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Subscribe to RSSIt's a question you might ask yourself after the fifth lip balm reapplication on this wintry February day: Is it possible to get hooked on this stuff? The answer: Yes! (Kinda.)
"It's an interesting question," says Perry Romanowski, a cosmetic chemist and a blogger over at The Beauty Brains. (So interesting, in fact, that he and his fellow beauty brainiacs have penned a soon-to-be-released book asking that question, plus others.) "You can’t get addicted to lip balm in the way you can get addicted to cigarettes; that’s actually a chemical addiction that affects your brain." But as he explains it, lip balm can certainly be habit-forming.
The lower layers of your skin produce fresh, new skin cells, which die and can dry out a bit by the time they reach the top layer, Romanowski explains. "When you put the lip balm on the dry skin, what that does is interfere with the signaling mechanism that signals to the lower cells to start producing more," he says. "Using lip balm, while it makes your lips feel good initially, when it wears off your skin feels dry again and your skin doesn’t have time to replenish that." So you apply more lip balm. And when that wears off, you apply more. And more. And more! "And so in that way you can get 'addicted'; it becomes sort of a psychological habit."
Another explanation: Some lip products out there contain products -- like the antiseptic chemical phenol, or even peppermint -- that can act irritants, and can potentially dry your lips out, suggests Dr. Margaret E. Parsons, a Sacramento, Calif., dermatologist.
What about you? Are you hooked on lip balm? (But you could stop any time you wanted to, right?)
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I am totally addicted to lip balm! In the winter I use a medicated to heal any dryness. In the summer, something with lemon helps my lips to feel fresh.
An eight pound largemouth bass told me he was "hooked" on it last summer!
i figured that out years ago, i only put on chapstick when they are cracking...
HELP! I have to have lip stick or chap stick 24/7, I can't break away, my lips hurt when I try...it's been this way for 20+years....ugh
So how do you break the cycle?
To break the cycle: Go to Wal-mart's vitamin section in the pharmacy area and you will find lipstick tubes of Vitamin E for about one dollar. Quit every other lip balm, use only the vitamin E lipstick and your problem will be solved.
A long time ago, I had a huge problem with my lips being painfully chapped and cracked. We tried everything, even prescriptions and I finally met a dermatologist who said to stick to just plain Vaseline. Best advice I ever got.
One problem with Vaseline is the chance you may accidentally injest petroleum. It is, after all, petroleum jelly.
I stopped using the stuff 15 years ago and my lips are fine. The more you use lip balm the more your lips will need it. Just stop. It works.
Honey and sugar! To slough off dry, peeling lips, just put a dab of honey in the palm of your hand with a small amount of sugar and mix into paste with your fingertip and gently rub on your lips. It'll remove any of the dead cells and your lips will feel smoother.
It's not as easy as "just stop". If I don't reapply it over and over even for about 3 or 4 hours my lips start to burn unbearably and get really red. It's not only uncomfortable but embarassing. I do plan on trying the vitamin e stick. If that doesn't work I guess I will continue to use medicated chapstick for the rest of my life. Better stock up!
Jane- Do you have to apply the Vaseline as often? I have ChapStick's everywhere. In my pocket, next to the bed, next the couch. I'm totally lost w/o it and panic if I forget it. So I'm thinking there maybe a problem. I usually buy 4 or 5 at a time. Didn't know if there was any better idea.
Depends on the season. This time of year my choice is lip balm constantly applied or lips that dry, crack and bleed. I choose the addiction. Go gold turkey for a week or two in the spring and I can generally go without, or with very random application, until the next cold snap.
I have been addicted to chapstick/lip balms for over 16 years. Started with Lips So Soft. Can't leave the house without a tube somewhere on me or in my purse and I have them stashed at places where I spend lots of time (i.e. work). It's awful. Wish I knew of a way to quit but my lips get so dried out and painful when I try to stop.
I don't know if it's still true, but Chapstick had an ingredient that dried out lips so that you kept using/buying it (I don't remember the name).
I'm completely addicted, my husband jokes that if I ever got lost in the desert, I'd ditch the water for the lip balm. I have 3 different tubes by my computer desk, one by the night stand, and about 4 different types in my purse and some in the living room. . I can't go for even an hour without applying some.
Don't ya suppose that maybe "That" was part of the (PLAN) when Lip balm was designed and marketed? Kind of like the tobacco manufacturing cigarettes with nicotine etc. (addictive drugs etc.) here also?
I always hated Chapstick. It's like rubbing a candle over my lips and about as effective. I think my mother was addicted to it though. She made me carry a tube with me everywhere I went. If I left mine at home she bought me another. I never put it on because I hated the stuff so I just carried it around to humor her. Oddly enough lipstick was not encouraged unless it was baby pink because that would have been too sexy. She was all for me having soft lips but not so I could kiss a guy. lol
You have to try Burt's Bees! For the longest time, I was addicted to Chapstick. It started with just occasional applications throughout the day in the winter, and then over time I found I needed it 3 or 4 times every hour, even during summer in humid Houston. I tried switching to Carmex, Vaseline, and all other front-end lip balms, but nothing helped.
