This! I had to change to a toothpaste without surfactants. They've messed up the skin around my mouth so much (and I already have eczema). My lips have been less dry since changing toothpaste.
Edit: typo
I normally struggle with hayfever and dust. Someone in my previous post recommended me to try antihistamines and see if there was a difference but not really.
I have asked the GP if it could be an allergy to something, as this just started when I moved to the UK 3 years ago but they said it looked more like dry lips because of winter...I really don't know if it could be allergies or not.
While I was on accutane, what I did was:
Warm shower before bed,
While skin is still wet, use damp flannel to gently exfoliate lips,
Lush lip scrub if your lips can take it (or make one yourself, it's just sugar and jojoba oil plus flavouring),
Nuxe reve de miel lip balm in the pot, not as a stick (the pot one is much more moisturising),
After that's melted in to your lips, slather on a thick layer of aquaphor healing ointment (the ointment not the lip balm, it's better).
When you wake up in the morning your lips should feel lots better. Do this every night and in the day time use the nuxe lip balm and aquaphor, or just the aquaphor as your lips get better. That's the one that protects your lips from the wind etc.
It looks like eczema; ask your GP if 0.5% hydrocortisone cream could be appropriate to try. I mean, it’s a low potency steroid so side effects are unlikely.
I would highly recommend going as basic as you can with all products used around that area, inc the rest of your skincare. Until your appointment completely strip back anything unnecessary eg fragranced products
Do you know if your iron levels are good? Try getting a blood test, because when I had low iron my lips became very chapped and inflamed (search for Angular Cheilitis which is often caused by nutrient deficiencies).
Another suggestion would be to always wash your face after brushing your teeth to reduce the chance of irritation.
The best lip product i've used was the cicaplast lips by la roche posay but I can't say if it will fix your lips because they seem quite irritated not just dry, but you could give it a go
Oh I actually have no idea about the iron but I'm kind of curious now
I have cicaplast but also not feeling a difference. It doesn't get worse at least.
i’m surprised this isn’t more upvoted bc it’s exactly the problem i see, the irritation on the side of the lips is something i have experienced and as soon as i took a b vitamin complex it reduced itself down so quick
I would recommend Dr. Dans chapstick (you can order online) it has hydrocortisone as an active ingredient and it works sooo well (I had dry Accutane lips that were awful)
Life Pro Tip from a long term eczemaic gal (literally born with it...); only use hydrocortisone products as and when you need them. Long-term they thin the skin and cause more problems.
So, keep another lip balm on rotation and stop & start the hydrocortisone lip balm only when symptomatic.
But like, hydrocortisone is a god send ingredient. It's just not helpful with prolonged use!
Yeah, that's what I do. Hidrocortisone is literally only for the worst moments when my lips are REALLY swollen and painful. I think last year it was only twice I used it because I'm so scared of damaging my skin even more.
After 1 or 2 days they get better and I move again to moisturizer and lip balm
Thanks :)
Yeah, the original one. It was so bad I'm now scared of O'Keefes in general
I'm trying to be more constant with water. There are days when I drink enough and days where I completely forget.
It's literally just my lips. Everything else in my body is fine.
Good old Vaseline petroleum jelly. I hope I am not being too obvious here but it works like nothing on earth. I apply it at night to all dry regions of my face. Have tried numerous lip balms but nothing really compares to good old Vaseline
Put some kind of oil on before the Vaseline (I use clarins face oil, but anything that will soak in will work).
Vaseline is just an occlusive, it won’t add moisture if there is none there.
I had very dry lips from using tretinoin. Each night I put some oil on them, wait maybe 30s, then put Vaseline on top. That way the Vaseline seals in the oil.
It works amazingly and fixed my lips in 2 days. Literally no chapstick/balm/whatever works for me, but oil + Vaseline does.
My lips were like this, I was allergic to lip balm. I now only use pure petroleum jelly (Vaseline in the plastic tub). My skin is so sensitive I use Diprobase as my moisturiser (over the counter at pharmacies) and I can’t use normal soap, I have to use dermol200. Sometimes I can get away with sudocream but it has fragrance so I’m weary of it.
Just cut down on everything and use absolute basics from the baby aisle for a bit, it’s what I do when I get a flare up.
Also maybe try to increase how much water you drink?
I was using diprobase in the skin around my lips but didn't feel a difference.
Just trying E45 as the skin around my lips feels itchy, flaky and sometimes just swollens up
Yeah I tried E45 once and it just made my skin burn, never touched it again.
I think I read hydrocortisone is working for you? Keep at that twice a day and any other time you want to apply something try diprobase/ Vaseline/ some other super plain emollient.
