How do I stop my lips from being chapped all the time? Worried about cold sores too

For me the biggest change was switching to a plain balm with SPF and reapplying it every couple of hours, especially before going outside. Sun and wind on my lips always seemed to line up with my worst cold sore weeks.

Check the ingredients in your balm, some of the minty or heavily fragranced ones dried my lips out even more. A simple petroleum or shea based product at night made a real difference for me.

Drinking more water and not licking my lips sounds boring but it helped a lot, and I keep lysine in my daily wellness routine as part of my general prevention habits. Everyone is different though, so it is worth talking to a pharmacist or doctor if it keeps up.

Thank you for sharing. For most people the biggest lever is daily sun protection on the lips, even on cloudy days.

Honestly what helped me most was switching to something with actual sun protection and reapplying way more often than felt necessary, like every couple hours outside, because the sun and wind were drying my lips out and I never connected that to my breakouts until a friend pointed it out. I still get the occasional one but way less than before.

Honestly the biggest thing for me was drinking way more water and putting something on my lips before I went outside in the cold or sun, not just after they were already cracked. Chapped lips seemed to make my outbreaks more likely too, so staying ahead of it helped on both fronts.

Mine were a mess for years until I realized I was licking them all the time without noticing, so breaking that habit plus reapplying something plain and thick before bed and every time I head outside made a bigger difference than anything fancy. Not going to lie though, I still get a flare when I forget and then spend a week in the wind, so be kind to yourself when it happens.

Honestly the thing that helped me most was just keeping a balm in every jacket pocket so I actually reapply it, and drinking way more water than I think I need, especially on windy days. And I know the worry about cold sores is real, but you're doing the right thing just paying attention to your lips early, that's more than I did for years.

Same here, mine follow the seasons almost exactly.