冬天塗潤脣膏？研究顯示你的嘴脣可能越來越糟！

冬天嘴脣容易乾燥起皮，愛美的女生們早早地會開始塗潤脣膏，但是皮膚病專家卻表示，潤脣膏會加劇嘴脣脫水，塗得越多嘴脣越乾燥！

You need your lips to talk, take duck-face selfies and kiss your loved ones. That's why dry, chapped lips can not only be itchy and painful, they can sometimes be downright embarrassing. But repeatedly applying lip balms and products may not help your case.

與人交談、嘟嘴自拍、親吻愛的人，都離不開你的雙脣。這也是爲什麼嘴脣乾裂除了發癢和生疼外，有時還會讓人陷入特別尷尬的境地。但是，多塗潤脣膏或多用潤脣產品往往無濟於事

Lip balms provide only temporary comfort, and some types can make scaly lips even drier.

潤脣膏只能帶來暫時的舒緩。甚至，有些脣膏會讓開裂起皮的嘴脣更加乾燥。

That's because, in part, when the thin film of moisture from the lip balm evaporates, it dehydrates your lips even more. "It just starts a vicious cycle," Dr Leah Jacob, an assistant professor of dermatology at Tulane University, said.

部分原因是，潤脣膏的水薄膜蒸發後，嘴脣脫水會更加嚴重。“一個惡性循環就這樣開始了，”杜蘭大學皮膚病學助理教授Leah Jacob博士稱。

Many of us have to deal with scaly lips, especially in the cold and dry winter, so doctors and beauty pros recommend we treat our lips, as well as the rest of our skin.

很多人的嘴脣都會乾裂起皮，像鱗片一樣，尤其是在乾冷的冬天。因此，醫生和美容專家都建議我們像護理身體其他部位皮膚一樣去護理我們的嘴脣。

"Any part of our body that is not covered in the winter time is going to be subjected to the elements," said Dr Crystal Aguh, an assistant professor of dermatology at Johns Hopkins University. "People tend to get very dry hands in the winter because we're wearing long-sleeved shirts and jackets, but we're not necessarily covering our hands."

約翰霍普金斯大學皮膚病學助理教授Crystal Aguh博士稱，“在冬天，沒有被衣物覆蓋的人體部位都會被（乾冷的環境）影響。到了冬天，雙手往往會變得非常乾燥。雖然我們穿着長袖襯衫和夾克，但並沒有保護雙手。”

Likewise, people rarely cover their faces and lips during the winter time, and so those tend to dry out, too, Aguh said.

同理，在冬天，人們也很少會遮住自己的臉部和嘴脣，因而臉部和脣部往往也會特別乾燥，Aguh稱。

Although lips look very different from the rest of our skin, they're actually quite similar, Aguh said. Just like the rest of our skin, the lips are made up of three layers of cells: the outermost layer of mostly dead cells, known as the stratum corneum, the epidermis and the dermis, which sits below it.

Aguh說，儘管脣部看起來與其它部位皮膚完全不同，但實際上構造非常相似。像其它部位的皮膚一樣，脣部也是由三層細胞構成：位於表皮最外層的，多數已死亡的細胞（即角質層）、表皮和真皮（位於角質層下方）。

The main difference is that these layers — especially the stratum corneum, which forms a protective barrier over the others — is much thinner in the lips and, therefore, more vulnerable to damage. Additionally, lips don't have any hair follicles or oil glands of their own. Instead, the oil from glands around our lips provides moisture.

主要區別在於脣部皮膚的這三層細胞（特別是具有保護其它兩層細胞作用的角質層）比其它部位皮膚更薄，故而也更容易受傷。此外，脣部皮膚沒有任何毛囊或油脂腺體。脣部保溼需要依靠周圍腺體產生的油脂。

Licking your lips or applying a thin gloss, balm or anything out of a tube to supplement that moisture may sound like a good idea, but it can be the worst thing you do for them because it can lead to further dehydration, Jacob said.

Jacob說，舔一舔嘴脣或薄塗一層閃光的脣膏（或其它產品）保溼聽起來是一個不錯的主意，但實際上這可能是你做的最糟糕的事，因爲它會引起進一步脫水。

Some lip balms contain ingredients that can be irritating or drying. Menthol, salicylic acid, cinnamic aldehyde and peppermint flavors are all culprits, Jacob said. "A lot of people don't have any problems with these ingredients, but people with sensitive skin or allergies may be more sensitive to these on their lips, as well," she said.

一些潤脣膏含有刺激或乾燥成分。薄荷醇、水楊酸、肉桂醛和胡椒薄荷香料都是禍因。“很多人都能接受這些成分，不會有任何問題。但敏感肌或者過敏體質者的脣部皮膚可能對這些成分要敏感很多。”

Shiny glosses and oils are also thought to intensify damage from the sun's ultraviolet (UV) rays, focusing the rays the way a magnifying glass may channel a beam of light onto your lips.

光澤和油會加劇太陽光紫外線的傷害。陽光會被光澤和油聚焦，就像一束光通過放大鏡一樣照到你的嘴脣上。

But because lips have less melanin — the pigment that gives skin its color — the skin cells in your lips are more likely to sustain sun damage if you use shiny lip products, Jacob said.

但因爲脣部的黑色素（賦予皮膚顏色的一種色素）較少，如果你使用閃光的脣部產品，脣部細胞會更容易受到陽光的傷害，Jacob說。

Jacob recommends using a thick, emollient lip balm or ointment with SPF in it to truly protect your lips. Glycerin or plain old petroleum jelly are good ingredients to look for, she noted.

Jacob推薦厚塗有SPF防曬指數的鎮定潤脣（軟）膏，以真正保護脣部。她認爲甘油或者普通的老凡士林油都是不錯的選擇。

You can also try using a humidifier at home, which will replenish moisture in the air and, eventually, in your lips. And drink more water to stay hydrated from the inside out.

你也可以在家裏裝一個加溼器。加溼器可以補充空氣中的水分，最終這些水分子也會進入你的脣部。此外，你也可以多喝水，從裏到外保持身體的水分。