I've had this issue for a year now and I've seen several dermatologists about this. It all started when I used tretinoin (a Acne cream). I woke up with dry chapped lips and redness in the corners of my mouth.

Since then I have had issues with my lips being chapped and redness in the corners of my mouth. I've tried several steroid creams and all over the counter medications you can think of to put on my lips. I also stopped using tretinoin immediately.

My top lip developed fordyce spots because of the issue. Only the middle part of my top lip gets dry/scabs over (where fordyce isn't present). My main concern is my bottom lip. It's not to the point where it never heals. During mid-day every day from the inside out it starts to get dry and almost seems like its starting to chap. By the end of the day with drinking and showering it disappears. For over 3 months now I have had redness under my right corner of my mouth. There are small black dots filled with puss present in most of the area that is red. They pop, but it most definitely makes the situation worse.

I've tried changing my diet and all kinds of products to fix my issue. I've also tried loading up on vitamins/minerals. I exercise every weekday for eight hours a day and drink a lot of water. I believe the redness in the corner(s) of my mouth are associated with my lip that never heals. My red lip is also redder than my upper and my bottom lip has developed a red line beneath it.

Here are some prescription medications I have tried:

tacrolimus ointment
triamcinolone
elidel
desonide

I'm desperate and don't know what to do as the doctors cannot fix my issue.

Here are some pics: