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Welcome to Skinside Out, where Science Meets Beauty. In this episode, hosted by Dr. Zain with Courtney, the focus is on lips. They discuss the unique anatomy of lips, common lip conditions, and the importance of lip health. The episode delves into why lips are more prone to dryness and into conditions such as angular cheilitis, cold sores, and lip-licking dermatitis. They also talk about lip treatments, the impact of cosmetics, and offer tips for keeping lips healthy. The episode emphasizes the importance of protecting lips from UV damage and the risks of skin cancer. Essential lip care products and ingredients are recommended, while potentially harmful elements to avoid are highlighted. Join the conversation on how to maintain beautiful, healthy lips and the importance of professional dermatological advice.
00:00 Introduction to Lip Care
00:43 Unique Anatomy of Lips
01:31 Cultural Significance and Cosmetic Trends
03:21 Common Lip Conditions
04:47 Treatments for Lip Conditions
07:00 Lip Licking Dermatitis
08:28 Allergic Reactions and Irritants
12:09 Lip Exfoliation and Scrubs
13:45 Winter Lip Care Guide
14:02 Effective Lip Care Ingredients
15:23 Products to Avoid for Lip Care
16:34 Exfoliation Tips for Lips
18:29 Protecting Your Lips from the Sun
21:47 Common Lip Conditions and Their Causes
23:22 Healthy Lip Habits and Final Tips
Creators and Guests
Host
What is Skinside Out?
Welcome to Skinside Out, where science meets beauty, the ultimate dermatology podcast! Dive deep into the fascinating world of skin health with expert insights, evidence-based discussions, and myth-busting truths. Each episode explores the medical, cosmetic, and surgical aspects of dermatology, while keeping you informed about trending skincare topics. Whether you’re a skincare enthusiast, medical professional, or just curious about how to achieve your best skin, Skinside Out is your go-to resource for staying informed and inspired.
37 - Skinside Out - Lip Episode
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[00:00:27] Dr. Zain: Welcome to Skin Side Out where Science Meets Beauty. I'm your host, Dr. Zam with Courtney. So today's episode is all about lips. So we're gonna talk about anatomy, what makes them unique, um, certain conditions that we typically see and how to protect them. So, Courtney, let's dive right in. So, why are lips different than the rest of your skin?
[00:00:47] Courtney: Um, a few things. So lips actually don't have any oil glands, which I think is really interesting. Interesting. So basically, um, they can get drier quicker than other parts of your body that do have oil glands, you know, the rest of your skin. Um, they also are much thinner. The skin is much thinner. Um, so I think it just puts them in a spot of being more vulnerable to different conditions, you know, especially dryness.
We see that in the wintertime all the time. Um, cracks and fissures, things like that. Um, they lack melanin, so, um, you know, there's less protection from the environment. Um, I know we've seen quite a few skin cancers on the lips. Um, so we'll kind of get into that later. Um, but yeah, they're just, um, they're different.
They're different than the rest of your body. Yeah.
[00:01:31] Dr. Zain: I mean, lips are such an important part of our human identity. It's been a symbol of beauty. Mm-hmm. For millennia and, you know, many women have, you know, really. Taking focus on to their lips because it kind of shows, um, fertility, beauty, um, and, you know, that's why we've seen cosmetics, um, specifically for the lips to enhance the appearance, the color, um, and the hydration.
, And it's always been a focal point of our appearance.
So I do think that, um, that's why we see such an emphasis in cosmesis. I think there's definitely been a rise to how much people have paid attention over the past few years. I mean, you look at things like fillers, you look at even, you know, growing up I don't feel like I ever had like a lip mask, you know?
[00:02:21] Courtney: I mean, we always had our Burt's Bees and our Carmex, but we never really had like true lip mass. So it is interesting to see this. Yeah. Uprise of, um, the importance of lip health, number one. Mm-hmm. But also the appearance too. Yeah, I mean, I think that. You know, treatments for the lip to actually change shape, um, and really kind of, you know, alter anatomy, um, really came from like using fillers.
Yeah. And we have just so many more options now. I think prior to that we really didn't, we were masking it, you know, usually with. Skincare products. Um, and then in extreme cases, surgeries and, you know, like in old school, like silicone, like, you know, that's always a bad idea. Sure. Yeah. I don't know if you remember the Kylie Jenner Lip plump challenge mm-hmm.
