All Episodes

April 17, 2016 3 mins

For some people, winter means a daily battle against cracking, scaling or peeling lips. But what actually causes chapped lips? How can you prevent it?

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark as Played
Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works. Hey, I'm
Christian Sager, and this is brain stuff. I'm going to
go out on a limb here and say you've probably
had chapped lips at some point. Well, here's what's happening.
Your lips are pretty delicate things, and the one at
the top that's your labium supriyus oris, and the one

(00:24):
on the bottom is your labi um infurious oris. Collectively,
they form an enormously sensitive, incredibly flexible part of your body,
and it's tough to picture life without them. However, they
also have some vulnerabilities. For instance, the skin of your
lips is different from the rest of your face. Let's
take a closer look. The outer layer is called the epidermist,

(00:45):
and it has a protective covering called the straight um corneum.
Underneath your epidermis is another layer of skin, the dermist.
Like the rest of your skin, your lips have all
three of these layers. The difference is that the straight
um corneum on your lips is way thinner than it
is anywhere else on your body. In fact, it's part
of the reason people's lips have that alluring red or

(01:06):
pink pigment. It comes from underlying blood vessels, red colored
blood filled capillaries close to the thin skin on your lips. Next,
your lips also don't have the oil and sweat glands
that protect other parts of your body. They're only source
of moisture is your saliva, and that's why they can
easily become dry and chapped, and that's usually the culprit

(01:28):
here hydration. We often experience chapped lips and cold weather,
not because our lips are allergic to winter or anything,
but instead because the outside air tends to be dryer,
and this also dries out the lips, and this drying
out is the leading cause of chapped lips, also known
as common kighlitis. Luckily, there are some pretty simple ways

(01:49):
to prevent this. First, and no matter what the cause
of your chapped lips might be, stop licking them. I know,
I know, it can be a difficult habit to break,
but licking your lips can contribute significantly to dry cracked skin.
The saliva evaporates quickly, taking with it any moisture that
was already on your lips and leaving them even drier,

(02:09):
especially in winter air. And speaking of amazing segues. Let's
tackle weather related chapping. If you have very dry air
in your house, consider investing in a humidifier. If you're outside,
then protect your lips with a product that contains beeswax
or petrolatum, which will help maintain your lips hydration. If
you plan to be out in the sun for a while,

(02:30):
help prevent dryness by using a sunscreen on your lips
as well. A lip bomb with SPF in it could
help address both of these issues at once. And as always,
drinking plenty of fluids is a great move for your
entire body, not just your lips. And that's it, well,
well almost. We didn't talk about the multiple other causes
of chapped lips or lip bomb addiction, or whether some

(02:52):
of the ingredients and those things actually caused chapped lips,
which is an interesting little conspiracy theory. Check out the
brainstaff channel on YouTube, and for more on this and
thousands of other topics, visit how stuff works dot com.

BrainStuff News

Advertise With Us

Follow Us On

Hosts And Creators

Josh Clark

Josh Clark

Jonathan Strickland

Jonathan Strickland

Ben Bowlin

Ben Bowlin

Lauren Vogelbaum

Lauren Vogelbaum

Cristen Conger

Cristen Conger

Christian Sager

Christian Sager

Show Links

AboutStore

Popular Podcasts

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!

Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang

Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang

Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.

Crime Junkie

Crime Junkie

Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.