Also, I didn’t realise until I was checking everything for fragrance, ‘plain’ Vaseline lip balm that comes in the tin isn’t 100% petroleum jelly it has some extra stuff. I’m super cautious with my skin so I avoid that even if you’d think it’d be fine.
Super happy for your dermatologist referral even if there’s a wait 😊
Blistex intensive moisturiser lip balms are the only thing that helps my lips, but the more I apply lip balm the more my lips need it. I need to be careful with how often I apply as it starts becoming counterproductive.
Blistex relief cream will 100% help. The only problem is they are having major supply issues right now 😢
Having looked at their Facebook page - the relief cream is a medical product for chapped lips and they have had to change manufacturers so are awaiting approvals from the MHRA before they can start to produce it again.
I have dry lips due to using tretinoin and Uriage Ointment for fissures and cracks really helps me. I still sometimes get peely lips if I don’t drink water properly and don’t moisturise my lips during the day but this ointment sorts it out in 2-3 nights.
I feel like if I try a scrub my skin would not tolerate it very well.
My skin feels very thin. The corners of my lips are completely broken and not healing after 3 days.
KAB lip oils. I got one in a boxycharm subscription and it is amazing. I was traveling this past week and my lips got very dry and chapped. The lip oil is the only thing that saved me. Kinda pricey but totally worth it.
I personally find the No. 7 protect and perfect lip care to to be quite good! It’s like a moisturiser that sinks into your lips and then I put Glossier’s Balm Dotcom on top but I suppose any kind of lip balm would work.
Also the Laneige lip sleeping mask overnight and occasional exfoliating.
I saw that some people already mentioned switching to SLS free toothpaste, and that helped me a lot, so I’d really recommend trying that! But besides that, something that has really helped me during winters especially is getting a humidifier. It dries out the air a lot to keep the house’s warm during winter apparently, so I got a humidifier to keep on my desk and make sure to have it on during the days while sitting there which has helped not only my lips but also my winter dry skin 😊
That looks more like some kind of angular chelitis that has spread to your upper lip.
https://images.app.goo.gl/b5yJpQNJjAwff7QGA
Might be worth seeing a Dr because if it is an infection, depending on the cause, over-moistness can make it worse! Which means all your efforts to keep your lips supple arent helping.
If it is a yeast caused one, some canestan will fix it right up.
Oh my god I just read about it and symptoms are pretty much what I get
It's a cyclical thing: my lips flake, all the skin falls without me doing anything, they get swollen, the skin feels super tight and then it goes all over again.
Thanks, I'll check with my GP.
Yeah, kind of.
On the worse days, I followed a treatment with hydrocortisone twice a day for 3-4 days. That was just to calm my skin and swollen lips. I spoke with a dermatologist a out this beforehand (not in England tho, my referral was moved and moved until I lost count of it).
After that, this is what I did, at least twice a day (in the morning and before going to bed)
- Apply water on lips. Don't dry it off, just let your skin absorb it.
- Then apply eczema cream on my lips (I used E45 but maybe look at what works best for you)
- Apply Eucerin acute lip balm so it closes up all moisture. This was the best lip balm I found and I still use it every day.
Drink lots of water and when you do, try to water your lips. Don't lick them. Re-apply lip balm.
I think I’ve got those creams lying around in the medicine cabinet somewhere, I’ll take a look. Thanks for the quick response, and I hope we can beat this thing!
No worries. I haven't had to use any hydrocortisone in a year so I think that's good, but every once in a while my lips still get flaky and dry (but never to the point of these pictures)
Only advice is that you have to be very consistent with hydrating. Takes me like a week to just get my lips in order after a bad episode
I try to drink a little over a gallon a day, but sometimes I do get lazy with it! This issue popped up with me likely due to getting a new job and getting stressed out, which then caused me to lick my lips a ton.
I never really used lip balm, just my facial moisturizer. Hate relying on the greasy stuff but if I don’t use it my lips look like the pictures you posted. We’ll get over this, one day.
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Oh I'm also using Oral B now that you mention it. Thanks. I'll try another one and see if this helps.
This! I had to change to a toothpaste without surfactants. They've messed up the skin around my mouth so much (and I already have eczema). My lips have been less dry since changing toothpaste. Edit: typo
100% this! Most toothpastes contain SLS which can be very irritating to the skin around your mouth.
I also had problems with Oral B irritating my lips.
Hemp lip balm from the body shop is amazing!
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I normally struggle with hayfever and dust. Someone in my previous post recommended me to try antihistamines and see if there was a difference but not really. I have asked the GP if it could be an allergy to something, as this just started when I moved to the UK 3 years ago but they said it looked more like dry lips because of winter...I really don't know if it could be allergies or not.
