Sunburned Lips – Help Protect Your Lips from the Sun

You likely know the importance of using a daily sunscreen as part of overall sun protection measures, but you might not think to apply regular sunscreen lotion or cream to your lips (and it probably wouldn’t taste very good either!). 

It can be easy to forget that lips need sun protection too, and without proper sun safety measures, lips can become sunburned. Learn more about the risks and signs of sunburned lips and how to help protect your lips from the sun. 

Since lips can be prone to becoming dry and chapped for a number of reasons, you may not realize that your chapped lips are a result of sun exposure. Signs that your lips are sunburned include: 

• Redness
• Swelling of the lips
• Blisters on the lips
• Discomfort or tenderness¹ 

Note: If you are experiencing swelling or blistering on your lips, be sure to contact a doctor for further guidance.

Compared to the rest of our body, the skin on our lips is more sensitive and thinner, and our lips don’t contain any oil glands. While most areas of our body have hair as an extra level of protection, our lips don’t. This leaves lips vulnerable to getting dry and chapped due to dry air, cold weather, frequently licking the lips, and, in the case of sunburned lips, sun exposure².

Unprotected exposure to the sun leaves skin vulnerable to sun damage due to the sun’s harmful UV rays. UVA and UVB rays contribute to both visible and invisible sun damage that can lead to signs of premature aging in the skin and increase the risk of skin cancer. According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, getting just five sunburns over the course of your life more than doubles your chances of getting melanoma³. 

On the lips specifically, chronic sun exposure can lead to a precancerous lesion known as actinitic cheilitis⁴, so it’s important to keep lips protected from the sun’s harmful UV rays.

In order to help prevent lips from getting sunburned, here are some sun protection measures you can take:

• Use lip balm with SPF daily: Help protect your lips from the sun before you go outdoors by using a lip balm with SPF, like Aquaphor® Lip Protectant + Sunscreen and reapply every two hours and throughout the day.  
• Avoid sun exposure during peak times of the day: if you’re able, stay out of direct exposure to the sun when it’s highest in the sky and UV rays are the strongest. 
• Seek shade when outdoors: If you are spending time outdoors, particularly during peak times of the day, seek shade whenever possible. 
• Wear sun-protective clothing: General sun safety includes wearing protective clothing like long pants and long sleeves to minimize the amount of skin exposed to the sun, but how can you protect your lips? In the wintertime, you can wear a scarf or gaiter that you can pull over your mouth. In warmer months, you may wish to wear a wide brimmed hat or lightweight scarf. 
• Reapply, reapply, reapply: When wearing lip balm with SPF, be sure to reapply regularly, at least every 2 hours and after eating, following instructions on the packaging.

Apply sunscreen to your lips in the form of a lip balm with SPF of 30 or higher⁵. Sunscreen lotion or cream that you might use on your face or the rest of your body may not be formulated for use on the lips. Consult individual packaging for more details.

Sunburned lips can become dry and flaky. Here are some general tips for helping to soothe and moisturize dry lips:

• Apply an ointment: Aquaphor Healing Ointment® (a skin protectant) soothes and helps relieve chapped, dry, cracked or irritated skin and lips
• Layer on the moisture: Aquaphor® Lip Repair provides oils and moisture that soothe dry lips, as well as nourishing vitamins and soothing shea butter to help soften lips.
• Drink water: Stay hydrated by drinking enough water throughout the day to help support your skin from the inside out.
• Use a humidifier: Exposure to dry air can contribute to dry, chapped lips. Using a humidifier can help, especially if you tend to breathe through your mouth when you sleep.

Yes, you can! Using Aquaphor® Lip Protectant + Sunscreen immediately soothes and helps relieve severely dry lips while providing broad spectrum UVA/UVB sun protection.  

For everyday use for dry or chapped lips, using preservative and fragrance-free Aquaphor Healing Ointment®, (skin protectant) without SPF, helps soothe, protect and relieve dry chapped lips so your lips look and feel healthier.

Proven to relieve dryness and soothe chapped, cracked lips, Aquaphor® Lip Protectant + Sunscreen is formulated with nourishing vitamins and Shea Butter for soft lips. Specially formulated for sensitive lips, its preservative and fragrance-free formula offers broad spectrum SPF 30 sunscreen to help protect against the damaging effects of the sun.

The information provided herein is not intended to be medical advice. Nor is it intended to treat the underlying skin disease or condition. The information is provided solely to: 

1. Moisturize, soften and smooth dry skin
   
2. Improve the appearance of the skin
   
3. Achieve healthier-looking skin