By Thom Watson, founder of Phatstix, an independent British lip balm brand. Thom has nearly two decades in the beauty industry and a lifelong case of perma-chapped lips that eventually turned into a brand.
Your lips keep drying out because they have no oil glands of their own, which means they rely entirely on what you put on them and how you treat them. The most common reasons for chronically chapped lips are mouth-breathing, licking your lips, an ingredient in your current lip balm that's making things worse, mild dehydration, indoor heating or cold wind, and certain medications. Most cases have a straightforward fix.
Lips are the only part of your face that lack sebaceous glands, the skin's built-in oil producers. The rest of your face has a natural lipid layer that replenishes itself. Your lips don't. That's not a design flaw exactly; it's just how they work. It does mean they're uniquely dependent on what's applied to them, and it's why a bad habit or the wrong product has an outsized effect.
Here are the eight most common causes, and what to do about each.
1. You're licking your lips
This is the biggest one, and the most underestimated. Saliva contains digestive enzymes, amylase in particular, which are designed to break down food. When you lick your lips, those enzymes get to work on the thin skin there instead. Your lips feel momentarily cooler and softer, then drier than before as the saliva evaporates. And you lick them again.
It's a textbook negative feedback loop. The American Academy of Dermatology lists licking as one of the primary drivers of chapped lips, and they're right.
The fix: recognise the habit (most people lick their lips without realising) and keep a conditioning balm to hand so you reach for that instead. The Phatstix balm, for what it's worth, is a 30g twist-up stick so it's big enough to actually find in a pocket or bag rather than disappearing under the lining.
2. You're breathing through your mouth
Mouth breathing, whether from a blocked nose, habit, or sleep apnoea, passes a continuous stream of air directly over the lips. That constant airflow accelerates moisture loss from the skin surface (technically: it increases transepidermal water loss, or TEWL). If you wake up with cracked, peeling lips and your nose has been blocked overnight, this is likely why.
The fix: nasal breathing strips, treating the underlying congestion, or applying a heavier occlusive balm (beeswax is excellent here) just before sleep to create a protective barrier overnight. If you suspect sleep apnoea, talk to your GP.
3. Your lip balm is making it worse
Sounds backwards, but certain ingredients in mainstream lip balms actively irritate lips rather than help them. The main offenders:
- Menthol and camphor. The tingling sensation feels soothing; what it's actually doing is irritating the tissue, which drives more licking and more dryness. Cleveland Clinic dermatologists flag this specifically.
- Fragrance and flavour. Common sensitisers on delicate lip skin; if you're applying the same balm multiple times a day and your lips aren't improving, fragrance is worth investigating.
- Salicylic acid. Yes, it exfoliates, but daily use on already-dry lips strips the barrier rather than rebuilding it.
A good conditioning balm has one job: sit on the skin, lock in moisture, and let the skin get on with repairing itself. It doesn't need to tingle to prove it's working.
The fix: switch to an unfragranced, unflavoured balm with a simple ingredient list (beeswax, shea, plant oils). See if things improve in a week. (Our full guide to how to heal chapped lips goes into more detail on what to look for.)
4. You're mildly dehydrated
Lips are often the first place mild dehydration shows up visibly, more so than the rest of the skin, partly because of that absent-oil-glands problem. When overall fluid intake drops, the body pulls moisture from peripheral tissues. The lips don't have a buffer.
This doesn't mean you need eight glasses of water a day to precise measurement, but if your lips are chronically dry and you're not drinking much, start there. It's the lowest-effort intervention on this list.
The fix: drink more water. Basic, but genuinely useful. Tea and coffee count toward fluid intake; they're mild diuretics but the net fluid balance is still positive at normal intake levels.
5. The environment is stripping them
Lips are exposed to the environment more continuously than almost any other patch of skin. Cold air, low humidity, central heating, air conditioning, and wind all accelerate moisture evaporation from the lip surface. UK winters are particularly effective at wrecking lips: cold air outside, dry heated air inside, repeat.
Beeswax functions as a protective occlusive barrier by reducing transepidermal water loss, which is the mechanism that makes it useful against environmental drying.
The fix: a balm with genuine occlusive properties (beeswax is the most evidence-backed here). Apply it before going out in cold or wind, and before bed. You're not sealing in moisture that isn't there; you're reducing the rate at which the little there is escapes.
6. You're exfoliating too often (or at all)
Lip scrubs are having a moment. Whether they're necessary is a different question. The lip skin is thin, roughly three to five cell layers, and abrasive physical exfoliation removes the outermost cells faster than they can regenerate. Once or twice a week is generally the maximum any dermatologist recommends; daily scrubbing on already-compromised lips is counterproductive.
