Five best lip treatments to keep winter at bay

: Somehow, I don’t think he needs lip balm Wikipedia

IT’S THAT TIME OF YEAR – AGAIN

If your lips seem permanently cracking up, being on medicinal drugs will make them worse. Still, just imagine what it’s like to be an Arctic explorer; these macho men (and women) take out the ‘lippy’ every ten minutes, so we shouldn’t feel so bad.

You can get lip salve from most chemists, but sometimes it is worth while paying a little bit extra and getting one that really does the business – and keeping a spare in a coat pocket.

Nature gives animals their own in-built moisturisers that produce extra fat during winter (like our charming model), but we have lost the art. So we need to replenish natural oils artificially with a good lip balm.

Some of the best I have tried are:

Clarins - their Moisture Replenishing Lip Balm really does what it says. This one of my all-time favourites.

Moa - Known as ‘the green balm’, this is a new product from Iceland, still made by hand. A friend who has seen how this is done says the owners sends her children out to gather the herbs growing wild – just like a little group of Trolls. Charming story about a very good balm. Men might prefer this, as it comes in a little jar – not a feminine ‘lipstick’ tube! Not on sale everywhere, but go to www.thegreenbalm.com

Rituals – This lipstick type balm is extremely creamy and you can feel it doing your lips good. A ‘new kid on the block, just arrived from the Netherlands, it is now sold in Rituals shops and also online. Again the black case is unisex, so men don’t feel cissy using it. www.rituals.com

Weleda Lip Balm – another favourite company, that always comes up with naturally good products. Unlike similar products in a lipstick form, this is soft when you put it on.

Flexitol Lip Balm – made by the same people who make the fantastic Heel Balm. And no, you can’t use the heel balm for your lips – you need specially formulated creams. This lip balm says it is for ’severely dry lips’, and it feels good when you spread it on. Get it from chemists that stock the Heel Balm.