How To Treat Sunburnt Lips & Other Tips for Dry Lips - AMR Hair & Beauty

How To Treat Sunburnt Lips & Other Tips for Dry Lips

Jan 18, 2018Scott Peers

We have probably all had at least one occasion where we have been spending a little too much time in the sun. Even with sun protection, the Aussie sun is so harsh it can damage skin quickly and sun damage to the lips is no exception.

Any type of sunburn will cause inflammation of the skin. Sometimes we can easily fall into the habit of neglecting the skin around our mouth - our lips. This part of our body is quite delicate.

The outer layer of skin is called the Stratum Corneum which contains little melanin, because of this, our lips are prone to blistering when getting sunburnt.

So here's the question on everyone's lips, how to treat sunburnt lips?

We will answer that question as well as provide some other tips and tricks for soothing dry lips.

Sunburnt lips with blisters

Who Can Get Sunburned Lips?

Anyone who can get a sunburn can get a sunburn blister on their lips. However, the certain group of people that are most susceptible to getting sunburn are fair-skinned outdoorsy (either work or leisure) people.

The other higher-risk group are people who are prone to getting frequent outbreaks of cold sores more than the average person.

How Do You Know if Your Lips Are Sunburned?

If you don't have any sunburn blisters, it's possible you can go about your day without knowing your skin is in trauma.

After a sunburn, it can take up to 24-48 hours for the effects of the sunburn to appear. The symptoms that you should be looking out for to see if you have sunburned lips are:

  • Reddening of the area
  • Swelling of the area
  • If the area is tender to the touch
  • A water type of bubble appears
  • Cracking or splitting occurs
  • Bleeding from the split appears
  • Scabbing from the bleeding will develop

Blistering bottom lip from sunburn

How to Prevent Sunburned Lips

Here are some tricks to prevent getting yourself a nasty sunburnt blister on the lip by following these tips:

  • Avoid going out into direct sunlight between 10am-4pm
  • Wear sunscreen or a lip product that provides a thick barrier that blocks out the sun. Products containing ingredients like zinc oxide or titanium oxide
  • Reapplying a lip balm or zinc throughout the day, especially after eating and drinking.

How To Treat Sunburnt Lips

What not to do:

If you ever have a sunburnt lip with a raw and fresh blister do not do the following:
  • Do not use any products that contain any kind of petroleum jelly as the ointment traps the heat from the sun inside the blister.
  • Do not use any lotions or creams that contain any fragrance. Fragrance in these products will irritate the blister even more.
  • Do not use lotions or creams that contain ingredients called benzocaine or lidocaine (numbing ingredients).
  • Do not apply an ice cube directly on the blister as this will cause further damage to the tissue as the burn may expose underlying tissue that is already fragile and more likely to be damaged by the exposure of the ice. And because of this, this may disrupt the healing process altogether.
  • Resist the temptation of popping or prodding the blister. Yes, it will give you a little bit of relief but will be inclined to infection.

What You Should Do

If you have a serious sunburn it is advised to seek medical attention. The following advice is more suitable for mild sunburn.

Soothing the sore and treating the sore are two different things. To soothe the area is to bring calm or temporary relief for the sore. To treat is to cure or "fix" the sore.

Sunburnt blisters will gradually heal on their own, especially unbroken water blisters. If taken care of well by following these rules your sunburnt blisters on your lips will generally go away in a week.

How To Treat Sunburnt Lips - To Soothe

  • Aloe Vera is a great and natural succulent plant that soothes most burns on the skin. The Aloe from the plant once cut acts as a soothing and cooling gel. Although it smells unpleasant and may feel uncomfortable and slimy, alternatively you can use cooling gels that contain Aloe Vera. Either item whether it be the natural plant or manufactured product will do the trick to soothe your sunburnt blister.
Aloe vera leaves  
  • Get a washcloth and by dipping it into cold water or ice-cold water and wringing the excess water out will cool down the inflamed area when placed on giving you temporary relief.  

How To Treat Sunburnt Lips - To Treat

Sunburn and mild blisters will heal on their own time as long as you keep the area dry, cool and free from irritants.

However, with some of us who want to hurry the healing process along you can do so by following these below treatments:

  • Getting a washcloth and dabbing that in cold milk will help treat the burn as the fat and protein content in milk both soothes the sore and promotes healing.
    A glass of milk next to a jug of milk
  • Drinking plenty of water will cool and relieve the dehydrated skin and speed up the recovery time compared to someone who doesn't drink any water at all.
    Water being poured into a glass
  • When not eating or drinking, keep the area cool and free from irritants
  • Moisturisers or lip balms that contain ingredients with Shea Butter, Castor Seed Oil, Beeswax, Vitamin E, Coconut Oil or Almond Oil will help soothe and heal your blister.
  • If your blister isn't healing at all with any of the natural remedies, seek medical attention by talking to your Doctor. You may be prescribed stronger medications or recommended to see a pharmacist to get over-the-counter ointments and creams.

If you have suffered from a painful sunburn lip blister before and have other tips and tricks regarding the healing process, please comment below on some of your remedies and experiences of these and I shall hear from you all in the next blog.

Now let's look at what to do for chapped lips.

Chapped Lips

If you have ever had to endure dry and chapped lips you will sympathise with people who are prone to having dry lips all year round.

Whether it happens occasionally or a lot let's have a look at what you can do for relief.

