in time, there is a risk of developing an infection due to the penetration of pathogenic microorganisms. In addition, lips can crack and dry out due to various systemic pathologies.

Causes of dry lips

The skin of the lips can dry out when the weather outside changes, it becomes too hot, windy, frosty. The culprit of dryness is sometimes a low level of air humidity in the room. In some cases, the problem is associated with dysfunction of internal organs. It is very important to establish why lips dry and crack in order to eliminate the cause in time, improve the condition of delicate skin, and prevent the development of dangerous consequences.

Diseases of the lips in medicine are called cheilitis. Dryness is just one symptom. Peeling, redness, a red, painful edge, damage to the integrity of the skin may also occur, which is accompanied by a deterioration in the general condition, weakness, and increased fatigue.

Dry lips can be a sign of the following diseases:

pathologies of the digestive system;
dehydration of the body;
constant stress, depression;
avitaminosis;
anemia;
kidney disease;
diabetes;
dysfunction of the thyroid gland;
tendency to allergic reactions;
inflammatory processes.

Another reason for severe dry lips is poor diet and consumption of foods that help remove fluid from the body. Girls may not even suspect that smoking, excess caffeine-containing drinks, or eating hot, spicy, salty foods could trigger the problem.

Dry corners of the lips are a clear sign of a lack of vitamins and minerals in the body. Vitamin deficiency or hypervitaminosis affects the condition of the skin; it can dry out, become flabby, and inelastic. Before starting treatment, the cause of the disease should be determined. There are usually two of them. The first is the supply of microelements in insufficient quantities, the second is a violation of its digestibility.

Vitamin A or retinol. A deficiency of this substance is manifested by the following symptoms: sagging skin, loss of firmness and elasticity, dry lips. You can make up for the deficiency at home with the help of a properly formulated diet, which includes carrots, egg whites, and animal fats.
Vitamin E or tocopherol is responsible for regulating water balance in the skin. If it does not enter the body, the skin in the corners of the lips becomes dry and rough. The trace element is found in avocados and vegetable oils.
B vitamins take part in metabolic processes occurring in the cells of the dermis. Primary symptoms of a lack of these substances include chapped lips, inflammation, and the appearance of skin rashes.
Vitamin C is very important for maintaining healthy skin. If it is not enough, collagen synthesis is disrupted. Externally, this manifests itself as dry lip skin, pallor, and loss of elasticity. The trace element is found in citrus fruits, sea buckthorn and other fruits.

Not only adults can experience signs of vitamin deficiency. If a child has very dry lips, it is necessary to examine him to determine the cause of this condition. Treatment of the disease in children has its own characteristics, so it is impossible to do without consulting a specialist.

What to do and how to treat it?

If your lips become dry and begin to crack, you need to do something urgently. This not only looks ugly, but also brings a lot of discomfort to a person. Dry skin becomes painful, rough, and small wounds appear on the surface that can bleed. It may be a sign of disease. In this case, you cannot do without consulting a doctor, taking a test to establish the cause, and making a diagnosis. What to do to eliminate dry lips?

Cure the underlying disease. If the skin constantly dries out, this is most likely due to some pathological process in the body. Constantly dry lips in a child and an adult may indicate vitamin deficiency, dehydration, diseases of the digestive system and kidneys.
Moisturizing and nutrition. For external effects, cosmetic oils should be used. They will saturate dry skin with useful microelements and fill cells with moisture.
Protection. In children and adults, lips can dry out in winter under the influence of frost and wind. Before going outside, you need to apply special balms and lipsticks to your delicate skin.
Massage. This method is great for preventing dry corners of the lips and the skin around them. Rub the skin with gentle massage movements, after treating it with vegetable oil. The procedure stimulates local blood circulation and accelerates regeneration processes.
Selection of cosmetics. Sponges may dry out due to the use of low-quality cosmetics. Some components of lipsticks, pencils, and glosses not only dry out the skin, but also contribute to allergic reactions, so you should not use cheap products from untested brands.

A proper, balanced diet plays an important role in healing lips and eliminating dryness. The daily diet should be enriched with vegetables and fruits, cereals, and dairy products. This approach will help not only remove dry lips in an adult or child at home, but also prevent the development of various diseases.

Home Recipes

In the arsenal of traditional medicine there are many means with which you can restore the beauty and health of your lip skin at home. They are used for moisturizing and nutrition, protection in winter from wind and frost, which are very drying. Making masks is very simple, and the effect of their use is amazing.

