Dry Lips in Winter? Here’s How To Prevent Chapped Lips This Season

It’s easy to forget about your lips, but you shouldn’t. Here’s how you can avoid dry lips in winter.

If you live in a chillier climate, then you’re no doubt familiar with the sensation of walking outside and getting slammed by a wall of icy air. It’s the kind of weather that you need to be prepared to face.

But layering alone won’t completely guard you from the elements — you also need to think about how to protect your skin. Winter is notorious for making skin dry and cracked, and your lips often get it the worst. Lips can easily get dry and chapped, which is uncomfortable and unsightly.

Preventing dry lips in winter is straightforward, but it involves more than just applying lip balm a couple of times a day. Here’s everything you need to know about keeping your lips soft, hydrated, and healthy even on the worst winter days.

What Causes Dry Lips in Winter?

A lack of moisture ultimately causes dry lips in winter, but there are a lot of factors that come into play.

Your lip skin is thinner than most of your facial skin, so it’s more sensitive to the elements. On top of that, lips lack oil glands, so they can’t regulate their moisture levels. Pair this with the cold and drying air that wintertime brings, and you get dry, chapped lips.

While the main side effect of dry lips in winter is discomfort, avoiding treatment can result in cracked, split, and bleeding lips.

How To Prevent Chapped Lips in Winter

Generally speaking, the best way to prevent dry lips in winter is to take care of your lips overall. Lip care is easy to neglect, so prioritizing it is a good idea no matter what season it is.

With that in mind, here are seven tips for keeping your lips hydrated:

1. Drink Water

Dry lips in winter require hydration, so drinking enough water is key. To stay adequately hydrated, The average man should drink about 15 cups per day (and that’s “cups” as in the measurement).

2. Avoid Irritating Ingredients

Since dry lips are already irritated, you don’t want to make things worse by using lip products with irritating ingredients.

According to the American Academy of Dermatology Association, your lips can be irritated by ingredients like camphor, lanolin, menthol, and salicylic acid. In addition, any kind of fragrance can cause irritation, so it’s best to go with fragrance-free products.

Instead, look for nourishing ingredients such as dimethicone, castor seed oil, ceramides, mineral oil, and shea butter.

3. Apply Lip Balm Several Times a Day

Today, you have way more options for lip balm than just ChapStick and generic brands, so take some time to try different ones and see which lip balm is the most nourishing for you.

Pro tip: While many balms are solid and come in lipstick-style containers, a la ChapStick, you can also find lip balm in the form of creams and gels. These types of balms are generally more hydrating than their stick counterparts.

Once you’ve found a non-irritating lip balm that works for you, get into the habit of using it throughout the day to make sure your lips stay hydrated.

Thankfully, lip balm is extremely compact and will fit right into your EDC.

4. Consider a Lip Balm With SPF

You should use a lip balm with SPF 30 or higher if you’re outside a lot. The sun is still out in the winter — most of the time, anyway — and since lips are so thin, they’re especially sensitive to UV rays. (This problem gets even worse when the sun reflects off the snow).

5. Stop Licking Your Lips

Your lips get even drier if you’re a habitual lip-licker. Saliva irritates your lips, and when it evaporates, it dries out your lip skin even more. This makes you want to lick your lips, creating a vicious cycle of dryness that only stops when you break the habit.

(And it probably goes without saying, but don’t bite, pick, or peel your lips).

6. Cover Your Lips When Outside

Many people bundle up in winter but completely forget to protect their faces. It’s a problem that you can easily fix in one of a few different ways. A good method is simply to tie a scarf snugly around your face and neck.

Some hoods also provide face protection; you can opt for a balaclava if you want maximum coverage.

7. Use a Humidifier

If you spend a lot of time indoors and want a convenient way to get some more moisture, plug in a humidifier. It’s helpful to run it at night while you sleep (especially if you breathe through your mouth when you sleep).

The Best Products for Dry or Chapped Lips

Here are my top picks for lip products you can rely on during winter (and throughout every other season):

Jack Black Intense Therapy Lip Balm

If you’re looking for a jack-of-all-trades lip balm that you can rely on day in and day out, you’ll be hard-pressed to beat Jack Black’s Intense Therapy Lip Balm.

With active ingredients such as green tea, avocado oil, and vitamin E, this SPF 25 lip balm nourishes your lips. Of all the flavors, the Shea Butter & Vitamin E option is the best since the formula has no irritating fragrances.

Aquaphor Lip Repair Lip Balm With Sunscreen

Aquaphor has been around since 1925, so it’s no surprise that the brand is often recommended by dermatologists. Its Lip Repair Lip Balm with Sunscreen is hands down one of the best extra-strength lip balms you can buy.

This fragrance and paraben-free lip balm offers Broad Spectrum SPF 30 protection, and it’s formulated with shea butter and vitamins for long-lasting moisture.

Supergoop! PLAY Lip Balm With Acai

Given how sensitive lips are, looking for lip balms with clean and natural ingredients is always a good idea. And the PLAY Lip Balm with Acai from Supergoop! is about as clean as a balm can get.

This SPF 30 lip balm uses shea butter, acai extract, and sunflower seed oil to hydrate your lips and lock in that moisture. Even though it’s so moisturizing, PLAY is lightweight and doesn’t leave behind any stickiness.

LANEIGE Lip Sleeping Mask

If your lips need a serious dose of hydration, consider using a lip mask. These overnight treatments moisturize your lips as you sleep and can go a long way toward preventing dryness.

LANEIGE’s Lip Sleeping Mask is one of the best lip masks available today, and it’s easy to see why.

The antioxidant-rich formula uses ingredients like coconut oil, murumuru seed butter, and vitamin C to provide hours of hydration.

Conclusion: Keep Your Lips Healthy 

Preventing dry lips in winter isn’t just about keeping the elements at bay — it’s about developing a year-round lip care routine that will hold up when winter comes.

Lip care is easy to overlook, but it’s just as important as any other type of skincare, so do yourself a favor and start looking after your lips.

Questions? Comments? Leave them below!