Why Lips are Delicate

Our bodies are made up of three layers of skin - the outer layer being the Stratum Corneum (as mentioned earlier), the second layer being the epidermis and the third layer being the dermis.

We have these layers on our lips too, however, what differentiates the skin on our lips from the rest of the skin on our bodies is the fact that the Stratum Corneum on our lips is thinner than the rest of the skin on our bodies. Hence why our lips are a different skin colour to the rest of our body. This gives out lips that alluring red or pink hue as it comes from the underlying blood vessels underneath the skin on our lips.

The skin on our lips is the most delicate part of our bodies, that's why they get crusty and dry so easily.

How To Get Rid Of Chapped Lips

Lips don't have oil or sweat glands like what we have on our skin to cool us down when we perspire. The only sort of moisture we get on our lips is our saliva. You would think that with our lips getting moisturised by our saliva, this should combat the problem, right? Well, unfortunately not.

The overuse of saliva on our lips is what causes dryness. Saliva evaporates quicker as it takes away the moisture that was already on your lips and leaves them drier than usual, especially in winter. So licking your lips can actually make the problem worse.

Think of Your Environment

Chapped lips can happen more easily when the air is colder. Cold air cannot hold moisture as well as warm air and therefore this explains why our lips get more cracked in winter - because the weather is typically drier.

Staying indoors as much as you can during cold, dry days can help.

Use a Humidifier

Using a humidifier in your home will help combat the battle of cracked or chapped lips. Ensure that you control your humidity levels, though. Try to keep the levels in your home between 30% to 50% as air that is too humid will encourage bacteria, micro-organisms and other nasties to grow.

Breathe through Your Nose

We breathe through two passageways: our mouth and our nose. If you suffer from irritated and dry lips, try to limit breathing through your mouth as cold weather creates airflow around your lips which releases moisture and makes your lips dry.

Breathing through your nose may help you achieve healthier-looking lips.

Cover Up

If you must venture out into the cold, wear something on your face. As silly as it sounds or may look, covering the bottom half of your face by wrapping a scarf around will keep you warmer and help prevent moisture loss. Some winter coats and jackets do have the option of having a higher neck collar to be zipped, have button snaps or Velcro straps to secure over your face.

Watch What You Eat

Sometimes what you're putting into your body can cause the issue of annoying, painful and cracked lips. You are what you eat, they say. Never underestimate the power of water. Dehydration is the number one cause of dry skin. Drinking plenty of water keeps your skin hydrated and supple.

Try to drink the recommended eight glasses a day. If water simply isn't your thing, have decaffeinated tea and juice instead to reach your daily fluid intake. Avoid eating spicy and salty foods as these kinds of food irritate and inflame the skin making your situation worse.

If you have no time at all to do all that was mentioned above to maintain and restore the health of your lips, below are some fantastic beauty tips and tricks to achieve that instant plump, smooth and silky soft pillowy lip look.

Use a Lip Scrub

Lip scrubs are great for assisting in the removal of dead skin cells and help to keep lips soft, supple and kissable. These are great to get rid of stained lips from the previous colouring too as the tiny granules gently exfoliate and soften the smooth surface to create a luxurious velvety application of lipstick. They're cute and compact for the girl on the go. Just pop this little thing into your handbag and you can simply touch up your makeup whenever and wherever you're travelling.

Model Rock's lip scrub is in a delicious flavour called Vanilla Sunset, it is vegan and cruelty-free and made in the USA. 

Modelrock Lipscrub with Lipstick Remover Vanilla Sunset

DIY Exfoliating Lip Brush

If you don't have a lip scrub handy, you can use these tools at home to help with getting rid of dead skin cells.

All you need is a toothbrush (specifically for this job), Vaseline and some tissues.

  1. Apply Vaseline on a clean fingertip and apply that all over the surface of your lip.
  2. Get a toothbrush that has soft to medium bristles and now brush over your lips gently. Do not apply any pressure. Just brush in different variations, whether they be circular, side to side, up and down motions and anti-clockwise. Scrub away the dull and dry skin. don't forget the sides of your lips too. This will help stimulate the blood flow of your lips to give it that natural pouty puckered look.
  3. Okay, blot away any dead skin cells with the tissue and you are done.

 

DIY Lip Treatment

For an overnight lip treatment at home, all you need is some honey and Vaseline. Honey is an astonishing ingredient that has been used in ancient civilisations as it is all-natural, restores hydration and heals because of its antibacterial properties to prevent infection.

Vaseline is great due to the petroleum properties to form a protective layer on the lips as it begins to repair by becoming smooth with that glossy sheen.

Take a dab of honey and dab that all over your lips like you would a lip balm. You can use this on its own and sleep with it like an all-natural lip ointment. However, if you are not a fan of the stickiness, apply a little bit of Vaseline on top. Just pat it on because this provides a barrier to lock in moisture.

And when you wake up the next morning you will notice how smooth and soft your lips would feel the next day. Friends, that is a sweet way to help get rid of chapped lips.

TIP: Make sure you always sanitise your finger before dipping it into your lip balm before applying.

That's it guys. Whether it be sunburned or chapped lips, prevention is better than cure.

Protect your skin and lips with sun protection skin care from AMR. Delivery is available Australia-wide.

If you have any experiences on how you went with your mini DIYs or have overcome any of the above and you have more tips to share - please leave us a comment below.

 

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