How long do chapped lips last?

Will they feel better before they fully heal?

Regular balm application should ease discomfort while the cracked skin heals. Feeling more comfortable is not the same as being fully healed, so keep protecting your lips even after the tightness eases. Starting care as soon as you notice dryness helps recovery. Deep cracks and bleeding can mean a longer recovery than mild dryness. Citrus fruit, spicy foods and salty foods can sting severely chapped lips while they heal.1

What should you do while they heal?

1. 1Wash your hands before applying lip balm. Do not share your balm with other people, because sharing can spread germs.
2. 2Apply a nonirritating balm several times during the day, including when you wake up. Reapply after eating or drinking and whenever your lips feel dry.
3. 3Use a thick ointment such as white petroleum jelly for very dry, cracked lips, and apply it before bed. Ointment holds water in longer than waxes or oils.
4. 4Before going outdoors, apply a lip sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher containing zinc oxide or titanium oxide. Reapply every 2 hours outdoors, including in winter.

Keep a balm where you can reach it, because a lip care routine should not require a search party.5

Could your lip balm be slowing healing?

Stop using a product if it burns, stings or tingles. Those sensations signal irritation, not a treatment working. Choose a fragrance free balm labelled hypoallergenic. Petrolatum, mineral oil, ceramides, dimethicone and shea butter are options that help chapped lips. While your lips are chapped, avoid menthol, camphor, eucalyptus, lanolin, salicylic acid and fragrance. Cinnamon, citrus, mint and peppermint flavourings can also irritate. If one balm is not helping, a pharmacist can help you choose another and advise whether you need a doctor.123

Why do they keep getting chapped?

Licking adds saliva, but leaves lips drier as it evaporates; saliva's digestive enzymes can also irritate them. Apply balm instead when you catch yourself licking. Do not bite or pull off peeling skin, because that can create cracks and sores. Keep pens, jewellery and metal objects away from your lips.245

Dry air increases moisture loss, so a humidifier can help, particularly in a bedroom if you breathe through your mouth at night. Drink enough water to avoid dehydration. A scarf can cover your lips in cold weather, which is a more useful job than merely looking seasonal. Continue using balm in dry conditions after your lips heal to help prevent another episode.235

What if only the corners are cracked?

Painful cracks at the mouth corners can be angular cheilitis, meaning inflammation at those corners, rather than ordinary dry lips. Prolonged contact with saliva is a common cause. Frequent thick ointment application is often enough for saliva related cases, but other causes need different treatment. With treatment, improvement usually starts within a few days and the condition typically resolves within two weeks. Untreated cases can persist, depending on the cause.6

When should you see a doctor?

• See a doctor if your lips worsen during home care or do not improve within 2 to 3 weeks.
• Get medical advice if your lips are hot, painful and swollen, because these can be signs of infection.
• Have sores that do not heal checked. Frequent bleeding that does not improve with ointment also needs assessment.

Persistent dryness can come from an allergy, infection or a medication such as a retinoid. Sun related damage can also cause lasting dry, scaly lips, including actinic cheilitis, a precancerous condition. A clinician can identify the cause and choose treatment that addresses it.24