"What Are the Top 6 Causes of Chapped Lips?"

Treating Dry and Cracked Lips

Persistent dry and cracked lips can be indicative of severe underlying health conditions, yet, routine dryness and cracking can be managed with simple home remedies. Follow these steps to learn more about how to alleviate dry and cracked lips, restoring them to their supple and hydrated state.

Six Common Causes of Dry and Cracked Lips

1. Lip Licking: Many individuals tend to lick their lips when they feel dry. However, saliva only temporarily moistens the lips and evaporates quickly, leading to further dryness. Biting the lips can also exacerbate cracking.

2. Dehydration: Insufficient water intake can cause dry and cracked lips.

3. Allergies: Excessive intake of vitamin B12 may cause cobalt allergy and lead to dry, cracked lips. Avoid letting your lips come into contact with metal objects if you are allergic to nickel.

4. Lack of Lip Balm: Lip balm can protect lips. Choose a product with SPF.

5. Mouth Breathing: Frequent mouth breathing inevitably leads to dry lips. Apply lip balm before bed if you suffer from colds or sleep-related issues.

6. Toothpaste: Many toothpastes contain sodium lauryl sulfate, which can cause skin dryness and itching. Reduce the use of such toothpastes during winter.

What to Do for Dry and Cracked Lips?

1. Nourishing and Moisturizing Tea Recipe:

   Ingredients: 2 Pang Da Hai (a type of seaweed), 3g Radix Glehniae (Bei Sha Shen), 3g Balloon Flower Root (Jie Geng), 3g Dark Plums (Wu Mei), 3 Red Dates.

   Preparation: Place all ingredients in a thermos, pour boiling water over, steep for 1 hour, add a little rock sugar for flavor.

   Benefits: Nourishes yin, moistens dryness, stimulates saliva production, and quenches thirst. Suitable for dry lips and a sore throat.

2. Lily and Two Winter Herb Paste Recipe:

   Ingredients: 250g each of Lily Bulbs, Radix Asparagi (Tian Dong), and Radix Ophiopogonis (Mai Dong).

   Preparation: Wash and simmer the herbs in water over low heat for 2 hours. Strain and reduce the liquid to a thick paste. Mix 50g of refined honey per 100g of paste. Consume 15g with hot water in the morning and evening.

   Benefits: Nourishes yin, clears the lungs, moistens and quenches thirst. Mainly treats dry cough with little mucus, sore throat, and cracked lips.

3. Glehniae Moisturizing Soup Recipe:

   Ingredients: 20g each of Radix Glehniae (Sha Shen) and Polygonatum Odoratum (Yu Zhu), 15g of Radix Rehmanniae Preparata (Sheng Di Huang), 30g of Dendrobium Nobile Stem (Shi Hu).

   Preparation: Decoct the herbs in water. Take 1 dose daily, twice a day.

   Benefits: Nourishes yin, moistens the lungs, supplements qi, stimulates saliva production, and benefits the stomach. Treats dry mouth and lips, dry cough with hoarseness, restlessness, and thirst.

4. Carrot Porridge Recipe:

   Preparation: Saute carrots in vegetable oil, add 100g of rice and water to cook into porridge.

   Benefits: Carrots contain beta-carotene, which converts to vitamin A upon ingestion. Suitable for individuals with dry skin and lips.