Where people would like, um, use suction to try to plump their lips, and sometimes people would get stuck, their lips would get stuck in whatever container they were using. It was really bad. Yeah. It would just be a blowfish. Yeah. All right. So I can definitely see why people focus in on the lips, but as dermatologists, um, we see a lot of patients who come in for lip concerns.
[00:03:30] Dr. Zain: So what are the most common things that we see in our office regarding the lips? I think most commonly definitely dryness chopped lips. Mm-hmm. Um, we do see a lot of angular colitis, which, um, what is angular colitis? It's a condition that can happen normally on the creases of the mouth. Um, we tend to see it with moisture, so a lot of times people who maybe drool a little bit in their sleep, um, things like that.
[00:03:57] Courtney: Um, it kind of, those creases kind of holds that moisture so it creates, um, a rash in that area. So it can look a little red, a little scaly. Um, I would say most commonly, those are probably the two main concerns. So with angular cellulitis, we see that a lot with drooler. Yeah. Especially at nighttime. But we can also see that in vitamin deficiencies.
[00:04:16] Dr. Zain: So vitamin B deficiencies can lead to angular, Citis. So, um, you know, the easy fix with that is, you know, supplement. Supplement. Exactly. Um, but oftentimes we have to use like antifungals anti-inflammatories to really help reduce that inflammation because it can be pretty painful. Yeah. You can get cracks in the oral commissure.
Um, you can get, um, a lot of inflammation discomfort with eating. Um, especially salty or acidic foods. Spicy fa Yeah. Mm-hmm. So it is something that can really, um, really bother your lips. Yeah. Um, also we see a lot of Accutane patients, right? Mm-hmm. For acne, and that really dries out your lips. Mm-hmm. Um, that's probably the number one complaint we get with a Accutane, right?
[00:04:54] Courtney: Yeah. And I know we've both gone through that. Yep. That was definitely my biggest complaint. Yeah. So, I mean, constant hydration is key using. Thick ointments, Aquaphor and Vaseline are great. Sometimes we actually have to use steroid ointments too. Mm-hmm. To reduce that inflammation, allow the lips to heal because those cracks can be very uncomfortable.
Yeah. I always, um, recommend Dr. Dan's, which is over the counter. Mm-hmm. Has a little bit of cortisone in there too, which I think can be helpful when you're really dealing with those cracked lips. The really uncomfortable, painful. In the middle of the winter kind of cracked lips. So, um, Dr. Dan's Cordal, I think it's called.
So nice. Yeah, I mean the cold air and the wind, I mean, definitely can wreck havoc on your lips, but also the heat that we experience, right? So a lot of dry heat now. With heating our homes and that also dries out our lips as well. I hope everyone got their humidifier for Christmas. I actually just ordered one.
[00:05:50] Dr. Zain: It's funny than today. Um, some other things I think we see too. Um, cold source and I think those get confused a lot of times because they can present differently. In some cases, um, usually you're finding them on the, the corners of the lips too, or like the, the order vermil. Yeah. Yep. Um, and this is just a reactivation of HSV.
So Herpes Simplex virus is the virus that's associated with cold source. So, um, many times it comes out with stress. Mm-hmm. Um, so it could be emotional stress, it could be physical stress. Um, so I mean, I get them. They're annoying. I do too. Yeah. Um, and I usually hit them hard with some bowel checks mm-hmm.
And knock 'em out. Mm-hmm. Yeah. I find mine come in the winter time, like this time of year especially. Mm-hmm. When it's cold. I think just the dryness, um, leads to this potential for cracking and the cracking leads to the vi, you know, it's like kind of a little cycle. So, um. Faltrex is definitely in my medicine cabinet.
Vitamin V. Yeah. , Another thing that we see, um, especially in my pediatric population mm-hmm. But even our adults lip licking dermatitis.
[00:07:02] Courtney: Yes. That's so, that's so under talked about. It
[00:07:05] Dr. Zain: really is. And honestly, I think everyone's guilty of it. Mm-hmm. Um, I am, and oftentimes, you know, when your lips are dry and you're too lazy to use an ointment, you just kind of like keep licking your lips.
Thinking the saliva is going to help hydrate that skin, the lips. Um, but it does not. That's
[00:07:23] Courtney: the opposite. Those enzymes, they break down the skin. Yeah. So I always think back, um, I took this science class back in middle school where we did this experiment letting different foods like melt in our mouth because of the enzymes.
