Addictive Chapstick

[athelind]

Beware Addictive Chapstick

When buying chapstick, check to make sure it doesn't contain salicylic acid, like Carmex does. This ingredient actually eats through skin layers. The result can be a vicious spiral of lip destruction and product reapplication.

Other common lip balm ingredients to avoid are irritants like sopropyl myristate, eugenol, and phenol.

Instead, seek lip balms with FDA-approved protectants and/or a hydrocortisone base.

If you're suffering from chapped lips, you can also try this cheap solution: keep your tongue inside your mouth and stop licking your lips. — BEN POPKEN

For years, my mother (a nurse for an ophthalmologist) has warned me away from stuff like Visine*, cautioning that the chemicals used to "Get The Red Out" actually disrupt the capillary walls and make your eyes more prone to getting red. The revelation that most lip balms have analogous effects doesn't surprise me at all.

"Artificial Tears" are another matter entirely, and are actually what my ophthalmologist recommends.

Comments

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

Another possibility: a lanolin cream such as that sold to nursing moms as a balm for nipples. If it's pure lanolin, it will protect and heal better than anything else, and babies don't seem to mind the taste.

[athelind.livejournal.com]

...unless you're allergic to wool!

[waywind.livejournal.com]

...And unless if the lanolin is contaminated with formaldehyde. That's what they use to kill bugs living in the sheep's wool, and if they do, it remains in their lanolin.

Lanolin by itself is harmless and spiffy.

My family was researching about dangerous chemicals in household products, and that was one of the more alarming ones listed.

[missmonstermel.livejournal.com]

I knew something was up with certain chapsticks. I would apply then find my lip skin has sloughed off...so then I apply more and it all goes downhill from there. Thank you for confirming this suspicion...

[skorzy.livejournal.com]

Burt's Bees Beeswax lip balm. Best stuff on the market. The same or better than the $10/tube high end stuff I have tried for my desert rambles. Though their SPF stuff uses titanium dioxide, which is fine, except it paints your lips an anoxic white that can cause people pause.. ;)

That'a a bunch of hooey about salicyclic acid. You can find all kinds of anti-cosmetic hooey online. I've found sites claiming OMG THE DANGERS of common ingredients that have been used safely for decades. Salicylic acid is a common ingredient used in anti-acne face lotions because it helps loosen the DEAD layer of skin on the surface so it can be washed away. The dead layer, while normal, can be problematic for acne sufferers since it provides a microscopic layer for bacteria to thrive and survive face washings. Salicylic acid doesn't dissolve your face or the living layers of tissue, and it IS FDA approved for such use. The only real side effect it has is it might be too drying for sensitive skins.

Its not addictive either.. at least physically. Mentally is another story, kind of like the "hand to mouth" addiction of smoking.

I personally wouldn't use it in lip balms ONLY because its unnecessary, but it will not harm your skin. Why would anyone use Carmex as a "lip balm" is beyond me, as that was never its intended purpose. Its a COLD SORE medication.

[unclekage.livejournal.com]

I'm not so sure it's entirely hooey. I searched for an authoritative answer on Medline, but didn't find one. A debunking of the old "Carmex contains ground glass!" myth, though, did point to an AP article that quotes a prominent dermatologist as saying that the destruction of the outer layer of skin on the lips (which is indeed going to be the effect of salicylic acid or phenol) causes thinning of the skin that makes them more prone to chapping.

But then, they quote an equally prominent dermatologist who says that is hogwash.

But then, that second dermatologist is on Blistex's payroll.

So I'm not inclined to dismiss the argument out of hand just yet. I'd prefer to see a proper empirical study, rather than an anecdotal one.

[taral.livejournal.com]

Yay, a voice of reason.

[triggur.livejournal.com]

Decongestant nasal sprays are even more insidious. Use one for a few days and you'll quickly find that you can't breathe through your nose _at all_ without one, and it'll take nearly a week of being abjectly misable for it to clear up.

And yeah, we use artificial tears here when the air gets really dry.

[r-caton.livejournal.com]

There was a tale about a cowboy who was seen wiping horse patty above and below his lips....
"Ech? Whatcha do that for?"
"Chapped lips"
"That won't cure chapped lips"
"No, but it sure stops me a-lickin' 'em!"

[jedd-marten.livejournal.com]

That's a weird product. Normal chapstick is a sealer/moisterizer without any eat-your-lips-away acid and comes in yummy flavours.

[doc-mystery.livejournal.com]

Yeah, your eyes do get 'addicted' to Visine if used too often.

As for lip care, simple vaseline or moisturizing creams are fairly benign.

::B::


P.S. Your skin can also become 'addicted' to high potency steroid creams, so if you suddenly stop them your skin rashes and itches, perpetuating the cycle. The OTC stuff should be okay, though.