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Everyone has struggled with peeling, flaking, cracking, dry, chapped lips at some point. Sometimes the thin, dry skin on the lips becomes so fragile that your slightest smile can turn into a grimace of pain. When choosing the best lip balm for chapped lips, keep in mind that it's easier to prevent chapped lips than to cure them.

Chapped lips are dry and scaly, and they may have small cracks or fissures. When they are chapped, your lips can be hypersensitive to heat or cold, spicy or salty foods or even medicated lip balms that are supposed to treat the problem. Your lips may swell and appear redder than usual, or they may peel and split. Chapped lips are often dismissed because everyone gets them for various reasons, but you don't have to suffer.

Causes of Chapped Lips
Since lips don't have glands that produce the kind of oil that protects the skin, they can't protect themselves from extreme weather. If you live in a climate that has cold, dry winters, you should protect your lips when you head into the cold and when you use indoor heating. On the opposite end of the spectrum, beach goers need to protect their lips with a sunscreen product with at least an SPF of 15 or higher. Regardless of your geography, it is always wise to protect your lips with a moisturizing lip balm or ointment that has sunscreen in it.

Chapped lips may also be the result of other products you use. Many skin care products and cosmetics can contain ingredients that cause irritation or allergic reactions, especially on the sensitive lip area. Lip plumpers are actually designed to irritate your lips so they look bigger. If you are using a lip plumper, you might need to counteract the irritation with lip balm. Whether you're trying a new lip plumper or cleanser, be especially aware when you begin using a new product, and watch to see if your skin reacts to it. Many skin care products are hypoallergenic and are made from gentle ingredients that are less likely to cause a problem.