Mm-hmm. And so whenever I lick my lips, I always just think about those enzymes breaking down my lip.
[00:07:39] Dr. Zain: Yeah. And especially with our pediatric patients, like I see a lot of lip L dermatitis and literally you can see like. The skin around the lips, the cutaneous lip being really red. Mm-hmm. Inflamed, even thickened.
Yeah. And you can lead to hyperpigmentation. So it is something that, um, needs treatment and really conscious diligence of not licking their lips.
[00:08:06] Courtney: I think sometimes people doubt that they're doing it. People do it subconsciously. So sometimes even with parents, you'll say, oh, I think it's lip lickers. And they say, well, they don't really lip lick their lips.
I think it's such a common thing that everyone does. They don't really take notice to it, and then once you see it, then you can't, you're like, you know, you're paying so much attention to it, so.
[00:08:28] Dr. Zain: Um, so in addition to our saliva with lip dermatitis, there are other offenders that can worsen skin conditions of the lips.
Um, you know, especially in the wintertime. So fragrances, I tend to find that people are really into essential oils. Mm-hmm. And they're like putting it everywhere. Yeah. Thinking that it's a cure all. Um, but sometimes they're sensitive to the fragrance. They're allergic, they develop an allergic contact dermatitis.
Definitely leads to inflammation in the lips
[00:08:55] Courtney: sometimes. Um, I've had a few patients actually allergic to B wax. Mm-hmm. Um, beeswax and so they can't use most brands of chapstick. Mm-hmm. Um, that's when I'll normally recommend just the Aquaphor. Yeah. Um, I can't remember if it has beeswax in there.
[00:09:09] Dr. Zain: I'm not a huge fan of chapstick.
I actually hate chapstick. Um, and the reason why is that it has a lot of ingredients that people can be sensitized to, um, fragrance, um, other preservatives. And these patients are thinking that they're improving the hydration of their lips, and if they tend to be sensitive, it's actually making it worse.
Mm-hmm. Drying them out and causing more inflammation. I often see that with our Accutane patients. Yeah. So they're all just kind of putting on more chapstick. More chapstick, and it's actually not helping.
[00:09:37] Courtney: I think chapstick too can contribute to the onset of Peral dermatitis. Mm-hmm. So a lot of times. We will see patients and maybe they have a rash, those pimples that mm-hmm.
You know, don't quite pop. Um, usually around like the nasal area and the mouth area and you've tried all your acne meds and it's not helping and it's, you know, just getting worse and. You know, sometimes your dermatologist might ask you, have you tried a new toothpaste? Mm-hmm. Have you tried a new chapstick?
And those are questions to try to determine if it is that peral dermatitis because, um, things that are minty. Mm-hmm. So things that have like the menthol in them or cinnamon can be really big triggers for peral.
[00:10:15] Dr. Zain: Yeah. One of my favorite brands for toothpaste is ZA Maine. Yeah. Um, I usually recommend that to my patients who I suspect are sensitive to some of these ingredients.
Um, with Perial dermatitis, I usually have all my patients kind of switch off. And they tend to do better.
[00:10:30] Courtney: Yeah. Yeah. I stick to, I like the CeraVe Healing ointment for my lips a lot. And I have, I'm always, you know, Aquaphor girl on the lips, but I remember the Carmex days for sure. Mm-hmm. And now Burs Bees has all these different like scents and stuff.
I did used to really like the, like the vanilla bean scent. Some of the other, it's cozy.
[00:10:50] Dr. Zain: So Cool. Fact, sbe what started in Durham? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And you can actually see the original store, right? Yep. I've been, yeah, yeah. In the tobacco district. Yep. Yeah. Pretty used to
[00:10:59] Courtney: pass by it a lot when I, um, live downtown.
It's, yeah, it's cool. And I've met people who work there. I mean, it's seems like a cool, fun company, so, yeah. Cool.
[00:11:09] Dr. Zain: Um, and then lipsticks, right? Mm-hmm. Can also contribute. Um, which lipsticks do you typically see, um, are common offenders?
[00:11:16] Courtney: it's usually not so much like, I feel like it's patients who are trying lipstick who normally don't wear lipstick.
