Winter Hydration Series Post 1: Lip Hydration

Today I wanted to kick off a Winter Skin Hydration Series because it has been such a cold winter so far! I generally have pretty oily skin, but honestly, even before winter started, my skin has been SO dry. I thought I'd do a series of products that I use to hydrate my face, hands, hair, etc, so the next 5ish posts will be on this topic!

The first thing I want to talk about is lips. My lips are chronically dry. A couple of summers ago my lips were cracking and bleeding out of no where. I have no idea what caused it but they have never been the same since. The lip balms that I typically used were Carmex and Burt's Bees but suddenly nothing was soothing my incredibly sore lips. I had to stop wearing lipstick and lipgloss because everything was just emphasizing the dry patches and cracks and that's not pretty! I didn't know what to do about it but I had to figure out something because my lips were in such bad condition. 

So what did I do? I turned to the Internet, of course! I read a lot of stories from other people with the same problems as me and so many people suggested something I had never heard of: Lanolin.

Photo courtesy of Google.

This is what I buy now and what I completely rely on. It's called Lansinoh HPA Lanolin and it is a little awkward because this specific product is marketed towards nursing mothers but you gotta do what you gotta do! I read that it's safe for you to use on your lips because you will inevitably ingest some of it and even the box says it's safe for babies if their moms use it. If you've never heard of it before, or you have and don't know much about it like I didn't, lanolin is a wax that comes from animals with wool, typically sheep. There are many uses for lanolin, in the skin care/cosmetic world as well as many other areas. If you have a little extra, you can rub it into your elbows, cuticles, etc and it'll work in those areas just as well. What I like about it is that it's completely natural, unlike most of what we use, so it's not full of a bunch of crazy chemicals you can't pronounce. The product itself is just a thick, clear balm and has no scent- very basic.

 This is the absolute only thing that would moisturize my lips that summer and even still, I don't use any other lip product to moisturize my lips as often as I use this. Every once in a while I'll use the Sweet Mint eos lip balm, and that's pretty nice and I would recommend it, but I haven't found any product that is as moisturizing as this. I buy this product usually from Walmart, but you could probably also find it at most drugstores. It's under $10 and the tube will last you for months!

Other lips products that I know of with lanolin as an ingredient are Lanolips and the Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream, neither of which I've tried but I've heard great things about both.

If you are experiencing dry, sore lips, I would highly recommend you try lanolin or a product that contains it because it literally saved my lips. Let me know if you guys have tried any of these products or what you use to moisturize your lips!