Beautiful touchable skin? We have several blog posts (and counting) discussing about best ways to have soft, smooth skin. We’ve talked about how coffee, olive oil and even sugar are some of the best ingredients to look for in your skin care products.

As Valentine’s Day fast approaches, gorgeous and touchable skin needs to be paired with soft and kissable lips. With hugs and kisses going to and coming from people dear to you, don’t settle for less than amazingly kissable lips.

But with February being one of coldest months, your lips might not willingly cooperate. Your lips may already be feeling dry and starting to flake. Don’t worry, kissable lips this Valentine’s Day can be attainable once you know the causes for dryness of the lips and how to deal with them.

Besides, even if you plan to finish a deadline and work through Valentine’s Day alone, you deserve to have soft, well-hydrated lips. Dry, crackling lips do look bad, but they feel even worse.

Culprits for Chapped Lips

Here are the most common reasons why you are suffering from cracked, dry lips right now:

Dehydration

Dehydration disturbs the balance of minerals and fluids in your body and causes problems for your skin. When your body is dehydrated, it shows all over, but more noticeably on your under-eyes and lips. These are the areas which have the thinnest, most sensitive skin; they are not able to retain moisture.

If your lips are prone to drying, make sure to keep your hydration levels up. Drink lots of water. Consume fruits and watery vegetables such as strawberries, watermelons, cucumbers and cauliflowers.

Vitamin deficiency

You may be low on some vitamins and minerals that your body needs to achieve healthy moisturisation. The vitamin Bs help to prevent ageing by improving the ability of the surface to the skin to retain hydration.

Low levels of iron and zinc may also lead to lip dryness and peeling.

If you suspect that you might be need to amp up your vitamins and minerals, take supplements. Better yet, go natural. Meat, brown rice, eggs, legumes, broccoli, spinach and almonds are good sources for vitamin B, iron and zinc.

Dry environment

The air you are breathing indoors may be very drying to your lips. Using a humidifier can not only bring some moisture back to your lips, but to the rest of your skin as well. Some people even use humidifiers to alleviate dry-eye symptoms.

Toothpaste

Your toothpaste may contain ingredients that are harsh and irritating for your body; some ingredients are actually detergents.

One such ingredient is Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS), an industrial detergent added to most toothpastes and shampoos to create lather. SLS is known for drying the skin and, to some, even causing allergic reactions and other troubling conditions.

Lip balm

Some lip balms do more harm than good. Lip balms may contain too much wax or alcohol; both are drying to the lips. Look for lip products that are made of natural ingredients such as beeswax, shea butter, essential oils and natural oils.

Lip balms may soften the surface of your lips temporarily but when the coat of gloss or balm evaporates, your lips become even drier. And in a never-ending loop, you pick up your favorite tube of lip balm to coat your lips yet again.

Flavored lip balms pose an even more menacing treat to the moisture balance of your lips – the flavors in these lip products encourage you to lick your lips often.

Licking your lips

When your lips feel dry, your first instinct, more often than not, is to moisten the lips with the tip of your tongue. Licking your lips leaves a thin layer of saliva. This layer of saliva evaporates fast and leaves your lips even drier than before.

Furthermore, chemicals in the saliva, the ones that help the digestion process in our bodies, will eat and leach moisture from your lips.

Mouth-breathing

Breathing in and out through your mouth dries the lips and the inside of your mouth. Mouth breathing can also lead to bad breath, dry throat and even dry cough.

Sleeping with your mouth open will unfortunately moisturise your pillow but will leave your lips and mouth dry. If you have colds and can’t breathe through your nose, moisturise your lips before your sleep.

Basic Lip Care

Don’t pick your lips – exfoliate

Picking off dried bits of skin off your lips will not end well, and will most likely lead to bleeding lips. Using a lip mask first and then a lip scrub afterwards will first soften the the dried, cracked skin and then allow them to buff off easily.

BodyBlendz 2 in 1 Facial Capsules, a mask that doubles as a scrub, will save you time and money. The capsules work beautifully not just on the skin of your face and neck but even on the delicate surface of your lips.

The 2 in 1 Facial Capsules are handy and convenient to use. Made from the purest Australian Clay and Arabica Coffee grounds with a luscious blend of oils and extracts, each capsule contains a unique formulation that’s all-natural, vegan and safe – free from alcohols, dyes, talc and other nasties. And after rinsing off, you will discover lips softened and conditioned, without drying.

Avoid harsh chemicals

Lipstick removers are very drying to your lips. Extra virgin olive oil can be the best make-up remover you’ll ever need. It removes make-up and dirt thoroughly, without irritating.

Toothpastes, as we have seen above, can wreak havoc on your moisture levels and your general health. Choose a milder or a natural toothpaste.

Take care not to let your face-wash or toner touch your lip area; these products are often very drying, especially to the sensitive skin on your lips.

Moisturise, moisturise, moisturise

Use lip products that contain natural ingredients. Can’t find natural lip balms or just ran out of them? Raid your pantry for coconut oil or extra virgin olive oil, they’re full of nutrients that your lips crave.

Moisturise before you apply your lip color and moisturise before you sleep.

Moisturising works from inside out too. So don’t forget your fluids - water and natural juices.

Coconut water are especially healthy; not only do they quench your body’s thirst, they also contain good amounts of sodium and potassium. They are natural electrolytes able to help the body maintain normal blood and fluid levels.

Prevent Rather Than Cure

If your lips are prone to dryness, check the list above to see if you need some changes to your diet, products and lifestyle.

Read labels to see if there are any ingredients that you may be reacting negatively to. As always, a patch test before initial use of a new product is advisable.

It’s easier to prevent further drying rather than to attempt to cure chronic dryness. And it sure is so much easier and far less painful to do basic lip care practices than to endure cracking and bleeding lips.

Pink -a- Lip Duo	Coffee Buff Coffee Scrub