Mm-hmm. You know, it's that introduction of like these new like, you know, I guess chemicals essentially on, on the skin. Mm-hmm. Um, like myself, I don't really wear much lipstick. If any. Mm-hmm. And I feel like when you are not used to putting that on your skin, then you can kind of get that like allergy.
Yeah.
[00:11:41] Dr. Zain: And I feel like some, um, women look for those almost liquid lipsticks. Yeah. And they had that, you know, paradoxical effect that they can dry out your lips, correct?
[00:11:51] Courtney: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Like the lip stains were really popular. Mm-hmm. And I guess probably still are. Um, but the lip stains, which. Some people were having difficulty even like, getting off their lips, and I think that is such a red flag if you can't get it off, that concerns me.
But, um, that was a really big trend, I think last year. Yeah.
[00:12:09] Dr. Zain: Um, in addition, there's a lot of lip treatments available. So you alluded to like those lip masks. Mm-hmm. Some of them are very hydrating. I really recommend those. But a lot of them also have active ingredients. Mm-hmm. Such as ha, BHAs, the
[00:12:22] Courtney: lip scrubs.
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
[00:12:23] Dr. Zain: And that can be also irritating and drying. Yeah.
[00:12:25] Courtney: Especially the mechanical scrubs where, you know, we've talked about ST i's many times before, but those don't use it. Yeah. Do, you know, use if you value your skin. Mm-hmm. Um, but those mechanical scrubs, I mean, I think they're, you know, I've never, I've never really felt the need to.
Consistently exfoliate my lips. Mm-hmm. I think by, maybe when I wash my face, maybe I'll do like a little, you know, I wash kind of my full face. Yeah. Just go at it. But then, you know, I feel like my towel is kind of like doing whatever exfoliating I need. But yeah, I think just be mindful of, yeah. Of things like that.
[00:13:00] Dr. Zain: I don't think I've ever exfoliated my lips like intentionally
[00:13:03] Courtney: I was gifted. A homemade lip scrub. Years ago it was like, like what a
[00:13:09] Dr. Zain: have beef tallow?
[00:13:11] Courtney: No, this was like before beef tallow was even like a thing. It was like. Shea butter. Mm-hmm. Sugar. There was like sugar to get the scrub, I guess. Um, honey, I mean, it was like a nap.
It was made in a kitchen. It was not, you know, FDA grade at all. But, um, yeah, I don't know. I used it maybe once or twice and just didn't ever use it again.
[00:13:35] Dr. Zain: Probably Good idea.
[00:13:36] Courtney: Yeah. It's like my first year in dermatology, I was like, oh, maybe this is good. You exfo. I'm like exfoliating every, you know, exfoliating everything.
But it was not great, so. Yeah. Yeah.
[00:13:45] Dr. Zain: So since a lot of people are experiencing a lot of lip irritation, dryness, we're gonna come up with a little, um, you know, guide to surviving the harsh winter. So what are some ingredients that we look for? Products, you know, what do you recommend?
[00:14:01] Courtney: Lanin. Ceramides, squalane.
Hyaluronic acid we've talked about numerous times. You know, our mm-hmm. Our go-to with, um, layering the hyaluronic acid with you know, Aquaphor or Vaseline. Like I said, bees wax is another one, but you know, I, patients can be sensitive to that. So I think starting with some other less, same with the landin too.
Like there are people
[00:14:23] Dr. Zain: with landin sensitivity, which is also found in Aquaphor.
[00:14:25] Courtney: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Which is a shame. Yeah. But, um, I love me some Aquaphor. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Um, Shea butter's another where I feel like some people do well with it, but some people it's just a little, um, you know, inflammatory for them. So, um, glycerin, things like that you can add in.
Um, most of these, like I said, you can find in something like a, you know, CeraVe healing ointment. Mm-hmm. I think Cetaphil even has a healing ointment now. Um, plain Vaseline. Um, I know they make the cute little Vaseline. I love those cake. Some of them are flavored
[00:14:56] Dr. Zain: and sent, did you see those? Ive seen those pink ones'.
Seen those. Yeah. Imna had one and I'm like, where did you get this from? And I'm like, no, no. The only
[00:15:03] Courtney: thing about those little tubs that are so cute, they're cute, but when you have nails, you have to do the nail trick, which you have to like. Push your nail up so that you don't get Vaseline under your nail.
