Constantly peeling - but not chapped - lips: what's up with this? - PaleoHacks.com

Constantly peeling - but not chapped - lips: what's up with this?

2011-12-05T04:20:55Z

(Did a search, couldn't see anything similar - please point me at it if I'm wrong!)

I've been paleo since July of this year, and it's been phenomenal for me on many levels. But I have this one irritating symptom that's kicked in recently - for the last two-three months, the skin on my lips seems to be shedding/peeling off - sometimes to the point of bleeding spots on the lower lips.

My lips aren't chapped or dry, I'm getting plenty of saturated fats & liquids, and I'm using lip balms to prevent the flakiness - ranging from straight coconut oil to MoistStic (w/coconut & tea tree oils) to a Burt's Bees tinted lip balm to one from Now (also with aloe/coconut oil/Vitamin E) that I just bought today. (Don't use petroleum-based or chemically-laden products, to my knowledge, anyway!)

I'm 95% Paleo - use dairy only as heavy cream in coffee or plain greek yogurt with walnuts occasionally, and am also supplementing daily: fish oil, Vitamins B, C, D, K, L-Carnitine & NAC (latter two just added within the last month). Just added Kelp today, thinking this might be another sign of an iodine deficiency (since I'm not getting iodine in my preferred kosher salt & am no longer eating prepared foods.)

Does this sound familiar to anyone else? Where should I start trying to figure it out? Thanks in advance...

Answer by Rogue Nutritionist for Constantly peeling - but not chapped - lips: what's up with this?

2011-12-05T07:04:54Z

My kids have a similar experience, and for them, it's a manifestation of their eczema. Since they don't eat gluten, they get it much less often, but too much cow milk (they're both fine with yogurt and raw cheese) sets off an episode. My first guess would be that you have an allergy to something you're eating, and an elimination diet will help you figure out if that's true, and which food is the culprit.

Answer by AndyM for Constantly peeling - but not chapped - lips: what's up with this?

2011-12-05T11:20:13Z

Could it just be the change in weather?

Answer by Lily for Constantly peeling - but not chapped - lips: what's up with this?

2011-12-05T12:08:12Z

i have had peeling lips my whole life.Ofcourse i bite my lips quite often aswell, but i think the reason for it is unstable eating. WHen i eat less they become reddish and very easily bleeding, and when i take a lot of fish oli or smth, the become hard, strong, and start to renew themselves from previous damage.Also lip balms make u addicted and even cause peeling in my mind because they do moisture your lips and therefore the outer layer of the skin needs to peel off.It has got smth to do with dehydration aswell

Answer by L. for Constantly peeling - but not chapped - lips: what's up with this?

2011-12-05T15:44:04Z

I have this problem. The reason? The heat in my house! It's really hard to regulate the temperature in my bedroom. It's either broiling hot or freezing cold, so I usually end up with some dry skin/peeling lips.

Have you turned on the heat in your house yet?

Answer by Mashanshell for Constantly peeling - but not chapped - lips: what's up with this?

2011-12-05T21:37:42Z

I also had/sometimes still have this issue!

I identified my main culprits to be fruit and alcohol. If I eat a lot of fruit or have more than 1 or 2 glasses of wine/vodkas on a night out, a couple of days later my lips will start to peel, really badly.

Do you drink wine or any other alcohol regularly or eat a lot of fruit? I think for me it's a sensitivity/allergy so it's highly likely resulting from a food or substance that you're ingesting.

I guess the only way to determine the cause is by eliminating different foods and then re-introducing them - The joy of Paleo experimentation!

Answer by Nance for Constantly peeling - but not chapped - lips: what's up with this?

2011-12-05T22:12:21Z

No one else has brought this up yet so I will.

I have an unconscious habit of licking/rubbing my lips. It's something I catch myself doing thoughtlessly and I suspect I do it in my sleep. I get very annoyed with myself about it.

Once I accidentally create a tiny torn/peeling/rough spot, it's like a broken tooth--I seem to lick/feel/rub it constantly.

So, it can be a form of fidgeting. If I can't seem to stop fussing with my lip--and for me it's only the bottom lip--then I put something harmless in my mouth--such as a (knitting) cabling needle or small smooth piece of wood--to give the skin on my lip a rest. It's a constant struggle to keep my lip unblemished because it's such an unconscious habit.

Answer by Alexandra for Constantly peeling - but not chapped - lips: what's up with this?

2011-12-05T22:38:20Z

Could be exfoliative cheilitis. Acidic fruit, vinegar, booze, food allergies can be a trigger. Below is a site with pics/info:

http://exfoliativecheilitis.com/

Answer by Catalina for Constantly peeling - but not chapped - lips: what's up with this?

