Wrinkly, lined, chapped lips no matter what I do, anyone else with cold sore history?
My lips have been permanently lined and flaky for months now and nothing I use seems to hold. I have a cold sore history so I am careful with what I put on them, and I already do lysine and a lip balm with spf every day. Is this just chronic dryness or does anyone else with hsv notice their lips stay chapped like this?
Mine did the same until I realized I was licking my lips all day out of habit, which strips them constantly. Swapping to a thicker occlusive balm at night made the lines soften a lot within a couple weeks.
Check your toothpaste for sodium lauryl sulfate, it left my lips raw and flaky for years before I switched. Also worth looking at whether you are actually drinking enough water and running a humidifier in winter.
I keep an spf lip balm in every jacket pocket since sun exposure is what dries mine out and it is also my personal cold sore trigger. If it stays this bad after a few weeks of consistent care, it is worth getting a doctor to look at it rather than guessing.
Alex from Labisan here. You are not alone with this, it is far more common than people admit. The most reproducible lever for most of us is UV, so a daily mineral SPF lip balm plus steady sleep is where I would start. Log what you notice and the pattern usually shows itself.
Stress is my number one trigger too, nothing else comes close.
Protecting my lips before skiing changed everything for me.
Catching the tingle early is everything for me.
Welcome, and do not feel low, it is so common and manageable.
Yes, me too honestly, mine got so much worse in my 40s and I used to think I was just not drinking enough water. What helped a little was being really gentle, no picking at the flaky bits, and keeping something on my lips around the clock, but I still have days where they look crepey no matter what.
Sleep makes a huge difference for me, more than I expected.