It's like a whole
[00:15:14] Dr. Zain: trick. What if you don't have nails?
[00:15:15] Courtney: What do you mean you do it the normal way?
[00:15:18] Dr. Zain: They're cute though. They're horrible. All right. Um, so those are things to look for. However, there are things that we should avoid. So we talked about fragrance. Mm-hmm. So avoiding those type of products. Um, these cooling bombs.
So a lot. Yeah. These are pretty popular. They contain menthol and or camp for, um, but. Those can be irritating as well.
[00:15:38] Courtney: Yeah. I think they feel nice at first. Mm-hmm. Because when your lips are like red and infl especially, and I think almost everyone has been at that point where, you know your lips are cracked.
Mm-hmm. You pick the crack Yes. Which you should never do, they'll feel 10 times worse, and then they feel swollen. Mm-hmm. They feel like hot and swollen then. So you're thinking, oh, let me put the, you know, um, Kim four on and it'll cool it down, but it is just making it worse, so mm-hmm. Don't do it.
[00:16:02] Dr. Zain: And those, those matte lipsticks that we talked about.
[00:16:05] Courtney: Yeah. Yeah. I remember like, um, your girls are too young, but I, they probably still do the, like, the little flavored, like lip glosses. Oh my God. Do you know osseo? I used, I used to have a cherry roll on one and I loved that and it tasted like cherries. It was Oh, I loved it. Oh yeah. SEO's
[00:16:22] Dr. Zain: all about that. So she like gets these little like.
Like lip gloss kits and then she puts 'em on and she thinks she's like so fancy. Yeah. She's like, oh look daddy, I put on some lipstick. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. So cute. Um, so, and we talked about exfoliation. So what's the recommended frequency and types of exfoliation?
[00:16:42] Courtney: Everyone's different. I like and think, you know, maybe a once a week, once every other week.
I really don't think you need to do this like biweekly. Ritual with the lips. Mm-hmm. Um, like I said, I try to be mindful of those scrubs because of some of the acids and ingredients in there. I think sometimes just doing a nice like, you know, wash hat dry with my towel and then immediately putting on that hyaluronic acid and, you know, Aquaphor of Vaseline tends to do the trick for me.
Mm-hmm. So maybe a weekly. Every other week.
[00:17:16] Dr. Zain: And if your lip barrier is compromised, if you have cracks, um, a lot of irritation don't exfoliate. It's just gonna make things worse.
[00:17:23] Courtney: I think people. Think and assume if something is dry to exfoliate the dryness off, but it, you get in that cycle mm-hmm. Where you're just exfoliating more, you're getting more dry and instead of adding that moisture back to the skin to repair it, you're, you know, again, you're in the cycle.
So I think just focusing on moisturizing when they are dry is key.
[00:17:43] Dr. Zain: Absolutely. So when your lips are compromised, what steps should we take? Um. Humidifiers we talked about so that moisture in the environment will keep your lips from drying out. Mm-hmm. Um, using ointments, especially at nighttime. I love coating my lips, um, with Aquaphor or Vaseline before I go to sleep.
[00:18:04] Courtney: Yeah.
[00:18:05] Dr. Zain: To really hydrate that. 'cause I do get really dry at night
[00:18:07] Courtney: and that can be helpful against the angular colitis too. Mm-hmm. Um, putting a little bit in the creases of your mouth, so if you are someone that drools in your sleep mm-hmm. No judgment. I don't, but Yeah. Right. Depends on the night. Um, but if you do, sometimes putting like a little thin layer can just help that drool from sitting in those creases so that you are not developing that.
[00:18:28] Dr. Zain: Yeah. I think one thing that we haven't really spent too much time talking about was protecting your lips. Yeah. From the sun.
[00:18:35] Courtney: I know.
[00:18:35] Dr. Zain: Um, so lips are also sensitive to UV light. It is a site that we see skin cancer. So I've operated on multiple skin cancers on the lips, basal cells, squamous cells. Um, and it is complicated because, especially with squamous cells, it is at a higher risk for spreading when it's on the mco cell, such as lips.
So we always wanna make sure that we catch these skin cancers early treat them appropriately. Um, there's also a condition called actinic colitis. Mm-hmm. Um, so it's basically precancerous changes that are happening to the lip mucosa. So we kind of treat them just like actinic keratosis that we see on the skin.
