I have this issue as well, but only when I have a small fan directly in my face all night (I need white noise with vibration on my face for good sleep). When I DON'T I have less issues. I have found that in both situations, my sinuses are involved. Also snoring (sleep apnea for me). Without the fan, I get minimal crusty gunk on my lips come morning. I also have minimal thick brown sinus drainage at the back of my throat. I'm 51 and still have my tonsils & adenoids. I'm beginning to think that the entire crusty lips / hacking up brown sinus lougies are a result of my tonsils & adenoids, which also contribute to my horrendous snoring. On a normal wakeful day, my tonsils nearly touch. I have a cpap, but I can't sleep with it. I've tried everything. And finally, make an appt. with a gastro-intenstinal specialist. You could possible have silent GERD. Stomach acids could be working its way up, literally to your lips, finally forming a crust because the air dries it out.
Consider what foods you eat later at night. I experience it occasionally as well and noticed a correlation between eating foods high in sodium later in the evening (closer to my bedtime, typically within one hour).
My conclusion: the white film is a combination of expelled sodium remnants and congealed moisture (probably saliva) bonded by the excess sodium.
When I eat low/no sodium foods OR don’t eat at all well before bedtime, the white crud on my lips upon awakening NEVER occurs, so check your diet.
hey i have the same problem. it started about 3.5 months ago and it usually shows up after wet. its not that noticable before, before you can see its like a film. i dont have herpes or anything that im aware of. it sort of starts at the sides and works its way across the lower lip a couple of times a day, if i dont take it off it gets thicker. do you experience the same symptoms? sort of different? let me know if you know anything. thanks, any information is good information. dennis.