I have that habit too, and I noticed that I do this only if my lips were exceptionally dry [especially after a long day uder the sun]. I used lip balms to hydrate my lips and stop the chapping, and my habit stopped as well.

Overome lip picking in a week! First, you have to WANT to quit. Here's some motivation: lip picking looks disgusting. You may not realize it but people could be watching you when you are picking your lips, they won't want to talk to you after that! If you set your mind into quitting for ONE WEEK you can be done for LIFE. I was an avid lip picker for three years, and it got to the point where I would feel anxious and OCD if I didn't pick my lips at least once a day. I was so embarassed when pictures were taken at how chapped and swollen my lips looked, so I decided to quit for good, and this is how: I invested in a semi-expensive tube of chapstick (try one with vitamin E protection from The Body Shop) for $5. Normally I would never pay that much for a tube of lipstick... which is the trick. I lathered it on when I got home and soon enough, I was feeling the urge to pick. I was able to resist though because all I thought about was how I paid $5 for my chapstick and I wasn't going to waste it! That day, I reapplied chapstick every 30 minutes. The next day my lips were looking great, but I still had the urge to pick. I did the same routine, reapplying every hour this time. For one week I did this, applying the chapstick less and less. Sure enough my lip picking days were over! The key is to find something, expensive chapstick, that you would ruin if you picked your lips. Then let your guilty conscience end your picking days once and for all!

Buy a couple of Jalapeños. Raw, not pickled. Chop them up and keep them in the fridge. Dip your fingertips in them every now and again. It'll stop it quickly. Also, if you rub your eyes too much it'll stop that too.

anonymous: you keep going on and on about how $5 chapstick is soooo expensive. Its not like it was $100 and in a diamond-encrusted case. $5 is pretty normal. In terms of advice, the best lip moisturizer is Aquaphor as recommended by my dermatologist. This also helps because of the bad taste: http://www.amazon.com/MAVALA-Stop-Biting-Thumb-Sucking/dp/B0000YUXI0

let me pick at them for you with my.....