Lip balm doesn't contain any addictive substances. Using it excessively doesn't cause the lips and surrounding area to stop producing natural moisture. At the most, you may be hyperaware of your bare lips, much like you'd be aware of how naked you are if you stopped wearing clothes.
“It can definitely be habit-forming,” Dr. Piliang says. “Applying lip balm soothes your lips, feels good and can be very comforting.
Using Lip Balm Can Become a Habit
You might use it a lot because you enjoy the feeling of smooth, moist lips or the tingling some ingredients, such as menthol, can cause. Habits like this can also be a way to distract yourself from stress. Often, people do them without really being aware of it.
Stopping chapstick usage just reveals the underlying inflammation. You may feel dependent on the stuff if, for example, it's winter, your lips are super chapped, and you're constantly coating them. "Then, when you stop, the inflammation flares, and you experienced the discomfort again," Rodney said.
Dermatologists unaffiliated with the billion-dollar lip balm industry have a clear consensus: you cannot be physically addicted to your lip balm. There are no potentially addictive ingredients in cosmetics – as nicotine is in cigarettes.
"Also, if you constantly apply occlusive products to your lips, this can interfere with the skin's natural ability to adjust to changes in environment." If you feel like you're "addicted" to your lip balm, she notes that it's usually because of irritating ingredients like menthol, cinnamon, and camphor—and if you feel ...
If you find yourself constantly reaching for a lip balm during the day, Dr Bijlani advises the following precautionary measures: Try going cold turkey and don't use any lip balm for at least two weeks to let your skin go back to naturally hydrating your lips.
Severely chapped lips may take longer to heal, but the average time is two to three weeks to recover completely. If you treat chapped lips as soon as you notice a problem, your lips will heal much faster and you can avoid potential complications like infection.
"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 explains, adding you have to wean yourself off your lip balm addiction and tolerate a little dryness before your lips ...
What can be done? 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.
Apart from wax, many of these balms contain numbing agents like camphor and menthol, which cause the nice tingling feeling you get when you put the balm on your lips. These ingredients are what people most often point to as the reason why lip balm might be addictive.
Unlike the rest of your skin, your lips don't have oil glands, which means they can't moisturize themselves and quickly become dry.
Lip balm is good for your lips; your lips won't get addicted to it -- and plain petroleum jelly is an excellent choice. Lotion or cream is good for your skin; your skin won't get addicted to it. Apply it soon after a shower or bath to seal in moisture.
So, should you use chapstick or Vaseline? Both! Chapstick moisturizes dry lips, and Vaseline helps in sealing the moisture in and keeping the skin barrier intact. While you can get away with using just chapstick, there is no point in using Vaseline without applying chapstick first.
While five times a day is a good starting point for the average lip balm user, certain groups of people may need to use it more often. For instance, if you live in a place with extreme heat, cold or wind (or all three), the weather may require you to reapply your lip balm to keep your lips smooth and hydrated.
Does Burt's Bees lip balm dry out lips? From my experience, no, Burt's Bees lip balm does not dry out lips. It's designed to keep the moisture in and prevent moisturise loss. It contains several moisturising ingredients that make skin smoother and several ingredients help to relieve any dryness.
Saliva, spicy food, the sun and certain products can be irritating to your lips, while some medications and health conditions can cause your lips to be drier than usual. For instance, medications that cause dry mouth can also lead to drier lips.
Chronic chapped lips that won't heal could be a sign of serious medical conditions or infections, which include actinic cheilitis, an early form of skin cancer that requires immediate treatment.
Chapped lips can sometimes heal on their own, but if that isn't happening after a day or two, try using a lip balm, suggests Zeichner. Lip balms contain a combination of waxes and oils that form a protective seal over the skin, he explains.
Vaseline is known as an occlusive, which means it can hold in moisture . If you use Vaseline on your lips before they're dry and chapped, you may be able to stave off dryness. However, petroleum jelly isn't all that effective at restoring moisture once it's been lost.
Putting on a little lip balm before you go to bed will go a long way toward preventing your lips from drying out as you sleep. This is also important since most people breathe through their mouths when they sleep, which has a natural drying effect on the lips.
When your lips are dehydrated, it can be tempting to lick and moisten them. The effect is temporary and might make things worse. Licking your lips coats them in a layer of your saliva, which contains enzymes and chemicals used to digest food in your mouth. These enzymes can lead to additional dryness.