Bye-Bye Chapped Lips: How to Get Soft And Smooth Lips

Is there any beauty problem more annoying than chapped lips? It seems like slightly dry lips can turn into a peeling and painful mess in a matter of 24 hours even if you avoid drying lipsticks and slather on layer after layer of chapstick. I dealt with this problem for years and felt like a lip balm addict. It seemed like I could apply lip balm every hour of the day and still go to bed with chapped lips, so I just assumed I had unusually dry lips and resigned myself to the thought of buying lip balm in bulk for the remainder of my life. Then I spoke to a friend and realized I’d been making two extremely silly mistakes that kept my lips permanently chapped instead of restoring them to their natural state.

My first mistake was failing to remove the dead skin from my chapped lips. I thought that simply applying lip balm would somehow soften the skin, but guess what? It’s dead, and it’s not absorbing anything. In fact, it’s only blocking the moisturizing ingredients of your lip balm from absorbing into the layers of skin underneath your dry and dead skin. Think of it this way: if you had hundreds of tangles and knots in your hair, would you compulsively apply conditioner without brushing your hair? The conditioner will help the knots slide out more easily with a brush, but it doesn’t magically detangle your hair. You still have to brush your hair. Chapped lips are the same situation. Before you apply your moisturizing lip ointment, you need to remove the damaged skin. My favorite way to remove dead skin from my lips is to use a gentle lip scrub. I’ve tried several brands on the market, and they’re all fantastic. But at the end of the day, they’re just sugar and oil in a fancy pot with a $30 price tag. Are they effective? Yes. Are they worth $30? Debatable. If you’re not in the mood to spend your money on overpriced lip scrubs, no worries. I’ve had great luck making an all-natural lip scrub at home, and it works like a charm. Simply combine sugar in the raw with a few spoonfuls of coconut oil and a splash of olive oil (or your favorite liquid oil). The ratio will vary slightly based on the temperature of your home (coconut oil can be liquid/solid depending on the temperature) and your personal preference, but the goal is to make a very thick paste.

I recommend rubbing the lip scrub across your lips for thirty seconds to one minute. The sugar crystals will gently slough away the dead skin on your lips, and the coconut and olive oils will provide extra moisture to your parched skin. Once your lips are thoroughly scrubbed, use a warm washcloth to remove any excess sugar or oil.

My second mistake was using the wrong lip balm. Most lip balms on the market are thick, hard, and waxy, and to be honest – a lot of them don’t do anything. At best, your lips will feel slightly softer for a few minutes. When you’re suffering from dry and peeling chapped lips, you want to use a soft and highly moisturizing product that will heal your lips. My holy grail lip balms are the Vaseline Lip Therapy lip tins. Inside the adorable packaging, the lip tins contain 100% Vaseline jelly that’s clinically proven to heal dry lips. Since we’ve already removed the dead skin from your lips, all of the moisturizing ingredients from the lip balm can actually be absorbed into your skin and do some good. Bye-bye chapped lips! The Vaseline Lip Therapy lip tins come in four varieties (original, aloe, cocoa butter, and rosy lips), and the formula leaves your lips feeling comfortably hydrated. I recently wrote a love letter to these moisturizing lip balms in this post, so you can check it out if you’d like more in-depth info on each variety.  Here are the three main points you need to know: 1. They’re incredibly hydrating and will leave your lips with a natural shine. 2. They only cost $3.99. 3. You need them.

If you complete this mini lip treatment at home once a week, you’ll have the softest and smoothest lips on the block. It only takes five minutes from start to finish, and you can’t beat the affordable price tag. I’d love for you to try it out and let me know how your lips feel!

Thanks to Vaseline for sponsoring today’s post. As always, all stated opinions are my honest thoughts. I only work with companies that I truly love!