Hi there, frequent lip picker, here—and if you’ve stumbled across this article, I’ll assume you are, too. Glad we can all gather in this safe space. 

As many of us lip pickers know, the habit has downstream effects (the thin skin on your lips is especially delicate and prone to scarring, discoloration, and the like), but sometimes you just can’t resist tearing off those dry bits. And while lip picking knows no season, it tends to get worse in the colder months when your pout becomes drier and thus more prone to cracking—so, ahem, right about now. 

It seems like an opportune time to round up the best (and we mean best!) expert tips to help curb the urge to pick and peel. Here’s how to keep finicky fingers at bay and keep your lips soft, full, and supple. 

When it comes to salt, the nutrient that probably comes to mind first is obviously sodium—but quick on its heels is probably questions about iodine: should we be worried about buying salts that aren’t iodized?

“The primary nutrient we should aim to get from salt is sodium,” says Cording, “It’s a mineral and an electrolyte, and plays an important role in supporting fluid balance in the body (hence, why there is a sweet spot and too much or too little can be problematic). It also plays a role in nerve and muscle function.”

“You do want to be mindful to use a light touch, as salt does contain a lot of sodium, and it’s recommended that healthy adults cap their daily intake around 2,300 mg (of sodium per day),” she further explains, “I also tell people not to stress about the fact that sea salt isn’t iodized. Iodine is present in a wide variety of foods, such as fish, seaweed and sea vegetables, and eggs.”

And really, you shouldn’t be looking to salt as a source of nutrients (other than that base level sodium intake): “While sea salt is often highlighted for its mineral content, I usually tell my patients to get those nutrients from other foods they’re present in rather than relying on salt,” Cording explains, “to meet those needs you’d end up having to eat a lot of salt, which would come with its own adverse effects.”

While the previous components hold true for any coffee shopping, when buying decaf coffee, it’s worth seeking out what decaffeination process was used. That’s right, there are actually a few ways to remove the caffeine from coffee beans. (It’s worth noting coffee is never truly caffeine-free—there’s usually a trace amount.)

“One could decaffeinate coffee purely with hot water, but this would also completely de-flavor it,” says explains Doug Welsh, Peet’s VP Coffee & Roastmaster. “Water, after all, is what we use to dissolve all the yummy stuff into our cup.”

While some processes use solvents, there are two non-solvent-based options: Swiss Water Process and Carbon Dioxide Process. These essentially involve stripping the coffee of the caffeine chemicals, while strategically leaving behind or reintroducing the compounds that give coffee its flavor. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with solvent-based processes, I personally prioritize a water process, since it’s free of any extra chemicals.

Above all, the best thing you can do when shopping for coffee, according to Welsh, is taste it—decaf coffee shouldn’t taste any less delicious than a full-caffeine variety. This is a lot easier to do when buying your beans direct from a local coffee shop, where they might be brewing the beans to order every day.

Whether or not you can sample it, using these strategic tips can help you find a bag worthy of your own coffee ritual. Then the only question that remains is: how will you brew your beautiful beans? (If you’re asking me, it’s all about the cold brew).