As young ladies, nearly all of us adore wearing lip colors – be it dynamic and shinning shades or bare and pastel tints. But no lipstick can make a finish mope in the event that your lips aren’t well cared for! The skin on our lips is much more slender than the skin on the other parts of our body. This makes it easier for them to crack and chap and makes it much more important for us to take extra care of.Our lips have a lesser amount of oil glands and no ability to create the sun-filtering natural melanin. This means that they have virtually no protection of their own. Chapped lips are most common in winter, when the cold, dry air dehydrates our skin. But winter isn’t the only season which spells trouble for our lips. Dry air, sun and wind will equally dry your lips all year round.

Here are a few problems you may encounter with your lips:

1. Chapping:

·         Chapping can occur almost in any season.

·         To prevent and treat, apply a good lip balm daily.

·         Look for a balm which provides sun protection and has elements like Vitamins A, C or E and AHAs.

2. Splitting:

·         Cracks often occur after sleeping in dry air.

·         To prevent this, be sure to apply a good lip balm before going to bed

·         Also, try and use a humidifier as it will help retain the moisture in the air.

3. Lipstick Bleeding:

·         This begins as the skin around the mouth loses collagen and elastic tissue with age, or is aggravated by smoking.

·         Using a waxy lip liner to outline lips will help contain your lipstick within the line.

·         When cosmetics no longer help, the more permanent (and expensive) solution is to have collagen injections to fill the cracks.

·         Or you could always not smoke and give up on that!

4. Cold Sores:

·         Caused by viral infections, these look like blisters or open scabs.

·         To avoid re-infection, use cotton swabs to apply lipstick while sore is visible.

Now that you know the different types of problems that you can face with your lips and the causes that result in the same, let us look at the tips that will help contain the problem.