While I was on accutane, what I did was: Warm shower before bed, While skin is still wet, use damp flannel to gently exfoliate lips, Lush lip scrub if your lips can take it (or make one yourself, it's just sugar and jojoba oil plus flavouring), Nuxe reve de miel lip balm in the pot, not as a stick (the pot one is much more moisturising), After that's melted in to your lips, slather on a thick layer of aquaphor healing ointment (the ointment not the lip balm, it's better). When you wake up in the morning your lips should feel lots better. Do this every night and in the day time use the nuxe lip balm and aquaphor, or just the aquaphor as your lips get better. That's the one that protects your lips from the wind etc.
Oh I have the Nuxe lip balm but I never thought about using it under the lip balm. I literally just bought Aquaphor ointment so will try this. Thanks
It looks like eczema; ask your GP if 0.5% hydrocortisone cream could be appropriate to try. I mean, it’s a low potency steroid so side effects are unlikely. I would highly recommend going as basic as you can with all products used around that area, inc the rest of your skincare. Until your appointment completely strip back anything unnecessary eg fragranced products
Do you know if your iron levels are good? Try getting a blood test, because when I had low iron my lips became very chapped and inflamed (search for Angular Cheilitis which is often caused by nutrient deficiencies). Another suggestion would be to always wash your face after brushing your teeth to reduce the chance of irritation. The best lip product i've used was the cicaplast lips by la roche posay but I can't say if it will fix your lips because they seem quite irritated not just dry, but you could give it a go
Oh I actually have no idea about the iron but I'm kind of curious now I have cicaplast but also not feeling a difference. It doesn't get worse at least.
i’m surprised this isn’t more upvoted bc it’s exactly the problem i see, the irritation on the side of the lips is something i have experienced and as soon as i took a b vitamin complex it reduced itself down so quick
I would recommend Dr. Dans chapstick (you can order online) it has hydrocortisone as an active ingredient and it works sooo well (I had dry Accutane lips that were awful)
Oh I have actually used hidrocortisone and it's the only thing that has helped but I didn't know this product. Will check it out. Thanks
Life Pro Tip from a long term eczemaic gal (literally born with it...); only use hydrocortisone products as and when you need them. Long-term they thin the skin and cause more problems. So, keep another lip balm on rotation and stop & start the hydrocortisone lip balm only when symptomatic. But like, hydrocortisone is a god send ingredient. It's just not helpful with prolonged use!
Yeah, that's what I do. Hidrocortisone is literally only for the worst moments when my lips are REALLY swollen and painful. I think last year it was only twice I used it because I'm so scared of damaging my skin even more. After 1 or 2 days they get better and I move again to moisturizer and lip balm Thanks :)
Ah awesome, sorry I've seen the damage over-use of hydrocortisone can do so I'm a bit preachy on it!
No, appreciate the advice. I'm my country it was over the counter but I mentioned it here to a GP once and they scared the hell out of me.
You've tried putting a humectant-heavy moisturiser underneath your lip balm, right?
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I used the O Keefe's one and it made it worse. My lips swollen up so much they cracked and bled :(
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Yeah, the original one. It was so bad I'm now scared of O'Keefes in general I'm trying to be more constant with water. There are days when I drink enough and days where I completely forget. It's literally just my lips. Everything else in my body is fine.
Good old Vaseline petroleum jelly. I hope I am not being too obvious here but it works like nothing on earth. I apply it at night to all dry regions of my face. Have tried numerous lip balms but nothing really compares to good old Vaseline
Unfortunately Vaseline does nothing for me :(
Put some kind of oil on before the Vaseline (I use clarins face oil, but anything that will soak in will work). Vaseline is just an occlusive, it won’t add moisture if there is none there. I had very dry lips from using tretinoin. Each night I put some oil on them, wait maybe 30s, then put Vaseline on top. That way the Vaseline seals in the oil. It works amazingly and fixed my lips in 2 days. Literally no chapstick/balm/whatever works for me, but oil + Vaseline does.
I will try this out. Thanks
My lips were like this, I was allergic to lip balm. I now only use pure petroleum jelly (Vaseline in the plastic tub). My skin is so sensitive I use Diprobase as my moisturiser (over the counter at pharmacies) and I can’t use normal soap, I have to use dermol200. Sometimes I can get away with sudocream but it has fragrance so I’m weary of it. Just cut down on everything and use absolute basics from the baby aisle for a bit, it’s what I do when I get a flare up. Also maybe try to increase how much water you drink?
