It ’s officially lip balm season . Cold , dry weather conditions can make your lips chap and break through , so it ’s a good approximation to stock up on moisturizing ointments for winter . But before you go out and grease one’s palms the first product you see , stop the ingredients . Some products could terminate up dry out out your lips even more and perpetuating the cycle ( especially if youoveruse them ) . Here are a few tips for keeping your chap lips in check this season :

1. Avoid lip balms with salicylic acid.

This ingredient , which is find out in someacne medicines , helps remove numb tegument cells and weaken your lips . However , it may also irritate your hide and have inflammation and dryness over time , as New York - based dermatologist Dr. Joshua Zeichner toldRefinery29 .

2. Stay away from phenol, menthol, and camphor.

These are a few other common ingredients that Dr. Zeichner suggests avoid . They can cause waterlessness in the long run , even if they seem to be helping at first . “ Yes , they soothe at once , but in the tenacious full term may be irritating to the lips , ” Zeichner said .

3. Ditch the fragrance.

This might be a baffling one for fan of minty and fruity - smell balms , but sweetness can irritate your lips — particularly if you already have sensible skin . " Many people actually have allergies or other reactions to scent that are put in brim balms to make them smell and taste a small easily , and those are really the cause of most of the irritant response , ” Dr. Diane Madfes , a spokesperson for the American Academy of Dermatology , toldPreventionmagazine . If your lip are severely chapped , try switching to a non - sweet-scented backtalk balm to see if it make a difference .

4. Balance out drying agents with oils and butters.

Many lip balms contain humectants like hyaluronic pane and glycerin , which means they move out moisture from your lips if they ’re not set off by an occlusive agent , which keep the exit of moisture . So , as dermatologist Leslie Baumann , MD points out toStyleCaster , if you see either of these ingredients in a lip unguent , check that it also contains anocclusive agentsuch as beeswax , shea butter , coco palm oil colour , mineral petroleum , petroleum jelly , or squalene .

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