2011-12-21T15:16:21Z

I have the same problem!!! for almost a year now, my lips feel tight (especially in the morning) itchy and dry, really dry, they don't feel normal, not smoothe as they use to be and this really saddens me!! I've been to the clinic and the doctor gave something that made my lips feel even tighter and dry so I stopped using it. I've used all sorts of lip balm (ECO' blixtex, balea, vicky, carmex, vaseline, burts bee) nothing has worked on me. It may have been because of the harsh winter winds and the fact that I did not protect my self, but they still feel this way, almost a year now! I want my normal lips back! this is ridiculous, it really upsets me because no one seems to know what's going on, I feel helpless! And I drink a lot of water and other fluids, I have a balanced diet, fish, meat, vegetables, legumes, fruits....can anyone help please?

Answer by cliff for Constantly peeling - but not chapped - lips: what's up with this?

2011-12-21T15:26:16Z

Try taking in more preformed vit A(retinol) from either supplements or liver.

Answer by Korion for Constantly peeling - but not chapped - lips: what's up with this?

2012-01-03T16:41:10Z

~~I had the same issue. Thought it was because I stopped taking anti-histamines, but yesterday I stopped eating salt and it vanished.~~

~~Could that be the cause of your peeling lips?~~

UPDATE : I reject what I said. Salt doesn't change my lips. I'm thinking it might be stress or something else... Though my lips are quite okay atm. When I put sangre de grado on them they immediately become soft. Still searching for the cause...

Answer by Lehret for Constantly peeling - but not chapped - lips: what's up with this?

2012-01-05T01:32:46Z

I have had this same problem for years. My lips turn blood red after eating ANYTHING. And they peel,but are not chapped. I do not lick or bite them. They are 100% better when I'm not at work. At home we use humidifiers,and I only use all natural lip balms but I don't use them at home. I don't need to. At work,they are embarrassing. They even get a white film either on the whole lip or along where they touch each other. I really believe it is a form of exfoliative chelitis but have not found anything that can be done for it except I will wash them with liquid hand soap when they get too bad and this really seems to help. Hope this helps.

Answer by Heather for Constantly peeling - but not chapped - lips: what's up with this?

2012-02-23T23:54:50Z

I have the same problems. My lips are not dry at all but my skin keeps peeling and falling off. It is really annoying and gross I will peel it off and more beings to peel shortly after. I dont eat an excessive amount of dairy, im not gluten intolerant, i dont drink on a regular basis, i drink plenty of water, my house is set at a consistant and normal temputure, i dont wear lipstick, i dont have red lips and they dont itch. I just dont know. I do get cold sores and have weird allergic reactions to chocolate, cashews and excessive sun. my lips swell and blister. but even when im not having reactions to that my skin just sheds off.

Answer by Jen for Constantly peeling - but not chapped - lips: what's up with this?

2012-04-12T01:40:53Z

I started the paleo diet two weeks ago and the only downside is the burning chapped lips. Has anyone found the reasoning behind this? I need relief, NOW!!!

Answer by maryam for Constantly peeling - but not chapped - lips: what's up with this?

2012-07-09T19:18:30Z

hi... me too have the same problem and i tried many ways but cant get rid of my reddish peeled off lips. then my mom bought " Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Moisturizing Lip Balm" for me and it worked well... my lips gained the natural color within a week... :)

Answer by Ashley for Constantly peeling - but not chapped - lips: what's up with this?

2012-07-12T00:21:42Z

My twin girls have had what I think is exfoliative chelitis. They have had the most horrible peeling lips for YEARS! No matter how much lip balm I put on them...it NEVER helped. I've tried every type available. But I now know what is actually causing it! For them, it is candida! I searched online and came across a small post in a blog somewhere that Candida could cause exfoliative chelitis. So I put some nystatin ointment on their lips at night. Within 3 days, their lips were completely cleared up. I now only have to put it on their lips maybe twice per month. No more peeling!

It make sense that your exfoliative chelitis could be due to Candida as well since this started during this diet. Candida is a beast to get rid of...and causes a ton of health problems.

Hope this helps.

Answer by Hallie for Constantly peeling - but not chapped - lips: what's up with this?

2012-10-25T02:36:29Z

Have almost the same problem. Had it since I was a child, Remember once was in Texas and it was so hot my lower lip cracked open so bad It bleed like crazy. Anyway it is only on the left side of my lower lip in a tiny circle- it tends to start by drying like a scab an before I realize it I start to bite the spot to get it off- even if i use chap sticks I still have the erge to pick it off which it bleeds of course. Was talking to a new doctor that took over my doctors office after he retired said point blank that it had to be one of my kissy family realitives that had the herpies simplex that causes cold sores that may have started it but I have never been diagnosed with it since I never get cold sores. GO FIGURE>.....