Honey mask. To stop your lips from cracking, you should apply a little honey to them every evening, grind and massage.
Curd mask. Mix fatty cottage cheese with carrot juice, apply to lips for 20 minutes, rinse.
Sour cream mask. Sour cream must be mixed with a few drops of vegetable oil and lemon juice, applied to the sponges, and after 10 minutes rinsed with warm water.
With Aevit. Puncture the capsule with a needle, squeeze the yellow contents onto your finger and apply to dry areas.

Such masks should be made at home at least twice a week to achieve a positive result. The advantages of such drugs include their availability, safety, absence of side effects and contraindications.

To keep your skin in excellent condition, you should avoid factors that can dry out your lips. It is necessary to use special means to protect them from cold, frost and wind. If this does not help, perhaps the reason lies in the occurrence of some disease. Are your child's lips constantly dry? It is better not to do anything without first consulting a specialist so as not to harm the baby’s health. You need to undergo an examination and identify the culprit of the problem, and only then begin treatment.

Women's lips can become dry for a variety of reasons, even cold weather. It is necessary to determine why this is happening and what needs to be done. When such a problem persists, it can signal the presence of diseases in the body.

Why do lips dry out?

Lips dry out for several reasons:

Change in air temperature from high to low. If no balm is applied to the lips, they become dry and tight.
Presence of an allergic reaction for the funds used. To understand the reason, you need to recall in your memory those products that have been used over the past 4 days. It could be cosmetics, food, toothpaste, medicine or coffee - a large amount of coffee dries out the skin of the lips.
Partial dehydration. If the body experiences a lack of fluid, the lips begin to dry out. To normalize your water balance, it is important to drink 2 liters of water per day.
Presence of a virus or disease. With fungal diseases, diabetes, psoriasis or weak immunity, the lips may peel. If this happens, it means that the body does not have enough vitamins A, B and E.
Hot food. It is best to eat warm food, as hot food dries out the skin.
Inappropriate cosmetics. If cosmetic products are chosen incorrectly, they cause a feeling of discomfort. Lips dry out and crack. Unsuitable lipstick should be wiped off and not used again.
Smoking. Harmful smoke and temperature changes also cause women's lips to dry out.
Lack of vitamins.
Changes in hormonal levels. Like the above mentioned reason, it is observed during pregnancy. This is why pregnant women often complain of dry lips.

Lips dry out after 40, 50 years - reasons

After overcoming the 40-year mark, women's bodies begin to undergo hormonal changes, which is why their lips begin to dry out. What to do must be decided, taking into account not only age, but also possible associated causes.

If there is a deficiency of vitamins and other beneficial nutrients, lips begin to crack and peel. This happens because blood stagnates in the lips and metabolism is disrupted.

People 40 years of age and older need to constantly moisturize their skin and periodically take vitamin complexes. It is also important to drink 2 liters of plain water every day. After 50 years, women experience menopause, which is accompanied by changes in hormone levels. When the level of estrogen and progesterone decreases, dryness and burning appear in the mouth, and the same is felt on the lips.

What diseases can cause dryness?

The causes of dry lips in women are not always external factors; quite often the causes are pathological. To find out why this happens and what to do, you need to conduct a diagnosis.

Dry lips can occur due to a number of diseases:

chronic ichthyosis, inherited. With this disease, the functioning of the skin is disrupted, which is expressed in peeling of the lips;
seborrhea – malfunction of the sebaceous glands. The skin dries not only on the lips, but also on the head;
renal failure. Because of it, lips dry out and crack;
diabetes. The skin of the lips begins to peel off;
psoriasis. Due to this disease, a dry crust forms on the lips.

When to see a doctor

You need to go to the doctor if:

the appearance of purulent crusts on the lips;
the occurrence of ulcers and plaque on mucous membranes, painful sensations;
limited salivation, difficulty swallowing saliva;
malaise, rapid onset of fatigue;
fluctuations in body temperature, its increase or decrease relative to the norm;
constant need to drink fluids, frequent desire to go to the toilet;
swelling of the tongue, lips or throat;
vomiting or diarrhea.

First of all, you need to visit a therapist. Based on your symptoms, he will make a referral to the appropriate doctor. Dermatologists, infectious disease specialists, allergists, endocrinologists and dentists treat lip problems.

What measures to take

To prevent your lips from drying out, you can take vitamins A, E and B, which are necessary for the human body, which are readily available in any pharmacy today, or you can ensure a sufficient supply of vitamins by consuming foods rich in them.

The products are sources of the following vitamins:

Vitamin A – egg yolk, carrots, sea buckthorn, pumpkin, as well as bell pepper and liver;
Vitamin E – soy, almonds, eggs and peas.

