Look pretty in or out of lipstick with soft, smooth, kissable lips. Here’s how to treat dry chapped lips so you can have a beautiful mouth.

Dry chapped lips are not only unattractive, they make a mess of lipstick application. If you want to wear lipstick, or look pretty without it, you need a smooth mouth. A beautiful mouth is a kissable mouth, so don’t forget the rewards you’ll get for your efforts.

Avoid dry chapped skin altogether by applying lip balm daily. Actually, several times a day. Once you get in the habit of moisturizing your lips, you won’t like how they feel bare. Hunt down your favorite balm and keep a tube in your purse, desk drawer, bedside stand, medicine cabinet, pocket. You get the idea. The more ready access you have to the goods, the more likely it is you’ll use them. This works with chocolate too, so give your supply of that to someone you trust and asked to be doled out one piece a day.

Back to lips. If you’ve already got the dried-up version, you’ll need to exfoliate before you moisturize. You do this the same way you exfoliate any part of your skin, by scrubbing with either a wet cloth, loofah or grainy product made for the job. You can also make your own lip exfoliant by combining a little sugar with olive oil till you have a paste, then rubbing enthusiastically with your finger. Rinse off and follow up with lip balm.

Once your lips are in good shape, show them off as much as possible. Find a flattering new lipstick to draw attention to your mouth, have your teeth whitened and smile a lot. Somebody will surely want to kiss you.