How to Save Dry Lips

It’s that wonderful time of the year, where the temperature drops, snow covers everything, and your lips get painfully dry and cracked. Where I live, the temperature is below freezing most days from end of November to end of March and my lips go from being exceptionally soft to a dry cracked mess. The climate is also really dry here year-round but wrecks havoc on my skin and lips during the winter. Over the years I’ve tried so many products, techniques, tips, and tricks to try and stop my lips from turning into a desert. The technique/process that I’ve found works best for me is to scrub my lips using a lip scrub and then apply a thick layer of an intensive lip treatment, balm, or mask. After I do all that, I chug a glass of water then go to sleep. Pretty much every morning I wake up after doing this, my lips are so soft and noticeably improved from the day before. Throughout the day if I find my lips feeling dry at all, I make sure I keep a very moisturizing lip balm with me at all times to give my lips that extra hydration if needed. Here are some product recommendations to help keep your lips smooth and soft all winter long.

SCRUBS

There are two scrubs that I find are straight up amazing. The Bite Beauty Agave Lip Scrub is UNREAL and it smells/tastes amazing. It may sound gross, but you’re bound to get some of the scrub actually in your mouth so having it taste good is always a huge bonus. I haven’t tried their other lip scrub (it has pistachio oil in it and I’m super allergic to that), but I’ve heard its good. I find that this lip scrub really gets all my dry skin off and really makes my lips a lot smoother. The other lip scrub I use a lot is the Fresh Sugar Lip Scrub. As with the Bity Beauty scrub, it smells/tastes amazing. The Fresh scrub is more solid while the Bite Beauty one has a lot more liquid in it and I find that it is a bit more moisturizing. I tend to use the Fresh one more so for daily use then the Bite Beauty one when my lips are needed some extra exfoliation. Both of these you can get at Sephora. I’m sorry I don’t have any more affordable lip scrubs to recommend, these are just the two I use the most and will continue to choose over any other one. Lip scrubs are super easy to make yourself so you don’t need to go out and buy one of these expensive ones, but definitely use a lip scrub and your lips will thank you.

Fresh Sugar Lip Scrub - CAD $29 at Sephora

Bite Beauty Agave Lip Scrub - CAD $20 at Sephora

MASKS/TREATMENTS

Pretty much every single night before I go to bed, I put a thick layer of a lip mask/intensive lip treatment. I find that this really helps repair any dryness on my lips and prevent it from getting worse. Even though some are labelled/marketed as night masks, I will still use them at random points during the day if I feel like my lips really need that extra help and a regular lip balm won’t cut it. I don’t really use those sheet masks for lips, I honestly find that they never make a difference in my lips. Instead, I prefer the more intensive “masks” or treatments. The Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask, Bite Beauty Agave Lip Mask, and the Clinique Pep Start Pout Restoring Night Mask are my three favourites. You can kinda tell in this picture that I’ve completely used up the Laneige mask, and it was amazing. I’ve already bought a new one and it lasts for so long because there is so much in the pot. The Bite Beauty mask is my all time favourite lip care product. Nothing repairs my lips and soothes them like this does. It smells/tastes amazing and I can use it during the day if I need extra moisture in my lips or at night before I go to bed. This one is a little pricy but I cannot recommend it enough. The Clinique one I really love because I find it sinks into my lips really quickly and doesn’t ever leave a weird greasy residue on my pillow. I’ve been using this one every single night (except the nights I need something a bit more intense, then I use the Bite one) since I ran out of the Laneige one. I love this mask so much. It doesn’t really have a scent or a taste so this would be perfect for you if scented products really bother you.

Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask - CAD $24 at Sephora

Bite Beauty Agave Lip Mask - CAD $30 at Sephora (also comes in other colours)

Clinique Pep Start Pout Restoring Night Mask - CAD $22 at Sephora

LIP BALMS

I always keep a lip balm with me wherever I go, especially this time of year. My three go-tos that I have repurchased so many times and will continue to until the day I die are the First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Lip Therapy, Nivea Hydro Care, and The Body Shop Born Lippy. The First Aid one is pretty new to me, but I love it for when I’m out and about and my lips are incredibly dry and need some moisture. Not only is it incredibly hydrating, but it feels so soothing on my lips. I got this in a Sephora Favourites summer gift set and if you can find one that has this in it, definitely check it out because getting it in a set is usually the best value. You can buy it individually, but it is more of an expensive lip balm. I have been using The Body Shop Born Lippy lip balms since I was probably about 8 years old. I’ve had pretty much every scent/flavour they have come out with but I always end up going back to the watermelon flavour. I am a sucker for anything watermelon and the shade of this lip balm works perfectly for me. It doesn’t change the colour of my lips which I love but it is also so hydrating and perfect as an everyday lip balm. There are no words to describe my feelings for the Nivea Hydro Care lip balm. Since I was 15, I have always had at least one of these tubes in my life. I go through them really quickly but they are so affordable that I don’t mind at all. Nivea’s lip balms in general are amazing, but this one is my favourite by far. It keeps my lips hydrated and prevents them from getting dry throughout the day. Keeping a lip balm in your desk at work, your purse, your gym bag, or wherever you are is something I cannot recommend enough. Maintaining the hydration in your lips will help so much to prevent them from getting dry, flaky, and painful.

First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Lip Therapy - CAD $15 at Sephora

The Body Shop Born Lippy - CAD $6 at The Body Shop (comes in other falvours/colours)

Nivea Hydro Care - CAD $2.49 at drugstores

DRINK WATER

This seems like a stupid tip, but making sure you’re drinking a lot of water and staying hydrated helps so much. It wont completely solve all of your dry lip problems, but it will help prevent excessive dryness and overall, keeping up your hydration is good for you. Personally, I find that when I’m actually staying hydrated and drinking enough water that my lips are in way better shape than when I’m dehydrated.

#makeup #beauty #skincare #winter #lips