Shea Butter
★★★★★
Sugar, Oil, Vaseline, ACV
★★★★★
With 4 magical ingredients:
1) Sugar
2) Oil
3) Vaseline
4) ACV
Using a clean toothbrush i do a gentle sugar and oil scrub on my lips morning AND night to brush away any dead skin cells and keep them at bay.
At night i swipe on some ACV from a cotton disc before applying oil again (this also removes dead skin while keeping lips plump, bacteria-free and nourished).
- If not too bothersome i would even advise re-applying ACV during the day before any balm (especially for those who get chapped lips despite adding balm like me!).
As for morning routine i brush my lips with vaseline before stepping out into winter weather (this protects them well - you can feel they become less sensitive to the cold).
My lips have always been extremely chapped and simple balms have never been enough for me. Things i have learnt which have allowed me to have beautifully smooth lips were,
1) the above
2) avoiding mouth area when washing face with cosmetic products however,
3) scrubbing lips with natural products on a daily (lips love exfoliation as does the skin on our face!)
Supplements
To Sandy (littledove): Try some Vit. A&D ointment on those peeling lips. You can also open a Vit. E capsule and apply it to your lips. Both of these are soothing and healing. You also note when the peeling is worse- following mouth wash use, etc. One mouth wash in particular made my entire mouth burn and peel. I have to steer clear of all Avon lipsticks (everyone I tried caused peeling lips).
(Harrison, Id)
01/16/2009
Sandy re: peeling lips I too have suffered dry,cracked, constantly peeling lips. I have found out two things. The first is that the skin on the lips is very thin and will absorb Vitamin D from the sun very quickly. For me that meant if I ever was outside sunny or not I would end up with cold sores/fever blisters unless I have SPF chapstick or lipstick on. The blisters are a result of too much Vitamin D and no where to go. Vitamin D helps deliver calcium into your body, so a very fast and effective way to get rid of the breakout is to drink anything high in calcium, milk, ensure, breakfast mix w/milk and calcium supplements. I usually drink 8oz glass of milk w/breakfast every 2 hours until the tingling or heat starts to subside. I have found though as I'm getting older (50 yrs old) that I have also included taking calcium supplement, usually take 2000mg with magnesium 200mg with each 8oz drink. If I get to it early enough it's usually within the day, if not it could take 2-3 days for the blister to go away.
The second is with my chronic dry lips I use a all natural lip balm that comes in colors. There are several out there but only one of them really works for me to keep my lips moist "Alba Terra Tints". They have real natural looking tints or colored tints. They should be in your local health food market, if not I'm sure you can get them online.
(NY, NY)
01/17/2009
(Boca Raton, Fl)
02/27/2009
2 common causes of Lip problems are:
Angular Chelitis (cracking of the corner of the mouth)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angular_cheilitis
"Studies have linked the initial onset with nutritional deficiencies, namely riboflavin (vitamin B2)[1] [2] and iron deficiency anemia,[2] which in turn may be evidence of poor diets or malnutrition (e.g. celiac disease). Zinc deficiency has also been associated with angular cheilitis.[citation needed]"
Fordyce's spots on the lips
http://www.steadyhealth.com/fordyce_on_lips___think_I_have_found_a_cure_t78306.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fordyce's_spot
