Kick Dry Lips to The Curb with this Triple Threat

As I was doing my daily walkthrough (or readthrough, rather) of all my favorite beauty blogs today, I came across this helpful tip from Liv Tyler via the Daily Glow (see here): “If your lips are really dry, you can just literally put olive oil on them at night”. I thought it was very interesting because I actually have been doing something very similar during these dry winter months (especially in So-Cal. Right now we’re having a major bout of super dry, gusty winds). Some of you may be very familiar with or frequent users of the magic cure-all oil otherwise known as coconut oil. If you’re not, do a little digging online and you’ll find about 10,402 uses for this amazing oil. You can use it as a leave-in conditioner, deep-conditioner, light hair-shine serum, body moisturizer, makeup remover, cooking, or oil-pulling.  It’s great, great stuff! So, when I feel like my lips need just a little more TLC (after all, they’re in much better shape since I started using the Jack Black Intense Therapy Lip Balm. Review here), I’ll do this:

Products used: Aquaphor Advanced Therapy Healing Ointment, Jack Black Intense Therapy Lip Balm SPF 25, Nutiva Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, and a toothbrush

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 1. To start, prep your lips by gently exfoliating. You can use a lip scrub if want, but I prefer to just use a toothbrush and gently run it back and forth across my lips while they’re wet or have just a bit of Aquaphor on them to give it a little slip.

2. Apply a thin layer of coconut oil to lips (you can also use olive oil à la Liv). Freshly scrubbed skin is always more receptive the products applied right after-and the same goes for your lips. Wait 1-2 minutes for it to absorb slightly.

>>Side note: I do recommend the coconut oil though. Especially if you’re lips are already cracked/split due to dryness. Coconut oil has anti-fungal and antibacterial properties, can reduce inflammation, and promote tissue healing and repair.

3. Next, apply a layer of any hydrating overnight lip treatment you have on hand. I personally use my Jack Black Intense Therapy Lip Balm. A few great options are: Prescriptives Lip Specialist Triple Action Therapy, Clark’s Botanicals Ultra Rich Lip Balm, or ChapStick Overnight Lip Treatment.

4. (Optional) If it’s during the day, I’ll leave it at those 3 steps and go about my day. If it’s nighttime, I tend to add yet another layer just to make sure that the previous 2 layers aren’t going anywhere. So right before I hop into bed, I’ll slather a pretty decent-sized layer of Aquaphor (you can use Vaseline or Elizabeth Arden 8-Hour Cream…really, anything petrolatum-based to really seal and protect) all over my lips and even on the area all around my lips. Done! You’ll wake up to smooth, moisturized lips! I swear by this!

 So there you have it! It’s a simple little trick, but it really gets the job done! So if you’re a chronic sufferer of dry, cracked, peeling lips during the winter (or anytime at all!), try this tip and see how it works for you! I know it sounds kinda weird to just rub oil all over your lips-but it’s so worth it, trust me. And if you don’t believe me, take Liv’s word for it. Have you ever seen a picture of her where her luscious, envy-inducing lips weren’t perfect?? So she has to know what she’s talking about, right?