How to treat dry, cracked lips the gentle way

Winter's a divil for turning even the oiliest of skin and scalps into itchy, flaky, witchy sandpaper. With a little bit of extra TLC, your skin can look and feel much smoother, but there's one area that gives it all away - your lips.

The skin on your lips is so delicate and fine it can crack and peel before you've even got out of bed. Even when your skin is glowing, lips that look like crisp crumbs are stuck to them totally ruin the look.

The age old method for primping your smackers is to vigorously scrub them with a toothbrush and slather on lashings of Vaseline, but sometimes that just doesn't cut the mustard.

The key behind smooth lips is preparation. Your skin becomes dry because of lack of moisture, so make sure you stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water. If you find that the air around you is really dry due to central heating or pure coldness, it may be worth turning on a humidifier when you're at home.

As for your lips themselves? Exfoliate, exfoliate, exfoliate! There are exfoliators designed specifically for smackers: I use Clinique Sweet Pots Sugar Scrub and Lip Balm (€17), which is so handy and smells delicious. 

You don't have to spend a lot of money to exfoliate your lips, though; make your own paste with sugar and honey. If your lips are very sensitive, brush them gently with a baby toothbrush.

Use balms to prep your lips for any other product you might want to put on top; Burt's Bees balms are brilliant and, at €2.50, cheap.

Try not to lick your lips when they feel dry - it will only make the dryness worse. Fight the urge and add another layer of balm instead. Also, don't pick any flakes off; you might accidently rip off healthy skin, and that is sore. Instead, rub gently with your trusty baby's toothbrush.

How do you nurse your kissers? Do you have a hero product that you swear by? Any secret home methods passed down from generation to generation that you feel you're finally ready to share with the rest of us? Let's help each other out!