Chapped skin can occur for a myriad of reasons, but masks seem to be significantly speeding up the process. The humid environment created in the space between your mouth and mask encourages sweat production, which plays havoc with the delicate skin on your face. In a previous blog, we shared some of the ways to protect your face from the fallout of wearing a mask; today, it’s all about the lips.

Day Protection For Chapped Lips

The first step toward getting your lips into tip-top condition is to protect them from further damage. By using a quality lip balm or lipstick, you create a barrier between your skin and the environment under your mask. If you’re suffering from dryness, we recommend using a balm instead of lipstick, as the formulations tend to be thicker and offer better protection. We also recommend avoiding lip balms that you need to apply with your fingers unless you have hand-washing facilities available.

If you spend a large proportion of your day wearing a mask, we highly recommend changing it when you notice it becoming moist; this will help prevent any salty buildup on your skin. Cleanse your lips with micellar water when changing your mask and reapply your chosen balm for best results.

Clarins Hydra-Essentiel Moisture Replenishing Lip Balm

With blue lotus wax, Clarins Hydra-Essentiel Lip Balm is an ideal option for daily wear. Locking in moisture and creating an invisible barrier to irritants, it calms and soothes dry, chapped lips. In a convenient tube for easy application, this is a must-have for your makeup bag.

Shiseido Protective Lip Conditioner

With 145 years in the skincare industry, Shiseido has a global reputation for quality. The Protective Lip Conditioner is deeply hydrating, non-sticky and contains vitamin E, a moisturising anti-inflammatory. Better yet, this lip conditioner has added SPF to continue protecting your pout when you’re mask-free.

Daily Lip Detox

When you get home at the end of the day, the best thing you can do for dry, chapped lips is cleansing them (again) as part of your regular skincare routine. Whether you’ve been wearing makeup or not, a thorough cleanse will wash away the dirt, sweat, and pollution accumulated on your skin over the course of the day.

For dry skin, an oil-based cleanser can do wonders. So, opt for a balm or oil cleanser, which will remove all traces of the day without further drying your lips.

Elemis Anti-Ageing Pro-Collagen Rose Cleansing Balm

Elemis Anti-Ageing Pro-Collagen Rose Cleansing Balm is a lightly fragranced refining balm that removes impurities from your skin. With an array of natural ingredients including sweet almond oil, elderberry, rosehip oil and padina pavonica, the skin’s lipid barrier is replenished and soothed.

Caudalie Vinoclean Makeup Removing Cleansing Oil

Formulated from 100% natural-origin plant oils, Caudalie Vinoclean Makeup Removing Cleansing Oil uses the best of mother nature to wash away impurities, including waterproof makeup. With sweet almond and grape seed oils, the cleansing oil turns into a lotion on contact with water and is suitable for all skin types.

Overnight Recovery For Chapped Lips

Perhaps the most important thing you can do for chapped lips is to lather them in a nourishing overnight treatment. When we’re asleep, chemical changes occur in our bodies, including an increase in collagen and melatonin (an antioxidant) - our skin does most of its repairs overnight. So, while our bodies heal our skin from the inside, we can give them a helping hand from the outside.

With heavier formulations, the lip balms below have been designed to provide you with an intense boost of hydration overnight, but you can also benefit from using them on days you’re at home without a mask.

Dermalogica Age Smart Nightly Lip Treatment

Why settle for simply moisturising, when you can fight the signs of ageing too?! Dermalogica Age Smart Nightly Lip Treatment contains hydrating sesame seed extract and shea butter to smooth and nourish dry lips, while volumising technology targets fine lines and improves elasticity. This is a beauty essential you’ll wonder how you ever lived without.

Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Intensive Repair Lip Balm

For seriously dry and damaged lips, Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Intensive Repair Lip Balm is a saviour. The powerful formulation of the multi-award-winning Eight Hour range has received global acclaim, and the newest addition is doing wonders for rough, irritated skin. Find out yourself why this is one of our best-selling lip care products.

How To Exfoliate Your Lips

As your lips begin to heal, you may notice the chapped areas becoming flaky to make way for the new, underlying skin. Avoid the temptation to pick at any flakes, and instead, gently buff them away with a DIY exfoliator. A light rub with a facecloth may dislodge the majority, but for something a little more indulgent, create your own scrub and use it once or twice per week as needed.

DIY Sugar Lip Scrub

2 tsp sugar 1 tsp honey 1 tsp oil

We like brown sugar for this recipe as the granules are finer than white sugar, making them less abrasive. You can use any skin-friendly oil that you have available - we love the heavenly smell of coconut oil. Melt it in the microwave for a few seconds before adding it to the other ingredients. This is such a versatile recipe, so play with the ingredients until you find a combination you love!

With these steps, your pout will be picture perfect in time for Spring. To celebrate saying goodbye to pesky dryness, treat yourself to a mask-proof lipstick and show off those luscious lips with confidence.