How to Avoid Sunburned Lips

The lips are one of the areas on our bodies most sensitive to sunburn, and also one of the hardest areas to keep properly protected from the sun. If you are serious about avoiding sunburned lips, you are going to have to be prepared to work at it.

Things You'll Need

• Protective lip balm

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Instructions

Keep Them Covered!

• 1

  Carry lip balm with an SPF of 15 or higher level of protection. Many lip balms include sunscreen these days, and you can also find lipsticks with SPF if you shop around.

• 2

  Re-apply after one hour if sweating heavily or eating and drinking. If in doubt, put more sunblock on.

• 3

  Use a sunblock cream made for the body if you find yourself without any sun protection lip balm. It may not taste great, and can look white on your lips, but it's better than a burn and works in a pinch.

Protect Your Lips in All Weather

• 4

  Wear protective lip balm to avoid sunburned lips even on cloudy days. Boaters and skiers can tell you that it's the cloudy days that, oddly enough, seem to result in serious sunburn. One reason is that the sun's rays can be strongly reflected off of water and snow, and another reason is that on gloomy days people are more lax about keeping themselves protected.

• 5

  Use a lip balm with SPF that comes with a cord for hanging around the neck, if you get sunburned lips often. This way you'll always have your protection handy, and you won't forget to put it on if it's right in front of you.

• 6

  Avoid fruit-scented lip balms, as these will attract bees and other bugs, which will make you want to wipe the lip balm off. If you like to wear fruity lip balm or gloss, simply wear it over a standard, high-SPF lip balm to avoid burning.