IN Toronto magazine

Chapped lips are certainly the sign that winter is here. The bitter cold and wind outside and the dry heating inside play havoc on your skin, especially the lips. The cracking, flaking, burning and chapping are uncomfortable, unpretty and unwelcome.

Preventing and treating chapped lips requires faithful dedication. Skip a day and you're right back where you started from. Lips dry out because they don’t have oil glands. Keeping them moist, soft and protected against winter is essential.

I’ve always advocated using a lip balm daily. For women it paves the way for lipstick. For men it paves the way for kisses. Right after brushing your teeth, use a warm, damp terry face cloth to slough off visible flaking skin. Lightly pat dry and immediately apply lip balm. This ritual keeps your lips smooth, soft and protected for the day. It only makes sense to carry and re-apply after meals and smooching. I have one stashed into every coat pocket and bag.

Choosing lip care products is challenging as the market is flooded with tubes and pots of balms, salves and ointments. Most are merely waxes in fancy packaging that don’t work. Avoid medicated balms which contain camphor, menthol, peppermint oil or eucalyptus. As pleasant as these ingredients smell they are actually skin irritants that burn and hurt — not heal and help — chapped lips. Look for one that is super emollient with agents like cocoa butter, lanolin or shea butter. Avobenzone, titanium dioxide or zinc oxides are also beneficial for sun protection with SPF 15 or higher for skiers.

Fuelling rumors of my lip balm addiction, I offer up the following vices:

• Chapstick with SPF15
• MAC Lip Conditioner
• Body Shop Cocoa Butter Lip Care
• Banana Boat Sport Performance
• Vaseline
• Clinique All about Lips

Potato chip lips are the result of severe cracking, flaking and in some cases sores, which are usually caused from picking. Here’s where a lip exfoliating procedure comes into play:

• Apply a warm wet terry face cloth as a compress to lips. Let it sit until it cools down. Gently use the cloth to rub off the now moistened flakes. Resist using your fingers as this may cause bleeding. Repeat until all’s clear; or, apply a lip exfoliant scrub after the compress. Buff gently to loosen and lift away flakes. Make your own scrub by mixing baking soda, salt or sugar into a paste with warm water.

• Rinse thoroughly, pat dry and slather a thick coating of an emollient lip balm or Vaseline to moisturize and seal.
Note: Don’t leave the house with a kisser full of Vaseline unless that’s how you really want to appear to the world. I am not a fan of shiny lips on men unless they’re in a dress. Blot off excess shine with a tissue to avoid confusion. Also buy roll-up tubes of balms, not pots; it’s more hygienic. Never share your balm unless it’s with the one you kiss.