Heading off to the ski slopes this month for a holiday? Then make sure your pout is mountain-ready by challenging chapped lips head-on.

The harsh alpine climate dehydrates not only our face but also our lips - as anyone who has attempted wearing bright lipstick to the après-ski bar will attest.

Not that beautiful lips are a ski slope essential, but after a full day of outdoors activities it’s nice to look pretty for dinner and drinks.

So if you’re keen to get rid of dry flakes and gritty lips, then here’s how to do it.

Exfoliate
Before doing anything else, make sure you buff or exfoliate all those dry flakes away. Choose a sugar scrub, both Lush and Jane Iredale do great ones, and gently massage onto lips for a few minutes. A super soft toothbrush or terry cloth will do the trick too.

Rehydrate
Pick a lip balm with rehydrating ingredients such as hyaluronic acid, like the ones from Blistex or Episilk. Other great ingredients are aloe vera, as seen in Crabtree & Evelyn’s, and shea butter, which you can find at L’Occitane.

Apply
Let the lip balm set for at least 20 minutes before applying makeup. This way the colour won’t bleed and will stay on longer. However, stick to sheerer textures just in case lips haven’t fully absorbed the balm. © Cover Media