Beauty tip #2: smooth and healthy lips during chemo

With chemo, it is normal that our skin becomes dry and this is likely to affect our lips too. Doing chemo during winter in Melbourne has, without doubt, made it worse. Combined with a fragile immune system, besides being painful and aesthetically unpleasant, chapped lips can be an open door to unnecessary infections. While I have been trying to stay away of chemicals during chemo (as our bodies are already coping with so much!), there are several cheap and readily available options to keep your lips hydrated. In fact, I haven’t had any problems with chapped lips during chemo so far, thanks to my pantry (see some recipes below).

So here are some tips:

• Drink lots of water to keep yourself and your skin hydrated.

• Apply a lip balm several times a day since the beginning of chemo – don’t let your lips become chapped to find a solution. I recommend it after meals and especially when going to bed (I have been putting Vaseline in my lips every night for years, even before chemo started). Good moisturisers include shea butter, petroleum-based products such as Vaseline, or even Bepanthen!

• You can use the following natural ingredients to exfoliate your lips: olive oil and sugar (my favourite as it leaves the lips immediately hydrated) or honey and sugar (great option too). Remember to be gentle as your lips are more sensitive, to hydrate your lips after you exfoliate them, and only to exfoliate your lips if they are not chapped.

• Before sun exposure, apply sun screen because during chemo we can become more sensitive to ultraviolet radiation.

• If your lips are in good condition, a creamy lipstick might help to keep them hydrated too. Try to choose one with sun screen.

Fran xo