Ok ok, it’s not actually an ‘addiction’ so to say, but it can feel like you’re constantly reapplying lip balm for the immediate gratification of that soothing feel. Then, only an hour later, you need that gratification again. What’s going on?
Lips are poorly designed. The natural stratum corneum layer (outer layer of skin) on the lips, is the thinnest on the entire body. There are also no oil glands on the lips and no melanin to protect themselves from the sun.
So what are the best ways to protect and soothe lips? Let me start with something you should stop doing.
Don’t exfoliate your lips
As mentioned, the skin on the lips are already the thinnest on the whole body, we need to support that barrier, not rub it away. There are many daily things that can irritate the skin on the lips and naturally exfoliate it such as natural enzymes from the fruit you eat, even your own saliva as that’s the first step of food digestion. So step away from the lip exfoliators and focus on protection.
Protect your lips against the sun
Lips have almost no melanin in them so protecting them against the sun is important. There are some lip balms with SPF protection like COOLA Classic Liplux Organic SPF 30 and Pacifica Mineral SPF 30 Lip Balm. Good news, lipstick also offers some protection, the more opaque the lipstick the better.
Understand ingredients
It is very important to understand the ingredients in your lip balm that could be irritating your lips. This way, you can avoid creating a vicious cycle of coming back to the same irritating lip balm. Keep reading for a breakdown on ingredients.
Actions to take for bad lips or Contact Dermatitis
Plan of attack: You should stop using the lip balms you’re currently using, as they do not seem to be helping your lips. Strip it back to completely basic ‘boring’ lip treatments like La Roche Posay Cicaplast Levres. Then, once you have got your lip’s condition back to baseline (this could take weeks, give it time), you could look at incorporating some more interesting, maybe tinted type products, or sensibly scented if you must with fragrance very far down the ingredients list.
Some of the common ingredients in lip balms.
Occlusives are good; they will seal in whatever moisture is already in the lips.
Petrolatum
Lanolin (very few can become allergic to)
Paraffin
Theobroma cacao seed butter
Cera alba
Shea Butter
Mineral oil
Beeswax
Squalene
Coconut
Jojoba
Cetyl Alcohol
Irritants don’t support barrier function or the lips in any way.
Camphor
Menthol
Salicylic acid, lips don’t need exfoliation, this is drying
Mint
Cinnamon
Peppermint oil
Fragrance and Flavors sensorial experience ingredients, irritants that are not helpful, but nice (hehe). Limit the use of these, only use if they are very far down the ingredients list, and if you have any irritations, stick to no fragrance.
Vanillin
Parfum
Hydroxycitronellal
Limonene
Linalool
Geraniol
Citronellol
Some popular lip balms that contain these irritants:
Carmex contains both camphor and menthol, these are the top two offenders.
Blistex contains flavours and camphor giving you only the feeling of soothed lips, but in the long term does not help.
Vaseline Rosy Lip but only this type because it contains flavour that can lead to allergic reactions. Regular vaseline is a great occlusive.
Cherry ChapStick again, flavours are quite high up in this ingredient list.
Now, you may be thinking: Why do brands put these ingredients in there then? Some think it’s because this will later cause us to keep coming back for more lip balm to soothe the irritation. Though truly it’s because of consumer demand, we often like that tingly minty feel, but it’s the ‘bad’ irritating ingredients that cause this. The tingling feeling is literally your lips saying ‘oh no thanks’.
Lip balms I like:
Obviously, this is extremely subjective, but here are some to consider.
La Roche Posay Cicaplast Levres (great for any with suffering lips)
Caudalie – Lip Conditioner ( has a little fragrance but quite far down the list and ok for me)
Hurraw! Balm, Lip Balm, Grapefruit
By Terry Baume De Rose Liquid lip balm
DHC – Lip Cream ( has Lanolin which some may be allergic to but very nourishing)
Curel Intensive Moisture Care Moisture Lip Care Cream
In short, it’s a bit like food, we are all different and different things irritate us more than others. (but camphor and menthol are definitely bad for everyone!)
If you enjoyed this lip balm article and would love to learn more, join my monthly newsletter! Click here to join and get my skincare layering guide! Would love to have you!
