Every one of us has had the extreme un-pleasure for having chapped dry lips, which during the season where people are cuddling up for body warmth, having rough lips doesn’t exactly say, kiss me.

So what is it that causes dry lips?

“I don’t really get dry lips but I think that a main source of it could be the colder weather,” said junior business management major Alison Wu.

And she is correct. One of the main causes in our lips drying out is the change in climate. But surprisingly there are a large number of causes that have nothing to do with the fact that the weather makes us want to hibernate.

One large reason is that you could be having an allergic reaction to any number of things. If you enjoy wearing lipstick but find your lips chapped afterwards, you might be allergic to the ingredient Propyl Gallate. You can also be allergic to an ingredient in your toothpaste called Guaiazulene.

For people that are allergic to Nickel, this too can be the blame. While you may avoid wearing jewelry with nickel, even at our age we are prone to put things in our mouths and if you are placing metallic items such as paperclips or bobby-pins in your mouth, your lips are reacting to it. Even something as simple as red dyes in candy, lipstick, toothpaste, or mouthwash will cause your lips to crack.

It isn’t just personal allergies that can cause your lips to dry out; even foods like figs or citrus fruits will have an effect on you.

“I have a family member that snores at night and his doctor told him that the reason that he has chapped lips was because he was breathing through his mouth too much which was causing his lips to dehydrate,” said senior accounting major Andrew Rubano.

“I feel like my lips crack the most during the winter but no matter how much I lick them or apply lip balm they stay chapped,” said junior criminal justice major Arella Ayala.

Many of us do this as well but don’t realize the harm of this small habit. When we stress we tend to bite our lips or lick them constantly, which despite the wetness that our spit adds to the hurting area, it is doing more harm than good. Continuous contact with saliva leads to both dehydration as well as irritation because of the enzymes that are in our spit to help with digestion.

So what is to be done for our un-kissable lips?

Don’t lose hope. Of course there is the obvious way to go which is go and buy yourself some lip balm or chap stick, but for those of you who prefer home remedies, are allergic to the lip balm ingredients, or just can’t find one that you like, there are simple things that you can do to keep those smackers looking plump and yummy.

If you don’t mind the taste of coconut, get some coconut oil and put a small amount on your lips a couple of times a day. Another easy solution is to grab some aloe vera and put it on your lips (this one works within hours).

“My grandmother had a home remedy that I thought was odd but it works. She would crush a few rose petals and add a few drops of Glycerin onto them,” said Ayala. “It helps heal any dehydration that your lips have but it also makes the color stand out real well, although if you’re a dude I wouldn’t recommend this unless you like rosy lips.”

So if you are feeling a bit left out at the holiday parties and lonely under that mistletoe, try getting those lips a bit more smooth and soon you won’t be able to keep them to yourself.