My mom found out about Burt's Bees about 5 years ago and I tried it out. Saw an improvement from day one. Now I need it only about 4 times a day in the winter and just once daily other seasons when I wake up because I sleep with my mouth open.
Burt's Bees is thrice the price, but I only buy it once or twice a year instead of a Chapstick tube every other week.
Don't use Burt's Bees if you're allergic to bees. I did once and my lips swelled up and stayed that way for days!
I don't go more than 20 minutes or so between applications. I have lip balm everywhere -- on the nightstand, the living room endtable, two in my purse, on my desk at work, etc. If I go somewhere and forget it, my lips become dry and I am very uncomfortable. Yes, I am addicted. But, there are worse things to be addicted to, right?
Sure, deb-or-ah, you could be addicted to chewing up food and spitting it out, I've heard of people who do that or some people eat ashes. There are far freakier things to be addicted to than lip balm.
I am hooked on blistexs lip tone. it has a touch of color. i couldnt find it in my city anymore, so I had to start getting it on amazon...awesome stuff :)
Try Jordan Essentials Lip Tubes. There are no harsh chemicals in them, as in alcohol, mineral oil or any other ingredients that prevents your natural skin from breathing and functioning properly. I'm completely addicted to lip balm as well but with their lip tubes, I don't find myself using as much as I used to and my skin doesn't peal off as badly as it used to. Jordan Essentials are harsh chemcial free bath, body and spa products and they're hand made in America! (Nixa, Missouri to be specific) I love them! Check them out at or
i've been using/abusing lip balm/gloss since i was in 5th grade. im now 29. i dont dare open my purse and count how many tubes i have. i even leave tubes in purses im not using so i know i'll always have one on hand. oh, then theres my desk at work..... yeah, i know i have a problem. oops.
I'm the same way. Burt's Bees is everywhere! I'm not ashamed :)
I am the same way! I have little tubs laying everywhere! Purses, my car, work. I even leave a spare in my boyfriends car! I'm hooked!
My mother-in-law is addicted. She applies and applies and applies all year round. One of her christmas presents is usually a boat-load of lip balm I get on E-Bay.
So you're contributing to her addiction? Shame on you. (sarcasm is free) lol
Carmex is my life-line!
That's what I use, too. But I'm finding that it really doesn't "heal" as it states on the cap. It "soothes" and it may "protect," but it doesn't "heal!"
As we speak, I have cracked and bleeding lips. If I try to open my mouth to eat, my lips crack and bleed. So it's a never-ending cycle.
I have been addicted to Carmex for at least 10 years now. I can do the cherry carmex or the strawberry now, but I have countless tubes and buy more whenever I go to the drugstore. It is a problem, but I figure I can deal with it for now....(or another 10 years)!
Auzzie, are your lips cracked and bleeding at the corners of your mouth or all the lips? If just at the corners you may have angular chelitis. I tried the dish soap method but that didn't really work. What did was plain hydrocortisone. Just a dab at night cleared it up in a few days. Be careful using it on the face, though, it can thin the skin. That is, only use it to clear up the damage and don't use it like lip balm.
The BEST solution to lip problems is AQUAPHOR ...made by Eucerine. Best stuff I have ever used, and I have used it all. Skin doctor told me about it....wonderful stuff
I love aquaphor too! In one night it helped clear up my chapped lips! The next morning I took a damp washcloth to my lips to get all the excess dried skin off and it was like they have never been chapped!!
An application of Carmex at night before I go to sleep and I never have to worry about my lips during the next day. I love it!
I live in southern Arizona and use a lip balm with SPF-15 or higher every day. Due to the low humidity here, even in the winter, my lips crack if I don't use it several times a day.
I don't consider it an addiction, it's a way of life here.
I live in the Phoenix area and it is exactly the same way here. Hot, dry and sunny is a bad combination for lips. I get fever blisters without some kind of sunblock on my lips so I would rather be addicted to lip balm than look like a zombie all day.
i've been using chapstik at least 10x a day since I was 5 years old in 1990.
I put vaseline on my lips every night before bed - no need for lip balm - and why is it being labeled as an addiction as opposed to what it actually is - a way to keep our lips from drying out and getting chapped to the point of bleeding? what is wrong with preventative care? I don't see it as an addiction and it sounds as though calling it that is some form of shock value journalism - or maybe it is just MSNBC making another rushed reactionary statement to something - either way - an addiction? no - preventative care - yes - simple and necessary and no big deal at all -
Did you even read the article, or just the headline?
You missed the point of the article. Lip balm causes your lips to get chapped. Therefore applying lip balm means you need more lip balm. Thus the physical addiction.
I figured this out a long time ago and only use vaseline when my lips are painfully cracked, which happens very very rarely. As soon as I use chapstick, they get cracked within hours if I don't keep applying.
Sorry, if you don't use lip balm, you don't get cracked lips. Only after you start using it does that happen regularly. It is a habit and it's a bad one that mostly occurs in little girls who start using lip smackers or whatever when they're 3-4 years old.