We want to make sure that they don't progress into squamous cell carcinoma.
[00:19:18] Courtney: Yeah, we see that a lot on patients who have grown up in areas where there's a lot of sun, um, beaches, lakes, whatever. And you know, a lot of times when you're putting your sunscreen on, you're putting it on your face, but you're not necessarily using it on your lips.
And so I think over time, you know, it does present in that really dry, irritated, um, presentation. And I think it's always really fun. When we've done like PDT on the lips mm-hmm. Um, photodynamic therapy to treat the, um, action damage, how much improvement they get after night day. Yeah. I get a cosmetic improvement, so.
Nice. So,
[00:19:51] Dr. Zain: um, in addition, I mean, not so common anymore, but like even chewing tobacco and we've seen skin cancers arise from that as well.
[00:19:59] Courtney: Mm-hmm.
[00:20:00] Dr. Zain: Um, so just something to be mindful of. And when you're getting your skin checks, we're examining your lips. That's part of the exam. So if you notice something that's new or unusual.
Don't wait. Um, definitely get evaluated by your board certified dermatologist.
[00:20:14] Courtney: Yeah. Yeah. I really like the elta lip. SPF. Mm-hmm. They have one. Um, honestly, sometimes I just like dab a little sunscreen, you know, like a sheer sunscreen. Mm-hmm. Um, on the lips. But there are definitely lip balms that you can get that are SPF specific.
[00:20:32] Dr. Zain: Yeah. And some of them contain chemical sunscreens. Yeah. And I'm not a huge fan of them because a lot of people are sensitive to the chemical sunscreens. And, um, I actually think like Aquaphor makes one that has the chemical sunscreen in it. Mm-hmm. Am I right?
[00:20:45] Courtney: Yeah.
[00:20:46] Dr. Zain: So I'm not a huge fan of them. Um. Just because, you know, a lot of people do develop allergic contact dermatitis to some of those sunscreen, like Ava Benzone and mm-hmm.
Things like that. Um, I don't know. Like I have a hard time putting sunscreen on my lips and the reason why I hate the taste of sunscreen.
[00:21:04] Courtney: Yeah. And it just
[00:21:05] Dr. Zain: inevitably gets in my mouth and it is awful, and I can't get the taste outta my mouth and it just annoys me. Yeah. So I wish there was like a better tasting one.
[00:21:13] Courtney: Well, that's why you gotta do the lip balms, but you're not like eating it. They make like actual I eat everything. Yeah, I do know. Yeah, I, yeah, I know. I was afraid we got cookies today in the office, so I was like, oh, those will be gone in two seconds. Um, yeah, I think just being mindful of whatever, you know, lip balm you're using, but making sure that you're using one.
But a lot of, there are new ones that are like more stick, so you're not getting like the goop of the, you know, sunscreen in there. Maybe if you just apply it carefully. I don't know. It's just a thought. Yeah.
[00:21:47] Dr. Zain: So, um, oftentimes people think that they have chapped lips, but it's not always chapped lips.
Mm-hmm. So what are the conditions that we typically see? Some of them we've talked about already.
[00:21:56] Courtney: Yeah. Um, you know, the actinic, um, colitis, I think is a really mm-hmm. Big one. Um, especially when people come in and say, I've had chronic lip dryness mm-hmm. For the last year and especially over the summer months, you know, you start thinking, okay, yeah, like I understand the winter, but we're so humid here in North Carolina that.
[00:22:12] Dr. Zain: And these are the patients who have a lot of sun damage. Mm-hmm. So you can kind of tell like they've been in the sun and it makes sense.
[00:22:18] Courtney: And I think even frequently, even besides just the acne colitis, we do see a lot of pre-cancer spots on the Vermilion border. Mm-hmm. Again, I think just when we're putting on sunscreen, people kind.
Squash it on this way and don't really think much about these. Like, um, even that like upper lid. Mm-hmm. So, um, I think just being more mindful also when you're applying your, your sunscreen. Um, and we do
[00:22:38] Dr. Zain: see, um, labial lentigos, which are sunspots on your lips. Yeah. So that's indicative of sun damage. Mm. So just another warning sign.
[00:22:46] Courtney: Yeah. I know. I think I have one. I wanna, IPL it. Am I gonna have skin cancer? No. Should I do some PDT, um, eczema, um, or allergic contact, you know, like we kind of mentioned. So anything, um, that is creating, you know, um, irritation or a rash on the lips. So again, those are your fragrances, your essential oils.
