Natural solutions for chapped lips

[smaje1]

Winter is in the air and my lips are chapped as hell. The skin at the corners of my mouth is broken and cracked and painful. Chapstick, Blistex, Vaseline -- nothing is helping.

Anyone got a great natural solution to this particular wintertime woe? I'm not averse to medical solutions, but I'm hoping someone out there has an amazing home remedy.

[TheChileanBlob]

The most natural solution ever: Use your finger to get some of the oil from your nose. Rub it on your lips. Really!

[smaje1]

Sorry, please ignore this post. I was trying to post a new thread and somehow put it here. :P

[smaje1]

The most natural solution ever: Use your finger to get some of the oil from your nose. Rub it on your lips. Really!

Nose oil, eh? I have plenty of that. I'll give it a try!

[Cat Whisperer]

Two suggestions beyond lip balm - increase the humidity in your house, and drink as much water as you can hold down.

I know you have tried Vaseline, but maybe you could try putting it on before bed so that it can soak in all night.

[sitchensis]

Carmex or Bagbalm, not natural, but helpful

[Butterscotch]

Extra virgin olive oil is excellent for this kind of thing!

[the lone cashew]

Chapstick can naturally be found at most grocery stores.

[zoid]

When my lips get realy bad I use Neosporin.
Takes a day or 2 but it ususally works quite well.

[Bloodless Turnip]

Burts bees peppermint.

[drewtwo99]

I'm not entirely sure if it's 100% safe, but Aquaphor healing ointment is AMAZING. When I was a kid with acne, I took medication that made my lips REALLY dry and cracked. I put aquaphor on it daily and it really helped. It can be found in the pharmacy area of most major retailers.

I still have aquaphor and use on dry skin, scrapes, minor cuts, burns, etc. The stuff is miraculous.

ETA: Do your absolute best NOT to lick your lips, and if you do, dry them off yourself quickly. Drink as much water as you possibly can as well.

[Leaffan]

Natural solutions for chapped lips

How to cheer up my unemployed husband?

You sure these aren't related somehow? :D

[drewtwo99]

You sure these aren't related somehow? :D

Hahaha thanks for a good belly laugh!!!

[Peeta Mellark]

I'll second the olive oil. Flax seed oil would also be good. Good hydration, healthy oils and omega fatty acids in your diet should help, too.

[Vihaga]

rns, etc. The stuff is miraculous.

ETA: Do your absolute best NOT to lick your lips, and if you do, dry them off yourself quickly. Drink as much water as you possibly can as well.

This will help the most, as well as making sure you're eating well and not exposing your face to the wind more than necessary. Also, keeping your lips exfoliated will help with the dry skin flakes.

Most chapstick type products make my lips worse instead of better, too, so I usually do better when I avoid them entirely, but I've had good luck with eos lip balm. It lasts a while and seems to make my lips better rather than worse, although it isn't really natural. I've also had good luck with rubbing olive oil on my lips at night, but that's not really a portable solution.

[Qadgop the Mercotan]

What would you consider to be an unnatural solution?

[brainstall]

I tend to have dry skin, and I'm a big fan of Lubriderm lotion. Not sure if it counts as natural, but it works great for keeping my skin and my lips from getting too dry and irritated.

[Peeta Mellark]

What would you consider to be an unnatural solution?

Cthulhu.

[Sticks and Scones]

Burts bees peppermint.

Yes! I especially like the sparkly one. Although, perhaps glitter on your lips is a bit unnatural.

[silenus]

This cowboy rides up to the saloon and thinks he might stop in for a drink. He gets off his horse, walks around to the back of the horse, lifts up the tail and then kisses the horse right on the butt. The cowboy then heads into the saloon to get himself a drink.

The bartender says, "I know it's none of my business, but did you just kiss your horses rear end???"

"Sure did", says the cowboy. "I've got chapped lips."

The bartender asks, "Does that get rid of them?"

"I don't know", replies the cowboy, "But it sure stops me from licking them!"

