The North wind doth blow and we shall have snow,
And what will poor robin do then, poor thing?
He’ll sit in a barn and keep himself warm
and hide his head under his wing, poor thing.

That was one of my favorite poems when I was little. My mom would always quote it when there was snow in the forecast.

On this snowy, blustery morning, I can’t help but remember the rhyme. These days I’M the one quoting the familiar words to MY little ones.

At this time of year, my hands and lips seem to get the brunt of the abuse from the elements, and I’ve been taking extra precautions this year to avoid the cracked and bleeding skin that usually accompanies the wind and snow.

Did you know that you can exfoliate your lips?

Here’s what you do:

  1. Wet your lips with a warm, wet washcloth.
  2. Warm up a bit of coconut oil between clean palms and mix a bit of sugar in with it.  You could also use olive oil. There are no exact measurements, just mix it so that it’s the consistency of watery paste.
  3. Apply the sugar-coconut oil mixture into your lips, gently massaging to remove the old dead skin.
  4. Wipe it off with the warm washcloth.

When you’re done, your lips should be smooth and soft, and they’ll taste good too! But they’ll dry right out again as soon as you lick them so you’ll want to apply your favorite lip balm and then reapply regularly. I try not to use products containing parabens.

What’s your best tip for keeping your lips soft and supple in the wintertime?