Pucker up, because Old Man Winter is coming in for a kiss. And it isn't pretty. If your lips are getting flaky, showing the painful ravages of the dry, cold weather, they're not alone. "Lips are a target for dryness," said Dr. Joseph Bark, a Lexington, Ky., dermatologist and author of "Your Skin: An Owner's Guide." "It's hard to keep them oiled, and they dry out and crack."
Summer's humidity, for all its discomfort, is the best balm for our lips while also keeping our skin and hair moist and glowing. But cool weather's drop in humidity dehydrates the skin of our lips, hands, elbows and feet.
Then, to cope with dried-out lips, most of us unconsciously lick our lips to wet them, robbing the skin of its natural protective oils. That can lead to what Bark calls "lip licker's dermatitis."
"People tend to lick their lips because they're dry, and that exacerbates the problem." said Dr. Margaret Terhune, a University of Kentucky dermatologist.
So each fall invariably fuels a frenzy for tubes, tubs and pots of lip balm.
In 1998, the lip-balm business raked in more than $223 million. The biggest-selling brand, ChapStick, sold 47.7 million tubes.
For those who spend hours outdoors, insulation for the lips is a necessity. "Mostly, it's the wind coming through," said Michael Gay, 31, a school crossing guard in Lexington, Ky. He spends two hours each day outside.
Along with an orange police vest, baton and whistle, Gay has another piece of standard equipment: a tube of Blistex.
For Marta Tuttle, 31, an ice-skating instructor, winter skin is a year-round problem. Five days a week, before and after school, her workplace is the frigid rink. When she digs in her purse, she automatically comes up with two lip balms: Carmex, and Cherry Ice by Mentholatum.
She's grateful she's not a lip licker, but many of her students are.
"I know a lot of the girls use stuff on their lips, more because they lick them," Tuttle said. "I've seen them complain about it."
Most people can get relief from peeling and cracking lips for less than $1, the going rate for many lip balms, such as ChapStick, Carmex and Vaseline.
"I think it really helps people," Dr. W. Patrick Davey, a Lexington dermatologist, said of lip balm.
Some of his patients with severely dry lips are willing to try just about anything.
"I've heard of people using Bag Balm, Norwegian Hand Formula, Vaseline and Aquaphor on their lips," he said.