It is important to drink 2 liters of water daily. If your lips are already chapped, you should temporarily avoid eating citrus fruits and foods with a lot of spices and salt. Such food will irritate the skin, which will make it take a very long time to heal.

Under no circumstances should you lick or bite your lips. Saliva is capable of digesting food, so getting it on the skin will lead to negative results. It is also not recommended to tear off or bite off dried skin, since its recovery will be long and painful, and there is a possibility of infection in the wound.

Massage

To improve blood circulation, you can do a small massage. To do this, apply Vaseline to your toothbrush and apply it to the skin of your lips. Movements can be in different directions: circular and back and forth. Vaseline that is not absorbed should be removed with a dry cloth.

As a result of the massage, your lips will turn a little red and dry skin will peel off. This procedure should be done once; if necessary, it can be repeated in a week.

Hydration

To moisturize lips, a variety of products are used, ranging from cosmetic balms to those prepared independently at home from natural products.

Hygienic lipsticks. There are different types, sold in any pharmacy and in many stores. Suitable for regular use at any time of the year.
Ice. They need to wipe the skin of the lips in the morning and before bed. Thanks to ice, the skin adapts to the cold and will not react to frost.
Baby cream. Rub into the skin of the face and lips, the layer should be thin.
Aloe. Helps well with small cracks. You need to cut a small leaf from the flower and spread the juice on the surface of your lips. Repeat this process until complete healing.
Fish fat. It is best to take it in capsule form. With regular use, fat helps prevent dry skin.
Kiwi. Apply a fresh cut of one piece to your lips and wait until the juice dries.
Goose fat. In case of severe dry lips, this product will help from the first use.
Vitamins A and E. They must be purchased in ampoules. Both vitamins should be mixed and smeared on the skin in 2 layers. The mixture is stored in the refrigerator until next time.

Lip masks - recipes

When lips dry out, women wonder what to do about it and why this problem arose. Most of them prefer to deal with such a nuisance at home.

Masks are used for this:

Take 30 g of sour cream, 5 ml of lemon juice, 30 ml of olive oil. The mixed composition is distributed over the lips and washed off after 10 minutes.
90 ml of pumpkin juice, 30 g of cottage cheese are mixed and spread on the problem area. After 7 minutes, wash off the mixture with water. During the day you need to repeat the procedure 3 times.
30 ml of sage decoction, 10 g of honey are mixed, lubricated on the lips and washed off after 15 minutes. Repeat the procedure three times during the day.
10 g of finely grated apple pulp, 10 ml of liquid butter are applied to the surface of the skin, washed off after 15 minutes.
20 g of dry calendula, 50 ml of flaxseed oil are mixed and the mixture is put in a cool place for 24 hours, applied to the lips, after 20 minutes the composition is washed off with water.
1 tsp aloe juice, 1 tsp. honey, mixed to a homogeneous consistency, applied to the lips. After 15 minutes, wash off with water.
Take 30 g of cranberry juice, 20 g of starch. Crush the cranberries with a spoon or fork, place them in cheesecloth and squeeze out the juice. Mix the liquid with starch and apply to the lips. After 1/3 hour, wash off.

Lip peeling

First you need to clean the surface of your lips from makeup, and then wipe the skin with a towel so that it becomes dry. The pre-prepared mixture is applied to the lips with your fingers, while doing a slight massage for 4-5 minutes. Any composition that is not absorbed should be washed off with water. At the end of the procedure, lubricate the lips with cream.

Recipe No. 1. 1/3 tbsp. sugar, 1/3 tbsp. Olive oils are mixed in one container and applied to the skin of the lips with massaging movements. Wash off the residue with water.
Recipe No. 2. 1 tbsp. honey, 2 tbsp. Cane sugar is mixed and applied to the lips. After half an hour, wash off the residue with water or a napkin.
Recipe No. 3. 0.5 tsp ground coffee, 1/3 tbsp. Olive oils are mixed until smooth and applied to the skin with massaging movements. The residue should be washed off after 4 minutes.
Recipe No. 4. 1/3 tbsp. honey, 1/3 tbsp. soda, 0.5 tsp. Olive oils are mixed and applied for 1/3 hour. Wash off the residue with water.

