Introduction: Hotel Room Chapped Lip Treatment

By My Store-Boyfriend Badges
About: I'm an animation director by day and Queen of the monsters by night. I picked up most of my costume and prop building skills through hands on experimentation with materials. Experimentation led to addiction,…

I actually improvised this treatment last night in a Palm Springs hotel room and felt it was worth sharing with all summer travelers.

After a 4 hr drive on a hot desert freeway with zero opportunity for chapstick application, I found myself with dry, cracked, flakey lips that all the lip balm in the world was not going to fix. Palms springs being 106 degrees when I finally got out of the car did not help either. I had a "before" photo, but honestly it was so gross I was embarrassed to post it. Just picture this: I go to apply my favorite red lipstick and discover my mouth looks like the side of an old peeling barn. No bueno.

This 2 minute treatment is great for men and women alike, and uses something almost any hotel/ motel room provides for free --Sugar!

Step 1: Put Your Amenities to Work

Locate Coffee. Where there's coffee, there will be sugar. Even cheap hotels usually provide a basic in-room coffee pot in America, accompanied by creamer/ sugars. If you don't have coffee service in your room, chances are there is a pot in the lobby and you can snag a sugar packet from there.

Locate Sink/Mirror. The treatment is quick, but is best done near a sink because it involves water and a mirror so you can see what you're doing. Your hotel room bathroom or vanity is a natural work space.

Step 2: Pour Some Sugar on Me

Tear the corner off your sugar packet.

Pour! You don't need much. A dime-sized amount will do. If you think you may need multiple rounds, or if you actually want this sugar for your coffee, just fold the pouch corner over and set aside.

Mix! Add a few drops of water to the sugar -just enough to moisten it, not so much you've dissolved the sugar.

Step 3: Apply

Apply sugar mix to your lips. Using your index finger, apply the mixture to your lips.

Scrub! Scrub the mixture around in a circular motion to help slough off the dry skin.

When you think you've got all the dry stuff rubbed away, blot with a damp washcloth.

You may notice the area around your lips is a little pink from the scrubbing. This is normal and will go away shortly. Your lips should feel smooth and more moisturized than before.

If you find that you still have dry, cracked areas, apply another round of sugar mix and focus scrubbing the problem areas. I had to do it twice because I was THAT dried out!

Step 4: All Better!

This was may after photo. No more peeling red barn paint, just a nice smooth lipstick application and more comfortable lips! Now that you've removed all that dead stuff you can maintain moisture with a regular chapstick.

This travel grooming tip costs nothing and is great if you don't have time to run to a pharmacy for an actual lip exfoliant or intense moisture product.

Air travelers: Don't want to wait until you get to your hotel? This would also work ON the plane! Just ask your stewart/ stewardess for a sugar packet from the coffee cart. Ideally you can take a minute to do this in the lavatory, or just do it at your seat with a compact mirror/ window reflection and napkin if getting up isn't an option.

I hope this tip saves some lips out there! Consider sending a vote in the travel tips or makeup contests if you found it helpful.