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28th October 2023
03:50pm BST
They're painful, flaky and sometimes when you smile they can crack and bleed, leaving you scrambling to find a tissue before someone notices it.
So as the night crawls in faster and the mercury begins to drop, here are a few ways to prevent chapped lips before they can even happen.
An obvious one but it's a step that can easily be forgotten in the hustle and bustle of life; use a moisturising lip balm or ointment.
This will help to protect your skin from the elements and lock in moisture. Choose one made from beeswax or petroleum jelly that will help to prevent dryness.
It's something we Irish can often forget to do but it's important to care for your lips as you would your skin by using products with SPF.
Wear SPF lip balm when outdoors year-round, not just in hot weather.
Though the Covid days of wearing masking seem to be a thing of the past, you can wear a scarf in windy, cold climates to protect your lips from harsh weather.
Drink 2-3 litres of water a day to stay hydrated and avoid having too much alcohol or caffeinated drinks. This will help to fight dry skin in general.
This will be a hard habit for some people to break but you should Avoid licking your lips as much as possible to stop saliva from drying them out.
Use a lip balm instead to help break the habit.
We know, we know, fighting the temptation to pick is hard but picking, biting or peeling flaky skin on your lips will slow down healing and make them more sore.
This will help to overcome dry air indoors caused by air conditioning or central heating.