Your saliva contains enzymes that make it effective for digesting food when you eat. But if you're someone who licks their lips a lot, you're applying those same digestive enzymes to your skin, which can make lips dry and chapped, says Rachel Nazarian, MD, a New York-based dermatologist and fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology FAAD.
People will then apply Chapstick or other topical balms to remedy this, but the real issue is their lip-licking habit, she points out. Washing your face with hot water could also leave your lips dehydrated. The reason: Hot water removes natural oils from skin more aggressively than cool or lukewarm water. Nazarian explains. Also important: New York City-based dermatologist Debra Jaliman, MD, says you should make sure to drink plenty of water thoughtout the day, since dehydration can lead to chapped lips.
This makes you more dependent on lip balm to replace hydration. Be sure to read the ingredient list on your lip balm before making a purchase. If you have sensitive skin, our experts recommend staying away from products that contain alcohol or fragrance, since they can irritate skin.
Also on the skip list? Menthol, cinnamic aldehyde, and peppermint. Camphor and phenol can also dry lips out, Dr. Jaliman says. If your current lip balm isn't irritating your skin, you shouldn't feel like you have to toss it.
But if you find that yout lips never seem to stay hydrated, you might want to look for a balm that contains nourishing ingredients like lanolin or simple beeswax without perfumes or dyes, says Dr. But apart from this single non-peer reviewed study, there's just no evidence that menthol or camphor are chemically addictive.
Of course, there's an important point to be made: even though only some substances are chemically addictive that is, they lead to withdrawal symptoms when a person stops using them , pretty much anything can be psychologically addicting. Millions of people, after all, are genuinely addicted to gambling , which isn't a drug at all. But more than that, there's reason to believe that menthol and camphor might make lip balm habit-forming in a slightly different way.
For a minority of people — Frey guesses it's maybe 10 to 15 percent, but there's no real data — menthol, camphor, and other numbing ingredients in lip balms can cause what's called contact dermatitis : irritation and itchiness that result from contact with the ingredient.
Essentially, it's a subtle allergic reaction. The thing is, most people who respond to these ingredients this way don't actually know it, so they probably don't connect the reaction with the balm. Instead, they think their lips are becoming chapped again, and apply more of the balm.
If you try out a new brand of lip balm and it initially makes your lips feel nice and numb, but then you experience increased inflammation or irritation, this might be the case for you. You can find listings of active ingredients of all balms online. Burt's Bees has neither, but it does have lanolin, which can cause negative reactions in some people.
If you suspect your balm is irritating your lips, there's a simple solution: check the label, and if it has one of these ingredients, stop using it. You won't experience any sort of withdrawal — remember, they're not actually addictive.
And if you want to improve the state of your lips while pulling yourself out of this vicious cycle, there are some simple things you can do. Use a humidifier. Matt Kemberling. Apart from lip balms, dermatologists have a few other recommendations for preventing your lips from drying out during the winter.
Try to cover your mouth with a scarf when you're outside, especially when there's a strong wind. Put a humidifier in your room, so your lips don't have to contend with dry air at night. Avoid licking your lips, because when your saliva evaporates, it can carry away some of the protective lipid layer as well. And, if your lips still do get chapped, there are lip balms out there that don't have ingredients that might cause irritation.
Aquaphor Lip Repair for instance, doesn't have menthol or camphor. And if you want to take the simplest route possible, you can use pure petroleum jelly. Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment: to empower through understanding.
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Addiction vs. Is there really a lip balm conspiracy going on? How can I break the habit? So, what should I be doing for my lips? The bottom line. Read this next. Medically reviewed by Gerhard Whitworth, R. Medically reviewed by Shilpa Amin, M.
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