[Dogzilla]

Aquaphor is pretty much the same thing as Vaseline -- both are petroleum jelly products. I used Aquaphor to heal my tattoo and later, I used it again when I had a... thingy lopped off my foot (turned out to be just a random benign bump). Either product works to heal cracked dry skin.

Fresh aloe might also be helpful as it has moisturizing and antibiotic properties. I don't know if you have an aloe plant as a houseplant, but you can grow aloe indoors and use it for exactly that purpose, not just for burns.

But I would focus on: stay hydrated and keep your skin moist via lotion, baby oil, petroleum jelly, whatever works for you. I'm a big fan of the Yes to Carrots products and I also love Rachel Perry lip balms.

[VOW]

Have you started using a new brand of toothpaste? I've found that some toothpastes irritate the Hell out of my lips, to the point where I can actually peel sheets of skin from my lips.

Not fun.

Sometimes a dab of OTC 1% Hydrocortisone cream can heal the raw parts of your lips, and THEN you can put various ointments or emolliants to keep the skin protected.


~VOW

[Mopal]

A mothers tale:

Why My Lips Stay Chapped

Our 10-year-old cat, Jack, just recently died. Jack was great with kids. Our three carried him around and even sat on him, but nothing ever bothered him. He used to hang out all day and nap on the mat in our bathroom.

When the kids were 4, 3, and 1 year old, our middle child, Eli, really loved Chapstick. LOVED it! He kept asking to use my chapstick and then would lose it. Finally, I showed him where I kept my Chapstick in the bathroom drawer. I said he could use it whenever he liked, but was to put it back in the drawer when he was done.

That year on Mother's Day, we were having the typical rush-around to get ready for Church, with everyone crying and carrying on. Eli and the oldest were fighting over the toy in the cereal box. I was trying to nurse the little one and put on my make-up at the same time. Everything was a mess and no one remembered that this was the special day to honor Mom.

We got the oldest and the baby loaded in the car, then couldn't find Eli. I searched everywhere and finally rounded the corner to go into the bathroom. There was Eli. Applying my Chapstick very carefully to Jack the Cat's . . . rear end.

Eli looked right into my eyes and said "chapped." If you have a cat, you know Eli was right -- their rears do look pretty chapped. And, Jack didn't seem to mind. The only question at that point was whether it was the FIRST time Eli had done that or the HUNDREDTH.

That Mother's Day moment reminds us that no matter how hard you try to civilize those glorious little creatures, there may come a day you are shocked to learn you've been sharing your Chapstick with the cat.

[markm]

This cowboy rides up to the saloon and thinks he might stop in for a drink...
"I don't know", replies the cowboy, "But it sure stops me from licking them!"

Heh, mom always threatened to rub chicken shit on our lips to keep us from licking them. "It's cheaper than chapstick and fixes the problem instead of the symptom."

[Drain Bead]

This may be more work than it's worth for you, but one of the side effects of my switch to a paleo-style diet is that my lips are much smoother.

[StGermain]

markm: Chicken Poop (http://www.amazon.com/Lipmedic-Chicken-Poop-Lip-Balm/dp/B0002O2D1I)

StG

[Cat Whisperer]

This will help the most, as well as making sure you're eating well and not exposing your face to the wind more than necessary. <snip>That's a good point - I try to remember to grease up my lips with Vaseline before I go for a walk in winter.

Cthulhu.I was thinking along the lines of sacrifices in graveyards at midnight, but that works too.

[smaje1]

You sure these aren't related somehow? :D

HA!

I decided to give coconut oil a shot. I got a jar at the grocery store and have applied it twice in the past two hours, and so far it seems to be working very well. I'll keep everyone updated.

I definitely lick my lips too much, which I know is exacerbating the problem. But I'm just so sweet!

[not what you'd expect]

A mothers tale:



That Mother's Day moment reminds us that no matter how hard you try to civilize those glorious little creatures, there may come a day you are shocked to learn you've been sharing your Chapstick with the cat.

That was funny. :)