What Causes Chapped and Dry Lips?
Having dry and chapped lips is a very common condition that affects people regardless of age, sex, or skin type. Dehydrated or cracked lips usually happen because of several factors. Luckily, there are now hemp lip balm products to help!
Lip balms are one of the safest and quickest solutions to dry lips. These products contain moisturizers and are known as an emollient. Emollient products prevent further moisture loss.
Recently, lip balm formulations have started to include CBD, a very popular anti-inflammatory ingredient found in hemp.
Hemp lip balm features many of the benefits of regular lip balm with the notable inclusion of CBD in its formulation.
Experts are still looking into the exact reason why CBD is so effective in reducing inflammation and managing pain, but there is no shortage of people who swear by CBD’s therapeutic effects.
What Causes Extremely Dry Lips?
Some usual causes of extremely dry lips are vitamin deficiency, dehydration, allergies, and sun exposure. Chapped lips can also be a side effect of some medications like high blood pressure meds, antidepressants, and chemotherapy drugs.
A lack of vitamin B reduces your body’s ability to fight off diseases and can manifest in skin issues like dry lips. On the other hand, intake of too much vitamin A can also cause dry and peeling lips.
Be careful with the supplements you take as your body may be overloaded with vitamin A that you already get from your diet.
Dehydration happens when you lose more fluid than you take in. The severity of dehydration is affected by external factors like climate, physical activity, and diet. Some of the telltale signs of dehydration include dry mouth, dry lips, and decreased urine production.
To avoid dehydration, it is recommended to drink at least eight cups of water per day.
Cheilitis causes inflammation of the lips. The cracked skin in this area can become painful and excessive licking can worsen the condition. Cheilitis is commonly caused by an allergic reaction or long-term exposure to sun damage.
A specific type of cheilitis called actinic cheilitis is particularly harmful after excessive exposure to the sun’s UV rays. If you spend most of your time outdoors, even during cold weather, you should protect your lips with a lip balm that contains SPF.
What’s Good for Dry Lips?
The lips are sensitive parts of the skin and need their own care to avoid issues like dryness. If you do encounter this problem, the good news is that most symptoms of dry lips will go away with a little self-help.
The first step to healing dry lips, or dry skin for that matter, is hydration. Your diet plays a critical factor in the health of your skin, so adjusting to having a greater intake of water alleviates symptoms of dry skin and lips in most cases.
Vitamin deficiencies need a similar adjustment in food choice or supplements. If you are unsure what is causing your dry lips, then a dermatologist can diagnose your problem and prescribe the right medication.
Using a lip balm addresses dryness directly and helps lock in moisture to avoid inflammations due to dry lips. Some very common and effective ingredients of an effective lip balm include petroleum jelly, beeswax, shea butter, coconut butter, olive oil, ceramides, and lanolin.
But not all lip balms work the same way. Some lip balms contain ingredients that actually dry out your lips even more. Likewise, ingredients like menthol, camphor, and phenol dry your lips while providing a cooling sensation.
Scented and flavored lip balms may dry your lips too. These unnecessary ingredients are generally safe but should be avoided when possible.
What is CBD Hemp Lip Balm?
Hemp lip balm is, for the most part, the same as regular lip balm. The big difference is the cannabidiol or CBD that is infused in it. CBD is one of the main cannabinoids or compounds of hemp, a non-psychoactive cousin of marijuana.
CBD is a popular ingredient in many health and wellness products coming to the market today. It is chemically similar to THC, the compound responsible for the infamous marijuana high. However, it has drastically different effects on its users.
For one, CBD does not produce mind-altering effects. Also, initial research has revealed the anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and pain-relieving properties of CBD.
When added to lip balm, cannabidiol may also help stabilize free radicals to better protect your lips from exposure to the elements.
What Does Hemp Lip Balm Do?
Hemp lip balm acts as a moisturizer for dry and damaged lips. Its CBD oil component works together with other known moisturizers like beeswax to keep in moisture and deliver soothing relief to chapped skin.
CBD may also reduce redness and irritation in the lip area and may manage cold sores, allergies, or dehydrated skin.
