i think water is good, but not when it takes the crusts off. Some of my crusts (on the right side of my lip) came off when i put water on it & the skin underneath was red (mind you i kept this crust on for more that 2 weeks). Another crust that was on for more than 2 weeks came off (left side of lip) by itself & the skin underneath was great. So i think water does help crusts come off prematurely.
As for moisturizing, when using this schederma cream, crusts can stay on for a loong time! I guess its because it turns the crusts into lips texture, so its like pasted on. But when i use different oils (crab/coconut oil) they harden the crusts up.
To be honest with you i see the most improvement when i only use the schederma cream until it crusts build up so thick that it falls off on its own. But most of the time im too eager to get them off, so i use coconut oil to get them off quicker.