Sometimes you can develop allergies to things like peppermint or just the, you know, menthol and the, um, lip balm. So just being mindful again, I think just keeping things as plain and simple as you can is preferred.
[00:23:21] Dr. Zain: Yeah. And you know, maybe in the new year we can talk about some habits to help improve our lip health.
So let's give some tips to our audience.
[00:23:31] Courtney: Stop licking your lips. You hear that? When you want to lick your lips, if you do it, give yourself a slap on the wrist. Mm-hmm. And go apply your. Lip balm. That would be my recommendation. Courtney will come after you. Yeah. The lip balm. And stop picking. Because the P mm-hmm.
The pickers. You know, you can run the experiment a million times and I'll tell you it's gonna end the same when you pick that skin. I know it feels gratifying in the moment 'cause I've done it. Mm-hmm. But you peel it and it's like throbbing. I hate that feeling.
[00:24:02] Dr. Zain: Yeah. But also think about it like when you're picking at your lips, um.
Your hand, hands have bacteria on them. That's true. And you're transferring that, and then you're picking it, and then you're creating the, this microtrauma, these cuts bacteria can get in, um, you know, other microorganisms. Mm-hmm. And you can also like, you know, get germs into your mouth and that can get you sick.
Yeah. Um, I have a feeling that my kids do that all the time. OIA is always picking her lips and it's. The most infuriating thing. 'cause then she gets sick and then I'm like, why are you picking your lips? Yeah. Yeah.
[00:24:34] Courtney: It's, I, I just, that feeling, like I said, every time I start to pick, if I like am I'm like, wait, wait, wait.
Because I just, I remember that feeling and it's not a fun one. Mm-hmm. I feel like it takes days for to go down and it's just, you're suffering. Um, anytime you'll eat anything spicy, you'll feel it. Um, yeah. It's not pleasant, so. Yeah.
[00:24:51] Dr. Zain: Um, so one thing that I'm gonna work on, definitely the sunscreen, the SPF on my Lips.
Um, I just gotta get over that whole taste thing.
[00:25:00] Courtney: Yeah, we'll be on the hunt. We'll look for some, you know,
[00:25:04] Dr. Zain: maybe that should be a new business venture. Tasting sunscreen. Yeah.
[00:25:10] Courtney: Edible.
[00:25:10] Dr. Zain: Edible sunscreen.
[00:25:12] Courtney: It's like the, um, genius, like the colored zinc they used to make, you know, um,
[00:25:16] Dr. Zain: fruity flavored sunscreen.
[00:25:18] Courtney: Hmm.
You're onto something. I am. Yeah. I'm sure the kids will love it. Yeah.
[00:25:23] Dr. Zain: Um, other things, um, you know, avoid fragrances and certain preservatives that you may be irritated to. Um, avoiding, you know, those toothpaste that you may be sensitive to, those flavors. So,
[00:25:36] Courtney: yeah. And over. And then, you know, stop the over exfoliating, I mean.
Be mindful about the lip mass that you're using. Look at the ingredients. If you're seeing things like the word fragrance in the ingredients and it's, you know, five or six ingredients in, think to yourself, Hmm, maybe I don't wanna use that. Or, you know, some of these acids, again, if your lips are on the dry side, focus on moisturizing and repairing rather than trying to slough off the skin.
'cause that skin is telling you, Hey, I'm dry. You know?
[00:26:04] Dr. Zain: Yeah. I need some TLC. Yeah.
[00:26:06] Courtney: Yeah,
[00:26:07] Dr. Zain: so we had a great discussion about lips and common irritations and, you know, conditions that we see. Um, some key takeaways. Um, we want to emphasize protecting, hydrating, avoiding irritants, using sunscreen, and also when you are noticing something unusual about your lips, um, like a growth or, you know.
Irritation that doesn't seem to heal. Make sure that you see your board certified dermatologist. Make sure that you get evaluated because it can be the beginning of something more serious. And especially skin cancer. We wanna make sure that you know you're healthy and you know, it doesn't progress into anything that warrants more significant treatment.
So, um, hopefully you enjoy this episode. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out. Please subscribe, like, and follow. But until next time, inside out,
[00:26:57] Default_2025-12-10_2: out.