Top 10 Chapped Lips Home Remedy With Prevention Tips

Dr. Ashish Bhora

Medically reviewed by

Dr. Ashish Bhora

Prosthodontics

8 min read

Key Takeaways

  • Dehydration is often the culprit behind dry and chapped lips
  • Honey and natural oils are some home remedies for chapped lips
  • Another dry lips home remedy is applying aloe vera on your lips

Chapped and dry lips can become irritating, uncomfortable and make you self-conscious. This problem can occur at any season of the year. It is usually caused by bitter cold and dry air. However, it can also be due to the sun or the cosmetic products you use. Keep in mind that the skin on your lips is much thinner, delicate and lacks oil glands. This is why they cannot produce their own moisture. Exposure to several environmental factors [1] and other agents can make your lips:

  • Peeled

  • Dry

  • Cracked

  • Flaked

However, there are some home remedies for chapped lips that can help you get rosy and healthy lips. While lip balms can prove beneficial, you can try a more powerful dry lips remedy at home. Read on to see some chapped lips remedies to soothe and provides quick relief from discomfort.

Home Remedies For Chapped Lips

Cucumber

Cucumber is one of the best home remedies for chapped lips. This vegetable is cool in nature and has high water content. Simply slice a fresh cucumber and rub the slice gently on your lips for a minute. You can let the juice stay on your lips for a couple of minutes before washing it off. Alternatively, you can also mash a slice of a cucumber and apply it to your lips. Cucumber hydrates and moisturizes your chapped lips. You can do this twice daily.

Rose

Rose contains vitamin E, which helps nourish your lips. The lactic acid in milk helps exfoliate the lips and also moisturizes them. Soak a few rose petals in little raw milk for 2 hours. Mash the petals gently, so they get a paste-type consistency. You can apply this paste to your lips and rinse it off with cold water after half an hour. This also helps to retain your lip’s natural color. Try this dry lips home remedy for a week, and you will surely see a difference. 

Yogurt

One of the commonly found ingredients at home – yogurt, works very well in healing chapped lips. Just apply some (non-flavored) fresh yogurt on your lips. Let it stay for around 10 minutes, and then wash it off with lukewarm water. Doing this daily can help heal dry and chapped lips. It is one of the easiest home remedies for chapped lips. 

Aloe Vera

Aloe’s soothing and anti-inflammatory properties make it a great choice for chapped lips. You can also use it as a home remedy for sunburns. Aloe vera strengthens the thin layer of your skin along with repairing dry lips. You can apply fresh aloe vera to your lips and skin or you store the gel and apply it throughout the year. However, limit its use to just two to three times a day. This is because the enzymes in aloe vera have mild exfoliating properties.

Natural Oils

Natural oils are great moisturizers, which makes them good home remedies for chapped lips. Use natural oils such as:

Coconut oil is good for chapped lips due to its anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. It moisturizes the skin and protects it by enhancing its barrier function [2]. Use a spoon of coconut oil as a base and mix a few drops of other natural oils. Mix it well and apply it to your lips. Applying regularly will keep the problem of chapped lips away. Among the many uses of castor oil for skin, you can also apply it for better lip health. Do talk to your dermatologist about this oil as it can cause an allergy in some.

Olive oil is known to promote skin generation, which helps the skin to heal. Olive oil can be consumed as part of your daily cooking. It can also be directly applied on dry and chapped lips to heal them.

Additional Read: Coconut Oil Benefits

Chapped Lips

Green Tea

Green tea is rich in antioxidants and minerals that can make your lips healthy and strong. It contains a compound called tannin. This helps provide relief by reducing the pain and burning sensation caused by chapped lips. Green tea contains polyphenols that are known to reduce inflammation. This can repair damaged skin cells on your lips. Soak a bag of green tea in warm water and place it over your lips. Rubbing it over the lips can soften and remove excess dry skin.

Milk Cream

You can also use milk cream as a natural lip moisturizer. Apply it to your lips for 10 minutes. Then wash off with a cotton ball dipped in lukewarm water. Repeat this every day to relieve or heal your lips faster. Milk cream is one of the effective chapped lips remedies that are easy to use.

Honey

Honey has been in use for a long time in the treatment of skin problems and other health conditions. It is good for dry lips due to its moisturizing effects. Its antioxidant and antibacterial properties prevent infections in dry or cracked lips. It can also remove dead skin from your lips as it works as a mild exfoliator. There are a number of studies that show antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and wound-healing properties of honey [3]. Make sure that you use organic honey on your lips.

