Chapped lips
When the weather changes, in addition to dry skin, many people also experience chapped and peeling lips. A few days ago, I had dinner with a friend, and I noticed her applying lip balm frequently during the meal. She said that her lips peel all year round, or she gets cold sores, and the situation gets even worse in the dry autumn and winter.
Traditional Chinese medicine believes that "the spleen opens into the mouth, and its essence is manifested in the lips," meaning that the color and condition of the lips are closely related to the spleen and stomach's transportation and transformation. Dry lips are often associated with accumulated heat in the spleen and stomach. When a person's spleen qi is functioning well and their qi and blood are abundant, their lips are nourished, appearing red and moist. When there is excessive accumulated heat in the spleen and stomach and a deficiency of qi and blood, it depletes the body's fluids, preventing moisture from reaching the lips, leading to dryness, lack of luster, and other problems.
When experiencing dry and peeling lips, you can use three grams of Radix Pseudostellariae, five grams of Ophiopogon japonicus, and five grams of Polygonatum odoratum. Wash them and steep them in hot water in a thermos for 20 minutes. This tea can nourish the spleen and benefit the lungs, nourish yin and clear heat, and improve the spleen and stomach's transportation and transformation function.
Radix Pseudostellariae is sweet in taste and neutral in nature. It can generate fluids, benefit qi, strengthen the spleen, and improve conditions of qi and yin deficiency, spontaneous sweating, and thirst. It is very suitable for post-illness recuperation. Ophiopogon japonicus is sweet in taste and slightly cold in nature. It can benefit the stomach, generate fluids, nourish yin, moisten the lungs, and improve dry throat and thirst. Polygonatum odoratum is sweet in taste and slightly cold in nature. It can nourish yin and moisten dryness, and generate fluids to quench thirst.
It is also important to break the habit of licking your lips, as saliva can make your lips even drier. When choosing lip balm, pay attention to the ingredients, as many lip balms contain petroleum components, which can only seal in moisture but not replenish it. If your lips are already very dry, applying such lip balm will only make them drier. If you have peeling lips, never tear or bite them off. You can apply a warm towel as a hot compress, then gently rub off dead skin with sugar and olive oil.
Traditional Chinese medicine believes that "the spleen opens into the mouth, and its essence is manifested in the lips," meaning that the color and condition of the lips are closely related to the spleen and stomach's transportation and transformation. Dry lips are often associated with accumulated heat in the spleen and stomach. When a person's spleen qi is functioning well and their qi and blood are abundant, their lips are nourished, appearing red and moist. When there is excessive accumulated heat in the spleen and stomach and a deficiency of qi and blood, it depletes the body's fluids, preventing moisture from reaching the lips, leading to dryness, lack of luster, and other problems.
When experiencing dry and peeling lips, you can use three grams of Radix Pseudostellariae, five grams of Ophiopogon japonicus, and five grams of Polygonatum odoratum. Wash them and steep them in hot water in a thermos for 20 minutes. This tea can nourish the spleen and benefit the lungs, nourish yin and clear heat, and improve the spleen and stomach's transportation and transformation function.
Radix Pseudostellariae is sweet in taste and neutral in nature. It can generate fluids, benefit qi, strengthen the spleen, and improve conditions of qi and yin deficiency, spontaneous sweating, and thirst. It is very suitable for post-illness recuperation. Ophiopogon japonicus is sweet in taste and slightly cold in nature. It can benefit the stomach, generate fluids, nourish yin, moisten the lungs, and improve dry throat and thirst. Polygonatum odoratum is sweet in taste and slightly cold in nature. It can nourish yin and moisten dryness, and generate fluids to quench thirst.
It is also important to break the habit of licking your lips, as saliva can make your lips even drier. When choosing lip balm, pay attention to the ingredients, as many lip balms contain petroleum components, which can only seal in moisture but not replenish it. If your lips are already very dry, applying such lip balm will only make them drier. If you have peeling lips, never tear or bite them off. You can apply a warm towel as a hot compress, then gently rub off dead skin with sugar and olive oil.