Weather-beaten, sunburned, flaky, cracked, chapped, irritated. These words instantly conjure images of painfully dry lips. Whether the season is winter, spring, summer, or fall, your lips are in constant need of nourishment. From exfoliation and hydration to moisturization and protection, the key to soft, plump, healthy lips is consistent care.

What causes dry lips?

Lips don’t have sweat glands or oil glands. While the absence of sweat glands ensures that your lips never perspire and are thus acne-free, the lack of oil glands inhibits water retention, which in turns leads to dryness, cracking, and chapping. This unfortunate fact of human evolution is compounded by environmental conditions such as cold wind, blazing heat, and the sun’s damaging UV radiation.

The formula for healthy, hydrated lips

Endowed with only six layers of skin, your lips are 100 times more sensitive than your fingertips. Their inherent delicacy and hypersensitivity inevitably lead to certain assumptions about lip care. The value of hydration and moisturization is self-evident, but exfoliation is an aspect of lip therapy that is less obvious.

Exfoliation

The skin on your lips, like the skin everywhere else on your body, is in a constant state of flux. Layers of skin cells die off as new cells are born. Exfoliation prevents the accumulation of dead cells, purging impurities and revitalizing the skin. Given the fragility of your lips, exfoliation must be done gently. Dermatologists recommend using a soft-bristled toothbrush to scrub away dead cells. While exfoliation is a vital aspect of long term lip health, it needn’t be done more than once a week.

Hydration & Moisturization

Drinking plenty of water is the primary source of hydration throughout your body, including your lips. But your lips need extra care because they have no oil glands to seal in moisture. This is why you sometimes lick your lips—you’re instinctively trying to hydrate them. The answer to dry, dehydrated lips is a nourishing balm that prevents water loss and promotes moisturization. This combination of abilities brings instant relief and youthful radiance to parched lips. Daily use of a potent lip balm is the cornerstone of any successful lip therapy.

Protection

With perpetual exposure to the sun’s UV radiation, lips are particularly prone to skin cancer. Therefore, sunscreen of SPF 15 or higher is critically important for protecting your lips from the sun’s ultraviolet rays. Always follow your lip balm with sun protection when you’re going to be outside for extended periods of time.

An award-winning lip balm—for all seasons

In the arena of lip balm, there’s no better proving ground than Iceland. Cold, dry, windy days are the recipe for dry, cracked, chapped lips. Blue Lagoon Skincare’s award-winning Lip Balm has proven itself to be an essential element of maintaining healthy lips in Iceland’s ferocious climate. Infused with patented Blue Lagoon Microalgae—a bioactive marvel—this nourishing formula is a restorative wonder that hydrates and moisturizes, instantly giving you soft, youthful, plump lips.

But regardless of your choice of lip balm, a lifetime of healthy lips is built on a consistent, nurturing routine of exfoliation, hydration, moisturization, and protection.