Ways to Help
Soothe Dry Lips
Find out what’s causing your lips to feel dry, and check out our top tips for dry lips. With expert advice from NIVEA, you can get your lips feeling lovely and smooth again.
Dry lips are a common problem, especially during the cold winter months. Having to deal with lips that are dry, cracked and flaking can feel pretty uncomfortable, but there are a few simple things you can do to help your lips feel smoother, softer and more hydrated.
Dry lips causes
As you’d expect, dehydration is one of the main dry lips causes. But there are also a few other reasons why your lips might be looking and feeling dry:
• The environment: exposure to hot and cold weather can dry out your lips, and low humidity levels often make your lips more prone to dryness and getting chapped1.
• Diet: dry lips can be caused by vitamin deficiencies. Making sure you’re getting the nutrients your body needs is great for your lips and for your overall health1.
• Licking your lips: constantly licking your lips actually dries them out. When saliva evaporates, it leaves your lips even drier than they were before you licked them. As counter-intuitive as this sounds, and as tricky as it can be, it’s best to break the habit and resist the urge to lick your lips2.
• Breathing through your mouth: consistently breathing through your mouth during the day or while you’re sleeping can cause your lips to become dry3.
• Cosmetics: some lipstick formulations have a drying effect or can trigger reactions in the skin that lead to dryness4.
• Health conditions: certain health conditions may contribute to dry mouth or dry lips. Have a chat with your doctor if your dry lips are uncomfortable or if you think there might be an underlying medical cause.
Now that we’ve gone through the different dry lips causes, let’s look at how you can help soothe dry lips and keep them feeling soft and smooth.
• Drink lots of water: if you’ve got dry lips, the first step is also the easiest: drink plenty of water. Aiming for 6–8 glasses of water a day helps keep you hydrated from the inside out.
• Apply lip balm: lip balms create an occlusive layer on the surface of your lips. This helps seal in moisture and protects them from the effects of external exposure. NIVEA offers several different nourishing lip balms in our NIVEA Lip Care line to help promote softer, smoother-feeling lips.
• Protect your lips from the sun: NIVEA Ultra Care & Protection SPF50 helps protect your lips from UVA and UVB rays when used as directed. Protecting your skin from the sun – on your lips or anywhere else – is an important part of skincare and helps prevent dryness and other negative effects from sun exposure.
NIVEA Lip Balm gives your lips what they need
NIVEA Lip Balm products are there to nourish and protect your lips. They contain soothing, naturally derived ingredients to help keep your lips feeling smoother and much healthier.
Caring for dry lips with
NIVEA Lip Care
Whether you’re braving cold winter winds, spending time in the hot summer sun or you just want your lips to feel nourished all year round, NIVEA Lip Care products help give your lips much-needed moisture and help soothe dry lips with formulas containing nourishing ingredients like Vitamin E, Aloe Vera and Hyaluronic Acid.
Hyaluronic Acid, when it’s combined with glycerin, creates a highly effective moisturising complex. NIVEA Glowy Lipswith Hyaluronic Acid and glycerin gives your lips a noticeable moisture boost, leaving them feeling soft and smooth with a fresh dewy lip look. This moisturising lip balm delivers an immediate and visible moisture boost with an ultra-light texture that keeps lips moisturised all day long. With a light, non-sticky feel, the formula glides on smoothly and leaves lips looking dewy with lip lines that appear less noticeable.
Try our tinted lip care products in delicious flavours like blackberry, watermelon, among others. Our tinted lip care formulas are mineral oil-free and enriched with ingredients like Shea Butter to keep your lips looking beautiful with just a touch of colour. Lips feel instantly hydrated and protected from dryness with all-day nourishing moisture.
1. Cleveland Clinic. Chapped Lips (Cheilitis): Causes, Treatment & Prevention. Cleveland Clinic. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/22005-chapped-lips.
2. 7 dermatologists’ tips for healing dry, chapped lips. www.aad.org. https://www.aad.org/public/everyday-care/skin-care-basics/dry/heal-dry-chapped-lips.
3. Cafasso, J. What to Know About Mouth Breathing. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/mouth-breathing#symptoms3 (accessed 2026-03-01).
4. Bhutta, B. S.; Hafsi, W. Cheilitis. PubMed. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470592/.
