5 Shocking Reasons Your Lips are Dry and Dull

Chapped, cracked, dry, or just generally lackluster lips making a bummer of your summer? You are so not alone. It turns out a smooth and perfectly hydrated pucker is a lot more complicated to achieve than most people realize. Luckily, the right lip treatment and a few smart lifestyle tweaks can have your kisser looking like the picture of health as soon as tomorrow morning.

Here are five shocking culprits contributing to your dry lips:

1. Water!

 In your beauty products; from the shower, the ocean, and the pool; even that refreshingly cold glass of water you just guzzled in an attempt to combat dehydration can lead to dry lips. Why? Water, when left behind on the lips, will evaporate causing what moisture you have to be sucked out with it. To help, choose a waterless daily lip treatment that will seal in moisture and use it regularly, especially after wetting your lips. 

2. Lip licking and biting.

Water, this time in another form (saliva), strikes again. Your saliva contains digestive enzymes, which are great for your oral and digestive health, but not so great for your lips.

3. Your lip plumping product.

Popular lip “venoms” designed to enlarge your lips often contain irritating ingredients that work to dilate your blood vessels and thus, dry your lips. Our advice: skip the plumpers and choose a moisturizing lip product that actually embraces your unique lip size and shape instead. You don’t need to change.

4. Your long-wear lipstick, stain, or even your lip balm.

Most lipsticks, stains, and balms don’t only contain water, but also alcohol, which has been shown to cause dryness. Want to keep your color and have soft lips too? No worries. Simply layer your lip color with a waterless hydrating lip treatment to form a barrier of protection.

5. Mouth breathing.

Take a deep breath in through your nose…and out through your nose too. The humid hot air that evaporates from your mouth is like a magnet for your lip moisture. Try sleeping with a humidifier and an overnight lip mask to keep your respiratory system clear and your lips hydrated.