How to Stop Lip Balm Addiction and Heal Dry, Red, Chapped Lips

Are your lips addicted to lip balm? Medicated lip balms such as Chap-Stick, Carmex, or Blistex can actually make the skin on your mouth become addicted to product. If you try to stop using the product, you can have undesirable burning and irritation, so you have to continue using the product.

Once the addiction is in full swing, you'll notice the product(s) no longer help ease the pain, redness or burning commonly associated with dry chapped lips.

So, just why don't the products work to ease the painful redness or burning anymore? It's because the medicated Carmex, Blistex, Chap-Stik type products contain ingredients ingredients such as menthol, camphor or phenol. These ingredients are meant to DRY up skin problems such as canker sores, sunburn, or wind burn. But these drying ingredients are much too harsh for common everyday dryness. So the skin gets drier and more irritated each time the balm is applied, and it becomes a vicious cycle. Your lips burn or get chapped and your apply the salve / ointment / balm and the salve / ointment / balm only makes the lips drier.

So ... are you an addict? Do you want to be free from the hassle of having to keep a steady supply of Carmex, Blistex, or Chap-Stick in your purse, desk drawer, and nightstand? If your answer is yes, then keep reading for the cure!

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Dermatologist
• Aquaphor ointment
• Prescription for Desonide cream

1. 
    
   OUCH!

   Make an appointment with a dermatologist to let him look at your red, chapped, irritated lips.

2. 
    
   Desonide cream

   Ask for a prescription for Desonide cream. Use the Desonide cream twice a day - once in the morning and again right before bed. Do not drink anything or lick your lips until the cream has soaked in.

3. 
    
   Aquaphor by Eucerin

   Buy a tube of Aquaphor Advanced Therapy healing ointment, made by Eucerin. It's formulated to heal dry, cracked and irritated lips but contains none of the harmful drying ingredients. Apply the ointment as needed throughout the day and night.

4. DO NOT USE ANYTHING ELSE ON YOUR LIPS but the Desonide and Aquaphor for at least 2 weeks. You'll gradually start to notice your lips no longer need to be coated with balm.

5. Feel free to put away all those pots of Carmex and tubes of Blistex or Chap-Stick! Use them ONLY if you get a cold sore and stop using them once the cold sore is healed. Or better yet, find a natural alternative to use such as Lysine tablets, ice cubes, or a Q-tip soaked in mouthwash.

Tips & Warnings

• Note: I have no stake in any of the products mentioned, and write this from personal experience.

Resources

• De-Fact-O

[kristara]

on 12/18/2009 Great info on chapped lips 5*

[bethany1202]

on 9/10/2009 Great tips, even though I do love my lip balm!!

[lighthouse1958]

on 8/13/2009 My lips are chapped alot during the winter months. Thanks for the tips. 5*

[wltw]

on 7/21/2009 Great information to stop lip balm addiction and heal dry, red, chapped lips! Another help is olive oil applied in place of chapstick. Thanks for these other options!

[westernmom]

on 7/13/2009 You have certainly given us another option to constantly using lip balm! 5*