How I Keep My Winter-Ravaged Lips Soft and Crack-Free

I'm a card-carrying lip balm addict. It's gotten so bad that my kids make fun of me for having tubes of it everywhere (you know you have a problem when you keep one in your robe pocket). But there's a reason that drives the insanity -- I can't stand having chapped lips.

They chap, they crack. They crack, they bleed. They bleed, I cry. And I hate crying. But, there's more to my "no chapped lips EVER" regimen than schmearing on balm. Here are the two simple steps I follow to keep my lips in perfect shape all year long.

Step 1: Exfoliate. As with your skin, the secret to keeping your lips soft and smooth is to exfoliate -- removing dead skin cells to make way for fresh new ones is of paramount importance if you want them to be soft and chap-free. You can do this in a couple of ways. Add sugar to your favorite lip balm or make a paste of baking soda and water and use as a scrub, massaging your lips gently with your fingers. You can brush your lips with a toothbrush and some petroleum jelly. Or, use a wet washcloth to whisk away dry, dead skin.

Step 2: Moisturize. Applying heaps of lip balm to un-exfoliated lips doesn't do much since the product can't seep into the skin. Once they're prepped though, your lips are ready to receive some love in the form of moisture! I use a different balm at night since I want sun protection during the day, but you can use whichever ones work best for you.

Want some more good tips? Read this Expert Q&A -- it tackles women's top five winter skin questions.