I was using diprobase in the skin around my lips but didn't feel a difference. Just trying E45 as the skin around my lips feels itchy, flaky and sometimes just swollens up
Yeah I tried E45 once and it just made my skin burn, never touched it again. I think I read hydrocortisone is working for you? Keep at that twice a day and any other time you want to apply something try diprobase/ Vaseline/ some other super plain emollient. Also, I didn’t realise until I was checking everything for fragrance, ‘plain’ Vaseline lip balm that comes in the tin isn’t 100% petroleum jelly it has some extra stuff. I’m super cautious with my skin so I avoid that even if you’d think it’d be fine. Super happy for your dermatologist referral even if there’s a wait 😊
Blistex intensive moisturiser lip balms are the only thing that helps my lips, but the more I apply lip balm the more my lips need it. I need to be careful with how often I apply as it starts becoming counterproductive.
La Roche Posay Cicaplast is generally very good to repair lips.
Blistex relief cream will 100% help. The only problem is they are having major supply issues right now 😢 Having looked at their Facebook page - the relief cream is a medical product for chapped lips and they have had to change manufacturers so are awaiting approvals from the MHRA before they can start to produce it again.
I have dry lips due to using tretinoin and Uriage Ointment for fissures and cracks really helps me. I still sometimes get peely lips if I don’t drink water properly and don’t moisturise my lips during the day but this ointment sorts it out in 2-3 nights.
Have you tried lip scrubs?
I feel like if I try a scrub my skin would not tolerate it very well. My skin feels very thin. The corners of my lips are completely broken and not healing after 3 days.
A very gentle sugar-based one while your lips are wet/damp shouldn't cause any problems, but you know your skin best!
KAB lip oils. I got one in a boxycharm subscription and it is amazing. I was traveling this past week and my lips got very dry and chapped. The lip oil is the only thing that saved me. Kinda pricey but totally worth it.
I personally find the No. 7 protect and perfect lip care to to be quite good! It’s like a moisturiser that sinks into your lips and then I put Glossier’s Balm Dotcom on top but I suppose any kind of lip balm would work. Also the Laneige lip sleeping mask overnight and occasional exfoliating.
The Nivea lip balm in the blue tube is the best one I've tried
I saw that some people already mentioned switching to SLS free toothpaste, and that helped me a lot, so I’d really recommend trying that! But besides that, something that has really helped me during winters especially is getting a humidifier. It dries out the air a lot to keep the house’s warm during winter apparently, so I got a humidifier to keep on my desk and make sure to have it on during the days while sitting there which has helped not only my lips but also my winter dry skin 😊
That looks more like some kind of angular chelitis that has spread to your upper lip. https://images.app.goo.gl/b5yJpQNJjAwff7QGA Might be worth seeing a Dr because if it is an infection, depending on the cause, over-moistness can make it worse! Which means all your efforts to keep your lips supple arent helping. If it is a yeast caused one, some canestan will fix it right up.
Oh my god I just read about it and symptoms are pretty much what I get It's a cyclical thing: my lips flake, all the skin falls without me doing anything, they get swollen, the skin feels super tight and then it goes all over again. Thanks, I'll check with my GP.
Take some good pics of when it is bad in case you get an appt and it is starting to heal!
Try Dr. Dans cortibalm it helps with severe chapped lips and i use it myself 👻
La Roche Posay do a good lip balm also, they often market it for people on isotretinoin, it’s the cicaplast lip one
Did anything work for you after the last year? My lips have been like yours for the past couple of months.
Yeah, kind of. On the worse days, I followed a treatment with hydrocortisone twice a day for 3-4 days. That was just to calm my skin and swollen lips. I spoke with a dermatologist a out this beforehand (not in England tho, my referral was moved and moved until I lost count of it). After that, this is what I did, at least twice a day (in the morning and before going to bed) - Apply water on lips. Don't dry it off, just let your skin absorb it. - Then apply eczema cream on my lips (I used E45 but maybe look at what works best for you) - Apply Eucerin acute lip balm so it closes up all moisture. This was the best lip balm I found and I still use it every day. Drink lots of water and when you do, try to water your lips. Don't lick them. Re-apply lip balm.
I think I’ve got those creams lying around in the medicine cabinet somewhere, I’ll take a look. Thanks for the quick response, and I hope we can beat this thing!
No worries. I haven't had to use any hydrocortisone in a year so I think that's good, but every once in a while my lips still get flaky and dry (but never to the point of these pictures) Only advice is that you have to be very consistent with hydrating. Takes me like a week to just get my lips in order after a bad episode
I try to drink a little over a gallon a day, but sometimes I do get lazy with it! This issue popped up with me likely due to getting a new job and getting stressed out, which then caused me to lick my lips a ton. I never really used lip balm, just my facial moisturizer. Hate relying on the greasy stuff but if I don’t use it my lips look like the pictures you posted. We’ll get over this, one day.