#cracked lips

Generally angular chelitis is caused by too much or not enough moisture. If lips are overly dry they may crack and burn and the skin can even become lichenified (thickened and itchy). Psoriasis and eczema can affect the corners of the mouth as well. In these cases lots of moisturizing helps and there are even steroid lip balms out there that help. If it’s from too much moisture (like saliva creeping in the cracks or constant lip licking) folks tend to get fungal growth. It’s not something that would be terribly contagious though because fungus requires a certain environment to grow.

Bacterial infections and chemical irritation can also cause it. With chemical irritation, it may be from eating a lot of acidic or spicy foods that can wear at the skin. In that case a dietary change can fix it.

Give your lips some love this winter

At this time of year everyone’s lips need a little extra care. The cold and winds, dry the skin leaving lips rough and chapped. Commercial lip balms and chap sticks tend to be just greasy, expensive and full of artificial additives.

The following potion provides an alternative that uses all natural ingredients has the power to heal skin, soften and fight infections including cold sores. The material cost is also lower (The batch below makes 4 small pots for around 45p)

You will need ;

 Tools :

A double boiler or a glass bowl and a sauce pan.

A filter (I recommend muslin cloth as it is cheap and quick)

A spoon (not wood or copper, I know its basics but some don’t know)

A small mixing bowl

Containers to store the lip balm (you can reuse old containers to save money)

Ingredients :

4 Tablespoons of oil (I prefer Almond but Olive works fine)

1 ½ Tablespoons of Beeswax

1 teaspoon of Honey

1 tablespoon of Gotu Kola (substitute with Marigold[Calendula] if you can’t get it)

5 Drops Lavender Oil

10 Drops Tea Tree Oil

1 Vitamin E capsule (Optional)

5 Drops of the essence of your choice (optional. I prefer strawberry or banana)

Method :

In a glass bowl or double boiler add the oil, beeswax and Gotu Kola. Place over a low heat and leave to melt.

Meanwhile in a bowl mix the Honey, Essential oils and the contents of the capsule together well.

Return your attention to the potion with the spoon slowly stir clockwise with your dominant hand. Keep your intention to heal clear.

 My Suggested spell (alter to preference or path);

“From the flowers to the bee

The power of nature come to me,

Empower this potion through

With healing magic true”

 After 25 minutes pour the mix through a filter and on to the other ingredients.

Quickly mix everything together well and transfer to your containers. Enjoy

(They keep for a couple of months but its best to make small batch’s when needed so they are fresh).

For more ideas click to see my herbalism list.

Review: Clio - Virgin Kiss Tension Lip Oil Tint (#08 Just Coral)

Packaging: It comes in a sturdy plastic bottle (5.5ml) equipped with an equally sturdy wand that has a slight groove for ease of application. Much like a lip gloss, the wand doubles as a cap that spins off to open. It picks up a perfect amount of product to apply in one go.  

Price: I bought this product for sale on Jolse for just $13.16 USD. Lip tints tend to go for cheaper prices, but since this brand, Clio, is known for its high coverage products, I decided the price was right; this is a brand that does not sacrifice its amazing color payoff for a smoother application. It manages to provide 

Consistency: It has a very nice creamy consistency that spreads easily. I personally like to apply the product with a light hand for a lighter, more natural look, but layering the product for a more vivid look is also possible (take a look at panel 2 before the product has been spread in the last photo to see what I mean). Because this product is not your average lip tint, but rather, is a lip oil tint, the creamy consistency does not feel thick. Instead, it feels just slightly thicker than an oil treatment lip product -- like the perfect combination of a creamy lip gloss and an oil treatment product. As the product sets there is a moderate amount of transfer, but if allowed ample time to dry and stain the lips, I find that there is little to no transfer. The staying power is also moderate. While I personally do not feel the need to reapply throughout the day, people looking for a more vivid look may need to.

Scent: I find it a bit difficult to describe the scent of this product. It definitely has a fresh component to it, but is not strong in the way you might expect a skin product to be. I think what might be more important to note than the scent would be the taste, which is akin to accidentally licking your lips after applying foundation that managed to get on your lips in its application. It tastes like makeup; not terrible nor particularly strong, but you would definitely not want to try and lick your lips after applying it.

Ingredients: When it comes to lip products, I am never too concerned with the ingredient list because there is nothing I am allergic to, but I do like to know how the product intends to keep my lips feeling “moisturized” while still providing color. It is unfortunate that I could not find a full ingredient list anywhere at this time for those who are concerned about possible allergic reactions with certain ingredients... So if you have any sensitivities or allergies to be concerned about, I might avoid this one for a while until an ingredient list shows up.

In the first panel of my last photo I present my lips just as they always are naturally, which is generally very dry (and often cracked) as I do not drink as much water as I probably should, nor do I exfoliate my lips, use lip masks, etc. This makes it difficult for me to find lip products that provide enough moisture to accommodate my issues without requiring me to sacrifice color payoff. So when I found this product, which is just what I had been looking for, you can only imagine how excited I was. The selling point for me was when I read that it would treat dry and cracked lips. Well, I would not say it is a lip treatment by any means, but it does not contribute to even drier lips, which generally causes clumps and clinging. In the third panel of my last photo, you can see that it does not accentuate any dry bits or cracks and there is very, very minimal clinging. In person, the clinging is not even visible unless one were to get right up in your face to look at your lips. And the reason for this amazing formula? I may not have been able to find a complete ingredient list, but I did, however, find out that this product contains a “7 red oil complex” which is made up of the following:

Rosa Canina (Rose Hip Seed) Oil

Camellia (Tea Seed) Oil

Rosa Damascena (Rose) Flower Oil

Geranium Maculatum (Spotted Cranesbill) Oil

Safflower Seed Oil

Borago Officinalis (Borage) Seed Oil

Hippophae Rhamnoides (Sea Buckthorn) Oil

These oils contain vitamins that not only moisturize, but also mildly exfoliate the dead skin on your lips. And because they are oils, they also help create a protective seal/barrier on your lips that promotes healing. These are exactly the kinds of ingredients you should be looking for in lip products if you want to see amazing results.