Beetroot Juice

Beetroots have a dark, red color. Its juice is full of nutrients. Beetroots help hydrate your skin from inside. Apply beetroot juice to your lips. Leave it for about 15 minutes and then wash it off using cold water. It keeps your lips hydrated and leaves a beautiful rich, dark hue on them. Try this dry lips home remedy before leaving home!

Water

Dehydration is often the cause of dry and chapped lips. Dehydration happens when your body loses more fluid than it needs. Feeling thirsty, having a dry mouth, a headache, and dizziness are all symptoms of dehydration. When your body is dehydrated, it uses water from elsewhere to keep your cells hydrated. This leads to dryness in the skin, including lips. So, drink plenty of water for nourished lips.

Preventive Tips For Chapped Lips

Chapped lips may be inevitable, especially during the winter, but there are a few things you can do to minimize or prevent the occurrence of dry and chapped lips. Most of the below are simple home remedies for dry, cracked lips that you can easily follow.

Exfoliation

Just like the skin on any other part of our body, dead cells accumulate on our lips and need to be removed regularly. Use a gentle exfoliator once a week to remove dead skin cells and keep your lips supple and moisturized.

Hydration

You are more susceptible to dry and chapped lips if you get dehydrated. Ensure you drink enough water and liquids and stay hydrated irrespective of the season.

Use of lip balm

Though this appears as a given, there are many people who do not use lip balms. Regular use of a natural lip balm (with herbal ingredients) will keep your lips healthy. Make sure you read the ingredients that go into making your lip balms. Avoid ones with drying ingredients like camphor.

Avoid touching

A lot of us have the habit of constantly touching our lips. The skin on our lips is sensitive, and if you keep touching, you risk transferring harmful bacteria from your hands to your lips, which can worsen the condition of your lips.

No smoking

Smoking irritates the lips, dries them, and causes them to crack and discolor. It is recommended you reduce or quit smoking if you want your lips to be pink and healthy.

Additional Read: Ayurvedic Cleansing

You are sure to find a dry lips home remedy that works for you from these options. You can even gain from the skin and health benefits of ghee as it also helps hydrate and moisturize lips. If you have cold sores on lips or any other allergies that don’t heal, consult a dermatologist. It may be due to any other skin-related issues. You can book an online doctor consultation on Bajaj Finserv Health. This way, you can get the best skincare tips.

FAQ

What is the fastest way to heal chapped lips?

The fastest way to heal chapped lips is with regular moisturization and exfoliation. Ensure that you exfoliate your lips gently and then keep them moisturized with the help of a lip balm or any other moisturizing agent – multiple times a day.

How do you fix chapped lips naturally?

Chapped lips can be fixed naturally using different home remedies like virgin coconut oil, honey, sugar, milk, rose, yogurt, aloe vera, etc.

What is the best home remedy for dry lips?

Virgin coconut oil is the best home remedy for dry lips. Applying this oil multiple times a day helps heal dry and chapped lips.

What deficiency causes chapped lips?

There is no evidence for any one specific deficiency being the cause of chapped lips. A due deficiency in iron and vitamin B, among others, can cause dry and chapped lips. Existing health conditions like thyroid disorders and allergies can also cause chapped lips.

What is the reason for very dry lips?

Very dry lips can have multiple causes. They can be a result of extremities in weather (very hot or very cold). Sunburn, dehydration, and health conditions like autoimmune disorders also contribute to very dry lips. One of the most common causes of having very dry lips is the high frequency of licking lips.

Published on 19 Nov 2021Last updated on 12 Apr 2023
  1. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324281#_noHeaderPrefixedContent
  2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6335493/
  3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5661189/

Please note that this article is solely meant for informational purposes and Bajaj Finserv Health Limited (“BFHL”) does not shoulder any responsibility of the views/advice/information expressed/given by the writer/reviewer/originator. This article should not be considered as a substitute for any medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always consult with your trusted physician/qualified healthcare professional to evaluate your medical condition. The above article has been reviewed by a qualified doctor and BFHL is not responsible for any damages for any information or services provided by any third party.

Dr. Ashish Bhora

Medically reviewed by

Dr. Ashish Bhora

, BDS

9

article-banner

Health Videos

background-banner-dweb
Mobile Frame
Download our app

Download the Bajaj Health App

Stay Up-to-date with Health Trends. Read latest blogs on health and wellness. Know More!

Get the link to download the app

+91
Google PlayApp store