A happy face always radiates warmth. The easiest approach to making a great first impression is to smile. But having cracked lips can spoil the same. People often wonder, why their lips get chapped despite all the self-care. Well, today you will get answers to all your questions. Chapped lips are usually harmless, however, sometimes people develop a more severe form of it called cheilitis. And cheilitis can be manifested due to an infection caused by cracked skin around the corners of the lips. Because our lips do not possess oil glands like other parts of the body, they are more susceptible to getting dry and becoming chapped.
Listed below are some common causes of chapped lips:
Sunburn:
Sunburn causes dehydration, which further makes our lips dry and cracked. You can prevent it by drinking an ample amount of water.
Cold Weather:
The top layer of your skin, keratin, loses its flexibility, due to the dry, centrally heated air inside and exposure to the cold outside. Therefore, it causes the lips to become sore, cracked, and scaly.
Hot or dry weather:
The hot and dry weather causes dehydration and as a result, it makes our lips dry.
Licking your lips often:
It is one of the most common reasons for one’s lips to get chapped. Licking your lips often can further develop a condition called lip licker’s dermatitis. This condition leads to the formation of a rash around the mouth in addition to chapped lips.
Furthermore, dry lips can also be associated with medical conditions such as thyroid, vitamin deficiencies and inflammatory bowel disease.
To get relief from dry lips, you must keep yourself hydrated, apply lip balm and follow exfoliation.
