Treat your dry lips to a spa day! We share a step-by-step guide for a lip facial to soothe and hydrate a dry lip and mouth area. We also explain what causes dryness in the first place and how to treat it.
What Causes Dry Skin Around Lips & Mouth?
Issues with dryness around the lips and mouth can show up in various ways depending on the severity of the problem.
- Rough or itchy skin
- Flaky skin
- Redness and irritation
- Skin feels tight
- Small, fine wrinkles
- Cracked and bleeding lips
What causes dry skin around lips and mouth area? The most common reasons include:
Perioral dermatitis
Periorificial dermatitis appears as clusters of small, itchy, red bumps (papules) around the eye, nose, and mouth area. It usually affects women aged 15 to 45 years.
We go into more detail about this inflammatory skin condition in our article Skin Care for Perioral Dermatitis.
Sun and seasonal changes
Your lips are very vulnerable to sun exposure but how often do you apply SPF protection to your mouth?
There tends to be less awareness about the importance of protecting lips from UV rays. They’re covered in much thinner, more delicate skin than other areas of your face and even more sensitive to the sun.
Sunburnt lips are painful, red, and swollen and the aftermath, as they heal, is dry, flaky skin. You want to keep them protected as much as possible from sun exposure during the healing process.
Use an SPF lip product and reapply frequently throughout the day. Wearing a wide brim hat that covers your lips boosts protection too.
Windy days can also leave your lips dry and chapped. If the day is windy and sunny, it can be diabolical for your lips - don’t skip the protection of a nourishing SPF lip balm.
Even if dry skin around the mouth isn’t usually a problem for you, a change in the weather can trigger a bout of seasonal related dryness.
Skin dehydration
Dehydration might also be to blame for your dry lips.
When your skin is dehydrated it’s lacking water. All skin types can experience dehydration even oily skin. Quite a few things can cause dehydration including:
- Too much alcohol and caffeine
- Skincare products that strip the skin
- Changes in temperature and humidity
- Medication
- Smoking
- Not drinking enough water or hydrating fluids
How to Treat Dry Lips & Mouth
Dealing with dry skin around the mouth is frustrating but there are ways you can ease and prevent symptoms.
Use gentle skincare products
In general steer clear of products that strip the skin of its protective oils and are more likely to cause irritation.
- Benzoyl peroxide
- Salicylic acid
- Denatured alcohol
- Synthetic fragrances
- Witch hazel
- Sodium lauryl sulfate
Although exfoliating will help smooth dry, flaky patches (more on that in a moment) avoid harsh face scrubs or strong chemical exfoliants. They’ll just make the situation worse.
Drink plenty of water
Repeat after us: 8 glasses of water a day.
At the cellular level, drinking water helps flush toxins from your system and hydrates your body, including skin, overall.
If knocking back glass after glass of plain old water doesn’t sound very enticing, mix it up. Add fruit pieces or sip herbal teas and infusions. Some of the best types of tea for radiant skin include green tea, rooibos (red tea), and dandelion tea.
Incorporate nourishing face oils and hydrating serums
The right blends of plant oils can make a big difference for a dry, flaky mouth and lip area as they supplement a lack of sebum. Great face oils for dryness around the mouth include:
- Jojoba
- Avocado
- Rosehip
- Acai oil
- Sweet almond oil
Wear sunscreen
Sunscreen is everything. It’s the most important protective step in your routine, especially if you're experiencing dry skin around the lips and mouth area.
We suggest giving esmi Skin Shield Natural Sunscreen a try! A broad-spectrum SPF 30+ it’s ideal for all skin types, lightweight and rapidly absorbed. It’s also enriched with skin-saving anti-ageing antioxidants to help promote a youthful looking complexion.
Use a humidifier in winter
A humidifier is a great addition to your winter skin care routine. Indoor heating and air conditioning suck the moisture out of the air in your home or office. This dryness in the environment around you has a knock-on effect on your skin.
A humidifier can help prevent parched skin in general - including dry skin around lips - by adding moisture to the air.
How to Give Yourself a Lip Facial
Follow our step by step guide to a lip facial for a smoother, more hydrated pout. Goodbye peeling, flaky lips!
Step 1: Gentle Lip Scrub
When you exfoliate lips, it helps in a few ways. First, it removes dead, flaky skin so the area around your mouth feels instantly softer, smoother.
It also encourages skin cell turnover and allows other products - particularly serums - to penetrate deeper into the skin.
When dealing with dryness around the mouth, always choose a mild exfoliant that won’t irritate or strip the skin.
Rose and Bamboo Gentle-Foliant
A delicate, restorative exfoliation experience for skin needing TLC. Gentle bamboo extract helps to leave skin soft, luminous and purified while luxurious rose oil aids in calming and moisturises.
Step 2: Water-Based Serum
Hydration is essential for a glowing, smooth and even skin texture.
A water-based serum is the best way to deliver a big hit of hydration to thirsty, dry skin. Serums can penetrate down into the deeper layers of the skin, getting moisture boosting ingredients to thirsty skin cells.
Hyaluronic acid really is the superstar ingredient to look for in a hydrating serum. It’s a humectant ingredient which means it actually pulls moisture from the air delivering it deep into the skin cells.
The ultimate skin hydrator, this quick-absorbing hydrating serum fights dehydration to help plump skin, minimise lines, and boost radiance.
Step 3. Face Mask
Dry lips will be treated to deep intensive nourishment with an overnight face mask. The active ingredients have time to sink in and work their soothing, hydrating magic overnight.
Ideal for dry skin types in need of nourishment to reduce fine lines, inflammation, uneven skin tone and heal damaged skin.
The Ultra Nourishing Booster Mask can be applied to your entire face, including lips, and left on overnight.
Step 4. Oil Based Serum
Build a resilient skin barrier with the lipids of oil-based serum that penetrate and protect a parched lip and mouth area.
Non-greasy, our gold face oil is perfect for combination to dry skin as a moisturiser. Addresses dryness, dehydration, ageing, fine lines and wrinkles on the face, neck, and decolletage.
Shop our full range of dry skin treatments to target moisture retention and dehydration to restore dry, dull skin.
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