Sugar scrubs with oils are gentler than the salt or walnut-shell alternatives, but if your lips are actively sore and peeling, the priority is barrier restoration, not exfoliation.
The fix: stop scrubbing until the lips have healed. A conditioning balm applied consistently does more for flaky lips than mechanical removal of the flakes. Once healed, light exfoliation once a week is fine if you want to.
7. A medication or health condition is the cause
Several common medications list dry lips as a side effect: isotretinoin (the strongest acne treatment), certain antihistamines, some blood pressure medications, and chemotherapy agents. Angular cheilitis (cracking at the corners of the mouth), persistent lips that won't heal despite treatment, and lips that swell or blister warrant a conversation with a GP or pharmacist rather than another tub of balm.
Conditions including Sjogren's syndrome, hypothyroidism, and nutritional deficiencies (particularly B vitamins, zinc, and iron) can also manifest as chronic dry lips.
The fix: this one is outside the scope of a lip balm. If your lips have been chapped for more than two or three weeks without improvement despite addressing the other factors on this list, please speak to your GP or a pharmacist. This post isn't medical advice, and chronically non-healing lips deserve proper attention.
8. Your balm is too small to actually use consistently
The most banal cause on the list, but genuinely worth naming. The average lip balm is about 4.25g. It vanishes, into bags, down sofa cushions, through washing machines. You know the drawer. The result is that most people apply balm irregularly, in moments of desperation rather than as a consistent habit.
Consistent barrier maintenance is what actually fixes chronically chapped lips. That means applying a good conditioning balm before bed, before going outside in cold or wind, and whenever lips start feeling tight, not once a week when you dig one out from under your desk.
The format problem is the reason we made The Balm a 30g stick, around seven times bigger than a standard lip balm (7.06x), so you don't lose it and you actually use it. One stick lasts up to a year. At roughly £0.80 per gram it's cheaper per gram than most of the small ones anyway. But even if you use ours, the point stands: size and habit matter as much as ingredients.
What actually works: the short version
If your lips are always chapped, work through this in order:
- Stop licking them. Keep something to hand.
- Check your current balm's ingredients for menthol, fragrance, or flavour.
- Drink more water. Boring but effective.
- Apply a conditioning balm before bed and before going outside in cold.
- Stop exfoliating until things heal.
- If nothing improves in two to three weeks, see your GP or pharmacist.
The full chapped-lips healing guide covers the repair process in more detail if you're dealing with something more severe.
Frequently asked questions
Why are my lips always chapped even when I drink lots of water?
Dehydration is only one cause. If you're staying well hydrated and lips are still dry, check your lip balm's ingredients (menthol and fragrance are common culprits), whether you're a habitual lip-licker, and whether you're breathing through your mouth overnight. An ingredient sensitivity or underlying health issue is also possible if nothing else explains it.
Why are my lips chapped no matter what lip balm I use?
Some lip balms contain ingredients (menthol, camphor, fragrance, certain alcohols) that irritate lip skin and perpetuate the dryness cycle. Try switching to an unfragranced balm with a simple beeswax-and-oil formula and give it a full week before judging. If lips still don't improve, it may not be the balm at all: see a GP or pharmacist.
Is licking your lips actually bad?
Yes. Saliva contains digestive enzymes that break down the delicate skin on your lips. The temporary cooling sensation is followed by drier lips as the saliva evaporates. It's one of the most common drivers of chronically chapped lips.
Should I exfoliate chapped lips?
Not while they're actively sore or peeling. Lip skin is thin and exfoliating compromised skin slows repair. Focus on consistent conditioning first; add gentle exfoliation once a week once lips have healed.
When should I see a doctor about chapped lips?
If lips haven't improved after two to three weeks of consistent care, if they're cracking at the corners (angular cheilitis), blistering, or if you're on medication known to cause dryness, speak to your GP or a pharmacist. This post is informational only and doesn't constitute medical advice.
Does a lip balm with SPF protect against sun damage?
The Balm doesn't contain SPF, and none of our current products do. If you're spending time in direct sun, use a separate lip product with a verified SPF on top. We'll be honest about it rather than imply protection that isn't there.
The one-product fix for most of this
If you want to address licking, environment, balm ingredients, and consistency in one go: The Balm is a 30g, 100% natural, unfragranced, unflavoured conditioning balm with beeswax, shea, three butters, and five plant oils. No menthol, no flavour, no fragrance, no petrochemicals. It's big enough to actually stay in a bag, and one stick lasts up to a year. Free UK delivery over £35.
No fluff. Just proper care.