WEBVTT - What Causes Chapped Lips?

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

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<v Speaker 1>Christian Sager, and this is brain stuff. I'm going to

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<v Speaker 1>go out on a limb here and say you've probably

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

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<v Speaker 1>Your lips are pretty delicate things, and the one at

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<v Speaker 1>the top that's your labium supriyus oris, and the one

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<v Speaker 1>on the bottom is your labi um infurious oris. Collectively,

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

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

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

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>and it has a protective covering called the straight um corneum.

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<v Speaker 1>Underneath your epidermis is another layer of skin, the dermist.

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<v Speaker 1>Like the rest of your skin, your lips have all

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<v Speaker 1>three of these layers. The difference is that the straight

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<v Speaker 1>um corneum on your lips is way thinner than it

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

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>blood filled capillaries close to the thin skin on your lips. Next,

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<v Speaker 1>your lips also don't have the oil and sweat glands

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<v Speaker 1>that protect other parts of your body. They're only source

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<v Speaker 1>of moisture is your saliva, and that's why they can

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<v Speaker 1>easily become dry and chapped, and that's usually the culprit

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<v Speaker 1>here hydration. We often experience chapped lips and cold weather,

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<v Speaker 1>not because our lips are allergic to winter or anything,

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<v Speaker 1>but instead because the outside air tends to be dryer,

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<v Speaker 1>and this also dries out the lips, and this drying

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<v Speaker 1>out is the leading cause of chapped lips, also known

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<v Speaker 1>as common kighlitis. Luckily, there are some pretty simple ways

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<v Speaker 1>to prevent this. First, and no matter what the cause

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<v Speaker 1>of your chapped lips might be, stop licking them. I know,

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<v Speaker 1>I know, it can be a difficult habit to break,

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<v Speaker 1>but licking your lips can contribute significantly to dry cracked skin.

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<v Speaker 1>The saliva evaporates quickly, taking with it any moisture that

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<v Speaker 1>was already on your lips and leaving them even drier,

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<v Speaker 1>especially in winter air. And speaking of amazing segues. Let's

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<v Speaker 1>tackle weather related chapping. If you have very dry air

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<v Speaker 1>in your house, consider investing in a humidifier. If you're outside,

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<v Speaker 1>then protect your lips with a product that contains beeswax

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<v Speaker 1>or petrolatum, which will help maintain your lips hydration. If

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<v Speaker 1>you plan to be out in the sun for a while,

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<v Speaker 1>help prevent dryness by using a sunscreen on your lips

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<v Speaker 1>as well. A lip bomb with SPF in it could

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<v Speaker 1>help address both of these issues at once. And as always,

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<v Speaker 1>drinking plenty of fluids is a great move for your

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

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<v Speaker 1>well almost. We didn't talk about the multiple other causes

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

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<v Speaker 1>of the ingredients and those things actually caused chapped lips,

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<v Speaker 1>which is an interesting little conspiracy theory. Check out the

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<v Speaker 1>brainstaff channel on YouTube, and for more on this and

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<v Speaker 1>thousands of other topics, visit how stuff works dot com.