Q. Several people in my office use lip balm products such as Chapstick or a cocoa butter-based product continually throughout the day. I have heard that excessive use of lip balm is bad for your lips or even downright addictive. Is this a problem?
A. We’ve heard from a number of people that using a lip balm can become a repetitive habit that is hard to break. Here are just a few stories:
“I used Chapstick with SPF protection for years. Felt like I was dependent. Someone suggested that an ingredient in Chapstick caused this and recommended that I switch to Burt’s Bees or some other more natural lip balm. I switched to Burt’s Bees, but I don’t notice any difference.”
MBR
“Lip balms and lotions generally contain petroleum derivatives which my skin doesn’t tolerate. Chapping and cracking is the result.”
B.L.
“My 23-year-old-daughter has a major lip balm addiction. For the past two years she has been getting sick on and off and we can’t find a cause. It dawned on me that maybe the two might be connected. When a lip balm is used at the rate my daughter uses it I wonder whether it could be absorbed (she licks her lips constantly) and whether her constant use could cause her to get sick?”
Sue
“I checked my lip balm and discovered it has an SPF sunscreen ingredient which I suspect is irritating my lips. I searched the pharmacy shelves but could not find any lip balm without a sunscreen SPF ingredient. Do you have any brands you can recommend?”
AKP
Dermatologists we have consulted reassure us that lip balm is not addicting, but this has been controversial for years. There is actually a website called Lip Balm Anonymous that warns people about becoming addicted to lip balm. They offer a road to recovery and discuss a variety to techniques from “cold turkey” withdrawal to gradual weaning. There is even a “Lip Balm Anonymous 12 Step Program.”
Some people have called the website a hoax. The manufacturers of lip balm suggest that the very idea of lip balm addiction is an urban myth not worthy of comment. They frequently respond to criticism by saying something along the lines that people with chapped lips use lip balm repeatedly because it makes them feel better.
Dermatologists have told us that any “addiction” is purely psychological and that when people get into the habit of licking their lips over and over again it leads to drying and peeling. This in turn causes them to use lip balm, but their repetitive licking behavior is really the reason behind the problem.
Others insist that ingredients in some lip balm products may thin the delicate lip tissue and cause peeling or cracking. Salicylic acid, for example, may be irritating for some people. Sunscreen ingredients or lanolin can also be sensitizing.
Anything that discourages lip licking can be helpful. One reader coated her lips with castor oil because it moisturized her lips and tasted so terrible that she stopped licking.
We have developed our own line of lip balms that have no sunscreen ingredients. We are especially fond of our pomegranate flavor. To learn more about these all natural lip balms and read the ingredient list click here.