Answer by mM for Constantly peeling - but not chapped - lips: what's up with this?

2012-10-25T11:01:28Z

From what I know this is usually from beeswax, sometimes it's from jojoba oil, or fluoride toothpaste.

Lots, and lots, of people who switch to more natural products (lip balm, moisturisers etc.) get this because of the beeswax in almost all natural products.

Answer by thyme for Constantly peeling - but not chapped - lips: what's up with this?

2012-10-25T11:45:02Z

Is your fish oil cod liver oil? If so, try giving it up for four weeks. Hypervitaminosis A, or Vitamin A overdose, is often connected with angular chelitis, which is cracking at the corner of the mouth; there are frequent anecdotes suggesting it may also be connected with peeling lips, which was my experience.

My lips were peeling for months before I went on a two week trip without supplements; when I saw how much my lips improved, I slowly reintroduced supplements until I found the culprit in the fermented cod liver oil. I tried another bottle of FCLO, and then a multi-vitamin with A to find out if my particular FCLO was at fault: It wasn't. FCLO simply has too much Vitamin A for my body, and possibly for yours. I've been off it for three months now, and still, if I take a dose, my lips begin quickly peeling.

Answer by Michaela for Constantly peeling - but not chapped - lips: what's up with this?

2012-12-19T03:02:31Z

My lips do the same exact thing. Big flaps of skin peel off of them, the cure is to not pick the dead skin off,letting them heal on there own.

Answer by Courtney for Constantly peeling - but not chapped - lips: what's up with this?

2012-12-28T06:53:20Z

I'm not paleo but I was looking up answers for this peeling lips issue and I came across this. I've had consistently peeling lips for months now, and so far I've just been managing with an Eos lip balm that's 95% organic with lots of natural oils in it and whatnot, nothing minty or anything either and it helps getting me through the day. At night and in the mornings I use 100% organic raw shea butter for the extra moisture. But recently, from the weather I suppose, my lips suddenly got a lot worse, peeling more, cracking around the outside of my lips, which causes the burning sensation. And the best solution I've found is ointment, like you'd use on scrapes and cuts, (I like bacitracen zinc antibiotic ointment) with the raw shea butter on top. It's healed my lips up in a matter of days. The ointment helps to get all the dead peeling skin off while healing the skin underneath, and the shea butter moisturizes of course. For a while I was just using the shea butter and it just wasn't doing the job. But the ointment you can get at Walgreens or CVS, and the raw shea butter can be found at GNC. You can get a decent sizes little tub for around 10-14 bucks, and I still have more than half of it after a year of consistent use. Hope this helps someone!

Answer by Eve for Constantly peeling - but not chapped - lips: what's up with this?

2012-12-28T09:51:52Z

I've nearly always have cracked lips but beyond using lip balm occasionally (which does nothing) I honestly never thought about it before! I guess I just assumed it was the weather or something...

I used to get angular chelitis a couple of times a year, which was really painful and made simple things like opening my mouth to eat or yawn hard work (its where the corners of your mouth crack and bleed). It was so bad I went to the doctor for it and he told me it was a vitamin B deficiency. Sure enough, taking a vitamin B complex for a few days got rid of it! So whenever the angular chelitis flares up I break out the vitamin B pills and it works every time!

I wonder if vitamin B would help the cracked lips thing in general?

Answer by Barb B for Constantly peeling - but not chapped - lips: what's up with this?

2013-01-21T05:14:51Z

My lips used to always be chapped. Then in my late 20's I started developing cold sores. From then on, my lips started peeling on a daily basis. I feel that the peeling and cracking are symptoms of my herpes. My dermatologist believes that it is caused by sun damage and has prescribed anti-cancer lip ointment which eats off precancerous skin. I have used this treatment twice which did not remedy the situation. I am trying it again as I am in my mid fifties and the peeling has been a part of my life now for almost 30 years. I would love to know if the peeling is more due to heredity, sun damage, herpes simplex or something else.

Answer by CB for Constantly peeling - but not chapped - lips: what's up with this?

2013-03-14T19:20:13Z

Mine happens when I eat anything with gluten.

To try to heal it, I've used shea butter, olive oil, vitamin e, coconut oil, a myriad of lip balms.

Then I discovered that vinegar clears it up quickly.

For the person who wondered if taking a vitamin B supplement would help - I already use a vitamin B supplement, as well as vitamin E and vitamin C so, in my case anyway, a vitamin B supplement isn't the answer.

Answer by CDM for Constantly peeling - but not chapped - lips: what's up with this?

2013-04-05T05:54:54Z

My lip had the same problem, it will peel and peel, and I started to put fungus cream and wallah!!! It dissapear. Put fungus cream at night with bandaid and you should see visible results the next day