Why Are My Lips Dry and Cracked?

You’ve tried five balms in a month. The minty one tingled, so it must be working. By evening your lips are tight, flaky and sore, and there’s a crack at the center of the lower lip that stings when you smile or eat anything with salt. You lick them, and it feels better for ten seconds.

What dermatologists recommend

The AAD’s¹ seven tips:

• Skip irritating lip products. It lists camphor, eucalyptus, flavoring, fragrance, lanolin, menthol and similar ingredients.
• Use ones with petrolatum, mineral oil, shea butter, ceramides or hemp seed oil.
• Apply a non-irritating balm several times a day and before bed.
• Wear lip balm with SPF 30 or higher outdoors, reapplied every 2 hours, with titanium oxide or zinc oxide.
• Drink plenty of water.
• Don’t lick or pick. As saliva evaporates, lips become drier, and picking prevents healing.
• Run a humidifier at home, especially in the bedroom.

The AAD¹ says to expect improvement in 2 to 3 weeks, and to see a dermatologist if it persists, since the cause may be an allergic reaction, a yeast infection or actinic cheilitis. For other dry skin, see dry, itchy skin.

When it’s the corners

If the cracks are at the corners of your mouth, it may be angular cheilitis. Cleveland Clinic² describes a common inflammatory skin condition that causes painful cracked sores at the corners of the mouth, and says it’s not contagious, unlike cold sores. It develops when saliva collects at the corners of the mouth and causes dryness, and contributing factors include fungal infections, ill-fitting dentures, nutrient deficiencies and facial eczema.

For angular cheilitis, Cleveland Clinic² lists redness, cracking, bleeding, blisters, crusting and swelling at the corners of the mouth, and says treatment includes antifungal creams or topical steroids to reduce inflammation, antibiotics if it’s bacterial, dietary improvements for deficiencies, and moisturizers like petroleum jelly. It says the condition often goes away about two weeks after starting treatment, though it can recur.

When it’s a reaction

Cleveland Clinic³ describes eczematous cheilitis as inflammation or irritation of the lip skin that causes dry, scaly or painfully cracked lips, and says it tends to be chronic, unlike typical chapped lips. Causes include licking, biting or sucking the lips, irritants in lipstick, lip balm, toothpaste or mouthwash, allergens from food, medicines or the environment, and loss of lip hydration with age or dry conditions.

For prevention, it suggests avoiding cosmetics with fragrances or dyes, limiting alcohol, staying hydrated, using petroleum jelly, and choosing toothpaste and mouthwash without alcohol or harsh antiseptics. For treatment, healthcare providers typically recommend petroleum jelly or an unscented, hypoallergenic moisturizer, and a steroid ointment to reduce inflammation. See contact dermatitis and eczema in adults.

If a burning feeling in your mouth comes with it, see burning mouth syndrome.

The play

Try this: a three-week lip reset

For three weeks, use one plain product: white petroleum jelly or a fragrance-free balm without the irritants listed above. Apply it after meals, several times a day and before bed.

Put on SPF lip balm before you go out. Drink water and run a humidifier at night.

Quit licking and picking. Switch to an alcohol-free mouthwash and a toothpaste without harsh ingredients if your lips are irritated.

If they aren’t improving after two to three weeks, book a visit.

When to get checked

Don’t wait if

1. Emergency

   The AAD¹ says to see a dermatologist if lips don’t improve in 2 to 3 weeks. Cleveland Clinic³ says to contact a provider if sores are open, bleed or don’t improve with treatment, or if you have hives and facial swelling, and to call 911 for shortness of breath or trouble swallowing.

2. Emergency

   Get emergency care for lip swelling with trouble breathing or swallowing.

Book an appointment if any of these fit:

• Chapped lips haven’t improved after 2 to 3 weeks of care
• Cracks at the corners of your mouth keep coming back
• Sores are open or bleeding
• Your lips react to a product you use
• You wear dentures that don’t fit
• It keeps coming back or turns scaly and chronic

Plain, thick and boring is the lip product dermatologists point to. The tingle isn’t proof it’s working.