What medications to use

Aevit contains vitamin E and retinol. Thanks to this composition, this drug combats dry lips well. Aevit is sold in capsule form. The oil from the capsules should be applied to the surface of the lips no more than 2 times a day throughout the year, this will protect the lips from drying out. If they are already dry, apply the oil at least 3 times a day until recovery.
Acyclovir used to treat herpes disease. It is sold as an ointment. It should be applied to the affected area of the skin, without distributing it over the entire area of the lips. The drug is used daily until recovery.
Panthenol Sold as chapstick. It works best for cracked lips. This lipstick can be used daily until complete recovery. The drug contains cocoa, beeswax and shea butter. It also contains vitamin E and provitamin B5.
Levomekol sold as an ointment. It is excellent for the treatment of angulitis - sticking at the corners of the lips. The ointment helps against inflammation, stops the proliferation of staphylococcal bacteria and accelerates skin regeneration.
Miramistin helps fight herpes on the lips. It is applied to a cotton pad and applied to the herpes blisters for 10 minutes. The drug is sold in the form of a spray. The more often you use it, the faster it will help. If you use Miramistin 3-4 times during the day, then you can forget about the sore within a day.
Syntomycin ointment treats cracked lips. It contains chloramphenicol, which has an antibacterial effect. You need to use liniment every day, twice a day. After a few days, the cracks will disappear, and your lips will delight you with their smoothness and elasticity.
Calendula Sold as ointment and oil. It heals and fights inflammation. This remedy will help when your lips are itchy and the skin is peeling off.

Homeopathic remedies for dry lips

Aconitum is a natural product from flowers of the ranunculaceae family. It fights well against dehydrated and dry lip skin.
Belladonna helps cure lips from severe dryness and flaking. Belongs to the nightshade family.
Bryony used for cracked lips and chapped skin. Belongs to the pumpkin family.
Cinnabaris helps in the fight against thirst, dry mouth and lips.

Cosmetical tools

Lip gloss. Such products should contain paraffin, natural oils, vitamins, wax and petroleum jelly. One such gloss is Toitbel Sensitive. It is designed for sensitive lips.
Pomade. It is best to choose one that does not contain glycerin. Such lipsticks usually belong to the middle and premium segments.
Lip balm. Must be wax based. It is better if the composition contains vegetable oils and vitamins. The Payot line of balms well moisturizes and protects the skin of the lips.
Hygienic lipstick. The composition should contain beeswax, vitamins and plant-based oils.
Lip cream. Must contain lactic acid, oils, caffeine and natural extracts.

What not to do

Thanks to numerous studies, scientists and doctors have found out why women’s lips dry out, what not to do, how not to harm and how to painlessly cure this problem.

The main prohibitions include:

First of all, you should not let the process take its course and ignore the problem, because dry lips can signal illness.
You cannot remove dry skin from your lips, as the wounds will take a long time to heal, and they can also accidentally become infected.
Chapped lips cannot be scrubbed as this will make the situation worse. It is best to understand the cause of the disease and begin treatment.
You should not lick your lips, as saliva can dry out the dermis. Moreover, you should not do this in the cold.
You can't neglect moisturizers during the cold season. Thanks to them, your lips will be protected from moisture loss.

Anyone can have dry lips, including women. We managed to figure out why this happens and what to do if the disease occurs. The disease causes discomfort, but there are many possibilities for its treatment, the main thing is to correctly diagnose the cause.

Video about why women's lips dry out, what to do and how to treat

The main causes of dry lips and solutions:

Remedies that can help prevent dry lips and cracking:

I couldn’t go a single day without lip balm because my lips were so dry. They advised me to try peelings with cream, honey and olive oil. I can’t say that I’ve completely given up balms, but my lips dry out much less and don’t crack.

Dry lips - common problem among many women. Moreover, the skin of the lips can become dry not only in the cooler months of the year. This article will help you understand what causes dry lips and how to deal with this problem.

Why women's lips dry and crack: reasons

Doctors and dermatologists indicate several common causes of dry lips:

temperature changes;
lack of vitamins;
certain diseases;
Unhealthy Lifestyle;
professional problems;
reaction to medications;
bad habits.

Sometimes dry lips are caused by two or even three reasons at once, which are not so easy to deal with. It is worth talking about each reason for the manifestation of this trouble separately.

Temperature changes

For many, discomfort on the lips appears precisely during temperature changes, when delicate skin is exposed to polar temperatures. This happens especially often in winter and autumn, when you need to leave the house and go outside, where there are sub-zero temperatures and strong winds that dry out your lips.

In summer, you should also be on guard - many already know how the insidious sun negatively affects hair: it dries it out, makes it more brittle and dull. Ultraviolet rays do not have the best effect on the skin. But, if the long-term effect of prolonged exposure to the sun manifests itself only years later (wrinkles, age spots), then the lips may dry out immediately.

Hypersensitivity to cold or solar radiation is more often diagnosed not in women, but in men 20-60 years old.

