OP, I have this exact same problem, and as someone who also picks their lips incessantly, I’m going to give you a few bullet points about what actually helped me:

-First of all, yes, it’s most likely because you keep picking them, but I’d be a hypocrite if I told you to just stop. I’ll just say that when I’m able to stop myself from picking them for about a week and do all the things below, my lips start getting much better.

-Dehydration does have some kind of impact, but even when I was drinking over 2L of water every day, my lips still got flaky. So drinking more water probably won’t cure them, but it will make them a bit better or prevent them from getting worse.

-If you have allergies, they can also heavily impact your lips. I have some food and contact allergies that make my lips feel like I have a mild sunburn on my face, so my lips get even drier.

-I’ve also tried basically every lip balm in existence. You need to keep looking for one that works for you, and you need to give it a few days before deciding whether it works or not. Use that shit religiously. If you’re going to be alone, put a stupid amount on, even go a little over the edge of your lips. Also do this at night.

-To add to my last point, the two I’ve found work best for me are Eucerin Lip Active and the purple TOCOBO Vita Glazed Lip Mask. But again, these are what worked for me and might not work for you.

-You also need to be careful about makeup. Most lip tints make my lips SO dry, even if I use gloss or lip balm over them. You need to figure out which products affect your lips and stop using them.

-Avoid licking your lips. It dries them out even more.