There's a reason your lips always feel dry (despite you owning 347 lip balms).

OKAY STORY TIME. When I was about 15, I went home sick from school because my lips were dry.

It was the middle of winter, I'd forgotten my Papaw and had repeatedly excused myself from class to ask a friend IN ANOTHER CLASS if I could use some of her lip balm (?). 

My lips were so chapped, I ended up pretending I had a tummy ache and had to get picked up from school early. 

So I could go home. And put lip balm on. 

And I... I just...

My poor mother.

Watch: Speaking of lips — here are some hacks to keep your lips on your face. Post continues below.

In any case, I'm really not kidding when I tell you that dry lips are a nonsense I do not wish to deal with. And you can guarantee I have MANY products on the go at once. Like, gosh you don't know how many. (Many). 

But sometimes, when you're right in the thick of those windy, chilly days, you'll find yourself scrambling for something that just works. Because your lips are thirsty. Flaky. And all the balms are suddenly doing absolutely nothing. 

So, what's the go?

Well, in celebration of my favourite topic, ever, I hit up a very busy dermatologist to ask him some very silly questions on why my lips (and yours too, probably) are always dry. Here's what he said.

Why are my lips always dry?

"Your lips can feel dry because of environmental changes — losing water in winter when the air is dry, wear and tear, wind damage," said Professor Deshan Sebaratnam, paediatric dermatologist at Liverpool Hospital. "Certain medications (for example, acne medication) can also make your lips feel dry."

While most of us tend to struggle with dry lips around winter, Dr Deshan added that occasionally, dry lips can be a sign of more serious problems. "For example, actinic cheilitis is a precancerous change in the lips and certain dietary deficiencies can cause inflammation at the corners of the mouth."

"If dry lips are a persisting problem, consult your GP or a specialist dermatologist to make sure there's no sinister causes of dry lips."

What's the best way to heal cracked lips?

So, out of the eleventy million lip balms and treatments we all inevitably have kicking around our bags/cars/drawers/pockets, what's really the best way to heal cracked, sad lips? 

Well, according to Dr Deshan, you don't need anything fancy and you needn't be dropping 80 bucks on a lip product (unless you really want to, of course). Ideally, he said, you'll want to choose something simple and avoid unnecessary fragrances and perfumes, which might worsen the problem.

"An inexpensive, greasy product with minimal preservatives or fragrances," is best, he said. "Vaseline is a great example. Products with sun protection like Sunsense Lip Balm offer an emollient and sun protection in one product."

When it comes to lip scrubs and all that jazz, according to Dr Deshan, exfoliating your lips won't necessarily make your lip products work better. In fact, you could end up damaging them further.

WHOOPS. ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯ 

"This is generally not needed," he said. "There's a risk of damaging the lips and it taking longer to heal up. Lips are resilient and will renew."

Can you become dependent on lip balm?

If you're anything like me (refer to the first paragraph of this article), you might have a bit of a dependency on lip balm. Might even think you're a wee bit addicted to the stuff. 

But is that actually a real thing that can happen? And is it true specific balms actually dry out your lips, making you use them more and more?

"No," said Dr Deshan, debunking the age-old myth once and for all. "Our bodies are usually adept at maintaining a stable barrier, so your lips can't get 'dependent' on lip balm."

The barrier of a lip balm prevents dryness, so it's not really possible for them to dry your lips out further. As mentioned before, Dr Deshan said to try to "avoid unnecessary fragrances and perfumes" if you feel you're using your balm too much. 

Again, if you're experiencing dry lips on the regular and it's becoming a real issue, hit up your GP or a specialist dermatologist to make sure everything is in check.

Want more on the best way to hydrate dry lips? Check out our articles below.

• 'The Ordinary just dropped a new $17 product. I bring it with me everywhere.'
• 'Can hyaluronic acid really give you fuller lips? I put it to the test.'
• Just 14 editor-approved lip balms to get you through chapped lips season.

What's your favourite lip balm? Share with me in the comment section below.

Feature: Canva.