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.
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.
Create a different plan to deal with your trigger. Instead of applying ChapStick, have a drink of water or get up and take a walk, even if just a few steps. Over time, this substitute will become its own habit.
But there's no need to toss out our balms and force our lips to fend for themselves. “Even without balm, a lot of us end up with dry lips, so using a balm makes more sense than waiting and hoping that your body eventually produces enough moisturizers on its own,” says cosmetic chemist Dr. Michelle Wong.
Lip balm has no ingredients that can cause dependency. And ingredients in these products can't short-circuit your skin's ability to make natural moisture. Yet dermatologists still get questions about lip balm addiction and lips that stay dry despite regular balm use.
"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 ...
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.
In some cases, it took a couple of days before I could lengthen the interval again. I was patient with myself, though. I think the whole process took about three weeks.
"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 ...
The process of quitting actually went much smoother than I had thought it would and it only took 4 or 5 days until the physical need went away. My lips never turned super dry or scabby. Perhaps this was due to the coconut oil, which I only needed for a few nights.
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.
1. Don't pick at your lips. While it may be tempting to peel the flakes and dead skin off your lips using your fingers for some quick relief, this practice actually perpetuates the lip-peeling problem. "Inevitably, you will tear into your healthy skin and make matters worse," Dr.
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.
Is It Good To Sleep With Lip Balm On? The skin cells on your lips regenerate during the night, while you sleep. Wearing lip balm during this time helps nourish your lips and gives the new skin cells an extra added layer of protection.
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.
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.
“If chapped lips continue for two to three weeks even after you've started moisturizing regularly, are staying hydrated, and avoiding licking, you should see a board-certified dermatologist,” Dr. Browne suggests.
Unlike the rest of your skin, your lips don't have oil glands, which means they can't moisturize themselves and quickly become dry.
Specialists confirm that we should apply lip balm no more than 3 times a day. Upon waking up, after eating/drinking, and right before sleeping. If you're over-using your lip balm, you might experience irritation or small spots might appear around your lip area.
Use it as a lip balm
Our mothers used it on our chapped lips while we were growing up and it still works like a charm! Keep your lips winter-safe by applying a coat of Vaseline on them overnight. Keeping it on overnight will seal in the moisture and soften and smoothen your lips.
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.