6 Homemade remedies for soft and supple lips this winter

As temperatures drop, so do the moisture levels in the air, leaving the thin, sensitive skin of your lips vulnerable to drying and chapping. Try these natural remedies to soothe and moisturise chapped lips; you might even find some of these in your kitchen. Read on for six easy tips and remedies to help keep your lips soft and hydrated – even in dreadful weather. 

Self-care in 'winter mode' is more than just adding a few extra layers when you venture outside. During these dry, chilly months, your lips need a little more TLC to keep them soft. Make these steps part of your winter beauty regimen and keep them supple, smooth and moisturised.

1. Soothe and nourish with plenty of emollients

Avoid lip balms with menthol, mint, or plumping ingredients as they can irritate the skin and dry out your lips. The same applies to matte lipsticks, as they contain more pigment and wax and less oils, making the product more prone to sucking the moisture from your skin. Instead, treat your chapped lips with nourishing ingredients such as beeswax, shea butter, moringa, and petroleum jelly.

Top tip: Look for a lip balm that pairs a moisturising ingredient, such as hyaluronic acid, with an emollient like petroleum jelly, to lock in that moisture.

2. The word of the day is 'humectant'

Say what? Well, a humectant is a product or ingredient that will keep your skin moisturised – like that seal we mentioned before. The queen of all humectants is Aloe Vera. This natural ingredient has unique hydrating properties in that it 'attracts’ moisture from the air to itself. It’s famously used for nasty sunburns and contains essential vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and anti-inflammatories that will help soothe and rehydrate damaged skin or chapped lips.

Soothing tip: Use a store-bought gel or go au naturel and pick up a plant from your local garden store. Slice the leaf lengthwise and squeeze!

3. Coconut oil to the rescue

Your lips are exposed to the elements more than the rest of your body and with such a thin layer protecting them they need all the help they can get. Coconut oil is a natural emollient that’s well known for its moisturising, soothing and softening properties and has also been known to help fight inflammation in the skin. Recent studies have also indicated that coconut oil may actually protect the skin by enhancing its barrier function. Go Coconuts!

DIY lip balm tip: Prick two vitamin E capsules with a clean needle to extract the oil inside. Mix with 2 tablespoons of coconut oil and store in a clean container in the fridge to solidify.

4. Sweet like honey

Check your kitchen for the following natural remedies for chapped lips. First up, the golden nectar that is honey. Despite its sticky texture, honey is highly moisturising and contains plenty of anti-bacterial properties and antioxidants. The latter two protect the lips from damaging free radicals and help prevent infections from developing.

Top tip: Apply a paste of honey and coconut oil to your lips overnight and - voilá - your very own homemade treatment mask! Sleep your way to lush lips and rinse off in the morning.

5. Cool as a cucumber

This natural remedy should come as no surprise. You’ve had them placed on your eyes at during spa treatments. They adorn your fancy cocktail or refreshing glass of water. You find them in your moisturising eye and face creams. Made up of over 90% water, and containing plenty of Vitamin C and calming caffeic acid, a slice of cucumber can work wonders on the skin.

Tip: Mash up a few slices and apply to your lips morning and night, or gently rub a slice over the lips for a treatment that requires less cleanup.

6. It’s a green tea scrub

All hail the powers of green tea – what can’t it do for our health and bodies? Soak a teabag in warm water and lightly rub it over your lips to soften and remove any excess dry skin. It’s more gentle than traditional exfoliation, meaning you can apply this treatment more often – just like our fine sugar lip scrub. Regular exfoliation will help soften the lips, allowing the healing ingredients in lip balms to soak in properly.

Scrub tip: Buy a soft-bristle drugstore toothbrush and scrub your lips with petroleum jelly.

Bonus tip: Baby’s dry lips

As your baby adjusts to life outside the womb, you might find that it’s feeling the skin-drying effects of wintery chill even more than you are. You can soothe your baby’s lips with a little breast milk, nipple cream, or nourishing lip balms. Remember to choose an organic or natural lip treatment, as they’ll probably ingest some of it during the day.

Tip: Apply your preferred balm just before they go to sleep to allow the product to absorb into the skin.