WEBVTT - BrainStuff Classics: What Causes Chapped Lips?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works. Hey, brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Lauren Voke Obama, and today's episode is another classic

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<v Speaker 1>from our former host, Christian Sagar. He's talking about a

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<v Speaker 1>topic that is increasingly relevant to my life as winter

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<v Speaker 1>sets in why do lips get chapped? Hey, I'm Christian Sagar,

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<v Speaker 1>and this is brain Stuff. I'm going to go out

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<v Speaker 1>on a limb here and say you've probably had chapped

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<v Speaker 1>lips at some point. Well, here's what's happening. Your lips

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<v Speaker 1>are pretty delicate things. And the one at the top

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<v Speaker 1>that's your labium supriyaus oriris, and the one on the

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<v Speaker 1>bottom is your labi um infurious oris. Collectively, they form

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<v Speaker 1>an enormously sensitive, incredibly flexible part of your body, and

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<v Speaker 1>it's tough to picture life without them. However, they also

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<v Speaker 1>have some vulnerabilities. For instance, the skin of your lips

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<v Speaker 1>is different from the rest of your face. Let's take

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<v Speaker 1>a closer look. The outer layer is called the epidermist,

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<v Speaker 1>and it has a per act of covering called the

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<v Speaker 1>stratum corneum. Underneath your epidermis is another layer of skin,

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<v Speaker 1>the dermist. Like the rest of your skin, your lips

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<v Speaker 1>have all three of these layers. The difference is that

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<v Speaker 1>the stratum corneum on your lips is way thinner than

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<v Speaker 1>it is anywhere else on your body. In fact, it's

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<v Speaker 1>part of the reason people's lips have that alluring red

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<v Speaker 1>or pink pigment. It comes from underlying blood vessels, red

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<v Speaker 1>colored blood filled capillaries close to the thin skin on

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<v Speaker 1>your lips. Next, your lips also don't have the oil

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<v Speaker 1>and sweat glands that protect other parts of your body.

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<v Speaker 1>They're only source of moisture is your saliva, and that's

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<v Speaker 1>why they can easily become dry and chapped, and that's

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<v Speaker 1>usually the culprit here hydration. We often experience chapped lips

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<v Speaker 1>and cold weather, not because our lips are allergic to

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<v Speaker 1>winter or anything, but instead because the outside air tends

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<v Speaker 1>to be dryer, and this also dries out the lips,

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<v Speaker 1>and this drying out is the leading cause of chapped lips,

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<v Speaker 1>also known as common ki lightness. Luckily, there are some

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<v Speaker 1>pretty simple ways to prevent this. First, and no matter

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<v Speaker 1>what the cause of your chapped lips might be, stop

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<v Speaker 1>licking them. I know, I know, it can be a

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<v Speaker 1>difficult habit to break, but licking your lips can contribute

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<v Speaker 1>significantly to dry cracked skin. The saliva evaporates quickly, taking

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<v Speaker 1>with it any moisture that was already on your lips

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<v Speaker 1>and leaving them even drier, especially in winter air. And

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<v Speaker 1>speaking of amazing segues, let's tackle weather related chapping. If

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<v Speaker 1>you have very dry air in your house, consider investing

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<v Speaker 1>in a humidifier. If you're outside, then protect your lips

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<v Speaker 1>with a product that contains beeswax or petrolatum, which will

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<v Speaker 1>help maintain your lips hydration. If you plan to be

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<v Speaker 1>out in the sun for a while, help prevent dryness

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<v Speaker 1>by using a sunscreen on your lips as well. A

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<v Speaker 1>lip bomb with SPF in it could help address both

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<v Speaker 1>of these issues at once. And as always, drinking plenty

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<v Speaker 1>of fluids is a great move for your entire body,

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<v Speaker 1>not just your lips. And that's it, well, well almost.

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<v Speaker 1>We didn't talk about the multiple other causes of chapped

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<v Speaker 1>lips or lip bomb addiction, or whether some of the

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<v Speaker 1>ingredients and those things actually caused chapped lips, which is

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<v Speaker 1>an interesting little conspiracy theory. Today's episode is written by

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<v Speaker 1>Ben Bollen and produced by Tyler Playing to hear more

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<v Speaker 1>about fringe theories, but probably not too many involving chapstick.

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<v Speaker 1>Tune into Ben's show Stuff they Don't Want You to Know,

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<v Speaker 1>available wherever you get your podcasts, and of course, for

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<v Speaker 1>more on this and lots of other protective topics, visit

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<v Speaker 1>our home planet pas Stuffworks dot com