No matter how good your lip balm is, if you're applying it too often it will end up doing more harm than good. This is because the lips become reliant on the product and lose the ability to moisturise themselves.
The second problem involves the use of lip balms with occlusive, a product which creates a barrier on the skin. "These formulas create an artificial barrier to lock in moisture, but when overused, can cause lips to become lazy because the skin doesn't have to work to maintain its own hydration level," Zeichner says.
“Lip balms containing ingredients like phenol, menthol and salicylic acid actually make your lips drier. So you apply more, and it becomes a vicious cycle.” Some of these product also cause a tingling feeling when you apply them. This either causes irritation or removes outer layers of the skin, like an exfoliant.
Chances are, your lips are dry when you first wake up. You can apply a little bit of lip balm after your shower or even beforehand if you need to head out on a run during a brisk winter morning. After every meal. Assuming that you eat three times per day, it helps to apply new lip balm after every meal.
Apply early and often.
Whatever type of product you choose, apply it before you put on lipstick or lip gloss, not after. To keep your lips protected, reapply frequently. You need about six to eight coats during the day, so apply first thing in the morning, last thing at night, and every couple of hours during the day.
Most of the time, the above self-care can heal dry, chapped lips in 2 to 3 weeks. If it doesn't, see a board-certified dermatologist. Your chapped lips could be caused by something aside from dry weather. An allergic reaction, yeast infection, or something more serious can make your lips feel dry and uncomfortable.
You should try to use lip balm in moderation. In fact, some dermatologists believe that overuse could cause your lips to stop producing natural oils. They also caution that you could feel dependent on the balm for moisture. Despite these warnings, it's still safe for you to use lip balm every day.
While the formulation of this product does contain moisturizing ingredients, it also contains ingredients that are known to potentially trigger allergic contact dermatitis of the lips, including flavors and lanolin. This is why I don't recommend this product for those with dry, chapped lips.
Keeps New Skin Cells Protected
This causes your lips to lose moisture overnight, so there are especially great benefits of using lip balm at night. Applying lip balm before bed will keep your lips nice and moisturized while they are flushing out toxins and the new skin cells being produced will be protected!
Allergic reactions to Vaseline are rare, though they can occur. Signs of an allergic reaction include swelling of the lips and a burning or stinging sensation. If your lips are chapped to the point of bleeding, Vaseline that's been contaminated with bacteria from your fingers could cause an allergic reaction.
Lip balms provide only temporary comfort, and some types can make scaly lips even drier. That's because, in part, when the thin film of moisture from the lip balm evaporates, it dehydrates your lips even more. "It starts a vicious cycle," Dr.
Chapped lips are the result of dry, cracked skin on your lips due to cold or dry weather, sun exposure, frequently licking your lips or dehydration. You can treat chapped lips at home with the use of lip balm or ointment to ease any discomfort.
Using Lip Balm Can Become a Habit
Often, people do them without really being aware of it. You can get what's called “behavioral addiction” to fun activities like gambling or shopping. These addictions don't involve substances like alcohol that can actually make your body dependent on them.
Rest assured, you are not technically addicted to lip balm. But there's a reason you continually reapply your chapstick – it's not all in your head. If you find yourself applying lip balm as a habit or becoming frantic when you can't find it, there's another culprit.
As a non-glandular mucous membrane, your lips do not have the ability to generate their own moisture. They do not contain the same concentration of oil-producing sebaceous glands as the rest of the body and are therefore less lubricated and more susceptible to dryness and peeling.
Beeswax protects lips and retains lip moisture
Beeswax has lubricating, softening activities and reduces trans-epidermal water loss from skin1. This means it helps protect lips from becoming dry or chapped. Beeswax is also an occlusive, meaning it forms a moisturizing, protective layer on the surface of the lips3.
According to the experts, the power to breaking your addiction lays solely in hands of the products that you are using. Switching your usual balm for a treatment that actually works to heal and hydrate as opposed to 'sealing in' existing moisture is the best way to break your balm cycle.
The peppermint oil found in the balm creates a tingling sensation that some teens say enhances the feeling when they are already drunk or high. Others say its a way to keep them alert after a long night.
There's no good evidence that lip balm is chemically addictive — in that it causes withdrawal symptoms if you stop. And there's no evidence that it dries out your lips, forcing you to use more over time. But there is reason to believe that it can be habit-forming for a smaller subset of people.
Lip balms, particularly oil-based balms, do help seal in moisture on the skin of your lips temporarily, but once the thin film of hydration they capture evaporates, your skin is actually worse off. It's left even more dehydrated than before, which means more cracked, flaky, or irritated — and more in need of balm.
What does it look like? Solar cheilitis predominantly affects the lower lip because it tends to be more prominent. The homogenous pink color of the healthy lip (Figure A) is replaced with non-homogenous white/gray, pink, red, or brown areas and the normally sharp vermillion/skin border becomes less distinct (Figure B).
Some lip balms contain white petrolatum, which is a byproduct of petroleum oil. This can make chapped lips worse by irritating the skin. Above all, don't pick at dry, peeling skin on your lips. Chances are you'll make it worse, cause more pain and possibly bleeding.