Lack of vitamins

This is a big problem in the winter-spring period, when many people eat less varied than in the summer. The main fighters for the beauty and smoothness of the skin of the lips are vitamins A, E, D and B (especially B2). Often, in addition to dry lips, there is a burning sensation in the mucous membranes of the mouth and tongue, and signs of fine-scaly peeling and thin vertical cracks are noticeable on the reddish border of the lips. The lack of vitamins is often painful - cracks that tend to bleed and an enlarged tongue are a concern.

Diseases

Dry and cracking lips can be caused by an illness. One of the most common manifestations of serious health problems is cheilitis, an inflammatory process that affects the mucous membrane and skin of the lips.

Cheilitis can manifest itself in the form of swelling, redness, dryness and peeling of the lips, and sometimes bleeding ulcers, purulent crusts, burning and pain when opening the mouth and eating. Often the problem is recurrent.

Cheilitis may be associated or caused by the following reasons:

Fungal infections, erythematosis, psoriasis, lichen planus, syphilis, tuberculosis and other skin diseases;
Allergic reactions. Often appear during contact with components included in lipsticks and some products. Those suffering from such troubles have clinical manifestations of dryness and flaking of the facial skin;
Neurological disorders. The so-called exfoliative cheilitis occurs from severe anxiety, depression, and anxious feelings of a person. This type of cheilitis most often has a continuous, sluggish course, with moments of remissions and exacerbations, and is almost impossible to self-heal;
Hyperfunction of the thyroid gland. Researchers have reason to believe that this problem also causes dry lips;
Chronic gastritis and gastroduodenitis. Up to a third of people with these diseases constantly experience bad breath, rashes on the lips and in the mouth: dryness and peeling of the lips are observed in most patients;
Anomalies of the minor salivary glands (congenital or acquired). At risk of getting glandular cheilitis are women with chronic periodontal disease, tartar and caries: these problems lead to infection of the salivary gland ducts;
Neuritis of the facial nerve. There may be a hereditary predisposition. A sign of these diseases can be dry lips, itching, and sometimes swelling that spreads to other parts of the face. The color of the lips and skin does not change, although in swollen areas the skin becomes bluish-pink. Neuritis can manifest itself as a skewing of the face in the healthy direction, and the nasolabial fold is smoothed out.

Professional problems

We are talking, first of all, about musicians who play wind instruments. In response to the prolonged presence of mouthpieces in the mouth, severe itching, dryness, pain, burning, swelling and redness of the lips occur. In some cases, bubbles appear on the lips, after opening which cracks are exposed. This is another clinical manifestation of cheilitis - allergic contact. Most often, in musicians, such cheilitis becomes chronic and manifests itself in the form of dryness, flaking and slight itching without a strong inflammatory reaction.

Bad habits

Bad habits that can cause peeling and dry lips include:

constant lip biting;
the habit of holding foreign objects in the mouth: pencils, pens, etc.

Unhealthy Lifestyle

An unhealthy lifestyle can be understood, first of all, as unhealthy diet (consuming large amounts of salty foods, coffee), addiction to drugs and alcohol consumption.

Medications

Some drugs can cause a number of side effects, which are described in the instructions for use. Such medications include a powerful drug for the treatment of skin diseases, Roaccutane: this drug makes the skin tender and hypersensitive - lips crack and dry during the entire period of treatment. Some other drugs for the treatment of acne have the same effect - “Aknekutan”, “Sotret”, etc.

Treatment for dry lips

Dry lips occur for certain reasons, the identification and treatment of which is the main task of every beautiful lady or man. At the same time, it is necessary to treat and eliminate external defects at home.

Deep health problems that cause dry lips can be treated with appropriate medications prescribed by a doctor. In some cases, autohemotransfusion (transfusion of a patient's own blood), UVB (ultraviolet irradiation of blood) and other methods of increasing the body's reactivity are effective.
If signs of an allergy are found to any cosmetic product or product, then you should not experiment - forget about it forever, no matter how tasty or expensive it is. If the lips are very sore, antihistamines are taken orally.
In order to prevent your lips from drying out, peeling and hurting, you need to constantly protect them from cold or insolation, using hygienic lipstick before going outside - and better with SPF protection, which will be useful in winter.

It is also beneficial to use moisturizing lipsticks after meals and throughout the day.

When treating complex forms of dryness and irritation of the lips, it is very important to follow a hypoallergenic diet, excluding strawberries, caviar, herbs, citrus fruits, spicy foods and alcohol from the diet.

Taking care of the beauty of your lips is an important daily ritual for every girl who wants to always look attractive to her man and everyone around her. Following these simple rules will always allow you to smile broadly and feel great!

Dries and tightens lips