I've been using Avon flavor savers lip gloss for 32 years now. I order it in large quantities, like 30-40 tubes at a time when it's on sale. I reapply many times during the day, as soon as my lips feel dry. I can't go very long without it. If that's the worse thing that I'm addicted to, then I'm fine with that. At least I never get chapped lips!
I just use it in the winter time, as needed
I don't understand how people can use that stuff, never mind get 'addicted'. I hate the feeling of lip balm or lipstick. Yuck.
I hate the feeling of lip balm, but if I don't use anything, my lips tend to crack and bleed. It's the lesser of two evils.
Did you know that vaseline, a by-product of petroleum production, was originally considered useless and a waste. They looked for a way to market it and make money, and found that they could put fruit and/or sugar in it and spread it on toast. Look it up!
I use Carmex ALL THE TIME!!! If I do not have make-up on, I have Carmex on my lips. I wake up several times at night to re-apply it!!! During the day, I wear make-uop and have lipstick on-usually with Carmex on over it. I have tubes in my car, my desk, by my bed, in my purse and in several coat pockets so I am never without it. My sister thought I was crazy so at least I can now tell her it isn't just me-lots of people have the same issues!!! Thanks for the article!! :)
If left on a desert island or anywhere I'd better have lip balm or I'd go crazy!
I'm 55 and have had a lip balm on my night table, purse, desk, coffee table for 35 years.
I don't know, I just use lip gloss.
I have been addicted to lip balm for many years. Then, my lips started swelling, burning, peeling and was extremely painful. After many trips to a dermatologist and lots of Desonide steroid medication to control my symptoms, I was sent to a dermatologist guru 150 miles away to determine the cause of my problem. After three 300 round trip miles to the guru and extensive chemical testing, I was diagnosed with an allergic reaction to Burt's Bees lip balm - my favorite! I discontinued the Burt's Bees and followed my doctors recommendation for a Mary Kay lip balm, along with the steroid medication for several weeks. My lips completely healed. Three months later, on the night before my son's wedding, I hurriedly and absent-mindedly picked up a tube of Burt's Bees lip balm and used it. Bad mistake! The day of the wedding, I looked like Daisy Duck my lips were so swollen and irritated. I immediately OD'd on my steroid medication and by the time of the evening wedding, I looked human. Never again will I touch Burt's Bees.
Your doctor was absolutely right in getting you connected with the Mary Kay Lip Balm -- it's the best! No phenol or peppermint to cause dryness, and the Satin Lips set actually comes with a Lip Mask that is applied first to exfoliate and remove the dry, chapped, dead layers on top so that you can nourish the healthy skin underneath with the Lip Balm. I was a sworn Medex/Carmex/Chapstick-a-holic for 30 years before I found Mary Kary... and now, my lips are healthy, nourished with the right amount of moisture (and I live at 7,000-feet elevation, so I KNOW about dryness!) and sun protection when needed. Mary Kay is the best!!!!
I never ever use lip balm. I think there may be some truth to it causing a need for continued use.
Oh Please! Most people put sunscreen on there faces but don't apply anything to their lips. If you have ever had your lips blistered it is a necessity. I learned that the hard way a long time ago and now I am a firm believer in using it. It is not a addiction.
It is an addiction if you keep using it. I agree it should be used as sunscreen, but only as sunscreen and only while you need it. Not the way most people use it where they apply it every hour even while inside.
I have heard that this is a problem so it's nice to read something on the issue. I used to use tubes of Blistex all of the time. I found that I couldn't NOT use it. I got rid of that brand because it was very "addicting." I now use Carmex and don't have to use it as often (although I still do it). I have slowed down because someone had told me that your own body's natural healing process can't occur when you apply the lip balm constantly. I do still need it but not nearly as much as before, as not as much as when I used Blistex.
William in Cleveland
I guess I'd have to say I'm definitely addicted to lip balm. I have them hidden all over the house so no matter where I am I can re-apply. I have them in the car, at work and have a few hidden at my mom's as well. I just counted how many I have in my purse....9! I have 9 different varieties! Gotta shake it up right?
I have Blistex on me AT ALL TIMES. My jeans even have fade marks from putting it in the same pocket every day. My skin is very very dry, even during the warmer months, so I also have to carry around non-scented lotion with me at all times for when I wash my hands.
I've actually started to wear a hole in the pockets of my jeans where I carry my Blistex.
I cannot be without it. I've been addicted to it for at least the last twenty years. I have them all over the house: kitchen drawer, medicine cabinets in both bathrooms, computer desk, even tucked up in the arm of the couch. And I sleep with one under my pillow. I think I may even reapply it in my sleep as I've woken up a few times with it in my hand.
I was addicted to lip balm for 5 years and went cold-turkey. You will get over it, after several weeks of dried and cracked lips. That was 20 years ago and my lips are not a problem.
I used to use lip balm a lot and got to the point where I couldn't get along without it, especially in winter. I had to stop using lip balms (Carmex and others) because they started to make my lips burn. I switched to using Vaseline on my lips at night and have been very happy with the results. My lips always feel soft. Vaseline is also great for use on cracked, dry heels and hands. A little greasy, but that wears off after a few minutes.