There are few scientific resources on the effects of hemp lip balm specifically and modern science cannot definitively point to its effectiveness.
To date, research is promising and most of the benefits stated here come from anecdotal evidence and testimonials.
How CBD Hemp Lip Balm Will Help You
Users apply lip balms to a sensitive part of your skin, so choosing one that contains natural and organic ingredients would pose the least health risks.
This is especially relevant to lip balms as it would be unavoidable to ingest some when you eat and lick your lips.
Choosing a hemp lip balm that works for you is also heavily dependent on the CBD content it contains. There are various potencies and formulations of CBD and hemp lip balms would include a specific formulation that should be declared on the label.
As CBD is a new product, some brands may mistakenly represent hemp content by using confusing terms like cannabis sativa seed oil or hemp seed oil.
Hemp seed oil is cold-pressed from seeds and has well-known moisturizing properties. Although beneficial for skin care, hemp seed does not offer any CBD whatsoever.
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What does Hemp Oil Lip Balm Contain?
As hemp lip balm is practically the same as regular lip balm, the main ingredient you should be looking out for is CBD.
The most popular formulations of CBD, in whatever shape or form, consist of full-spectrum, broad-spectrum, and isolates.
Full-Spectrum Lip Balm
The first type of hemp lip balm features full-spectrum hemp which comes from cannabis along with all other naturally-occurring terpenes, cannabinoids, and flavonoids including THC.
Take note that the THC levels of full-spectrum CBD should not exceed 0.3%.
Having all the compounds of cannabis in one product produces an “entourage effect,” a synergistic reaction, that enhances the therapeutic effects of CBD.
Broad-Spectrum Lip Balm
If you are looking for an “entourage effect” in your hemp lip balm but do not want any THC, then broad-spectrum lip balm is what you are looking for.
Like full spectrum CBD, broad-spectrum contains almost all of the compounds of cannabis but without any trace of THC.
Isolates, like the name suggests, is a pure concentration of CBD without any other impurities. There are some hemp lip balms that offer this but take note that there is no entourage effect with this product.
Pros and Cons of CBD Hemp Lip Balm
The main purpose of lip balm is to nourish, protect, and moisturize your lips. The use of organic ingredients helps reach this goal and keeps your skin health a number one priority. To this end, hemp lip balm excels.
The addition of CBD oil appears to work very well in providing both moisturizing and therapeutic effects, according to its users.
The main downside is the relatively big jump in price compared to non-CBD lip balms. Also, if you are looking for FDA guarantees, then hemp lip balm cannot offer this to you. CBD remains unregulated by the FDA and its legal status can be murky especially with states that have not legalized it.
CBD is not meant to treat any kind of medical condition. Users are to take them as supplements, not medication.
Learn More About Healing Chapped Lips
Here are some quick FAQs on dry lips and the possible benefits of hemp lip balm in providing relief.
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Why are my lips cracked and dry?
The most common reasons for dry lips are dehydration, sun exposure, vitamin deficiencies, excessive licking, and certain medications. Any of these reasons (or combination of reasons) may result in painful, cracked, and inflamed lips.
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How do you stop dry lips?
Hydration is the best starting point. A vitamin deficiency may also necessitate vitamins that your doctor can prescribe you. But for any of the above reasons for dry lips, applying a lip balm can trap moisture and prevent further dryness that causes pain and inflammations.
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Is hemp good for lips?
There is no hard science that can prove the correlation between hemp and lip health as of this writing. The benefits of hemp lip balm come mostly from anecdotal reports and testimonials.
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What does hemp lip balm do?
Hemp lip balm delivers moisturizers into the skin of the lips and prevents moisture loss. It also contains CBD which may have anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties for even more benefits.
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Is it good to use lip balm every day?
It is safe to apply lip balm every day. The best times to use it are upon waking up, after eating or drinking, and right before going to bed. When used with other cosmetics like lipstick, lip balm should be applied first and not after.
Disclaimer: Is CBD Legal?
Hemp-derived CBD products (with less than 0.3 percent THC) are legal on the federal level. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease and products have not been FDA approved. You must be at least 21 years old to purchase these products. Talk to your physician or medical doctor for additional information.
