Oil Slick for Chapped Lips? I don't think so.. There ARE better alternatives to petroleum-based lip products

Lip balm has been around for over 100 years. But it took a wrong turn right at the beginning. The inventor of lip balm, Dr. C. D. Fleet, started an unfortunate trend by using petroleum jelly in his Chap Stick lip balm, and it's only become clear in recent years just how ineffective petroleum jelly is as a lip balm. At best, since petroleum jelly isn't absorbed by the skin, it provides only a short-term fix for dry, chapped lips. And since it keeps the skin from breathing, it can -- if used frequently -- actually make your lips more chapped. Many conventional lip balms that contain petrolatum-based ingredients like mineral oil that appear slick and emollient, but because the skin can't absorb them, they don't actually condition or heal chapped lips. In fact, they just lie on the surface, creating an impermeable barrier that can actually clog the skin and lead to breakouts and bacterial infections.

Instead, look for natural moisturizers like shea butter, beeswax, sweet almond oil, jojoba oil, or hempseed oil, all of which actually penetrate the skin.  Shea butter's effect on the skin is different from that of petroleum jelly. Instead of lying inert on the surface of the lips, it is absorbed by the skin cells. If you're prone to breakouts or bumps on the lips, look for lip balms with antibacterial essential oils like rosemary and mint.  Because it improves the moisture retention capacity of your lips, your lips become dry and chapped much less frequently.The delicate tissue on the lips, easily chapped and prone to bacterial infection, is vulnerable in any weather. Wind and winter chill sap moisture from the lips, but so does exposure to the sun, surf, and chlorinated swimming pools.

Why Our Lip Balm Works

In early adulthood, all of our skin cells -- including those in our lips -- begin to become more porous and less elastic. If shea butter -- a substance that both moisturizes the skin and restores the skin cells' elasticity -- is applied to the lips, then not only are the cells hydrated, but they gradually regain their natural elasticity so that they are better able to keep moisture from escaping. Because unrefined shea butter contains both a high moisturizing fraction and an extraordinarily high healing fraction, it is a wonderful agent for revitalizing our skin cells so that they get back their moisture retention capacity.

Why Petroleum-based Lip Balm Doesn't Work

Petroleum-based lip balm doesn't pretend to fix the problem that causes dry chapped lips. Instead, it basically acts as a band-aid -- slightly moisturizing the surface of the lips and trapping the moisture there, thus temporarily making the lips less dry. But to keep your lips moist using petroleum-based lip balm, you need to frequently reapply the lip balm. Well you might as well just lick your lips all the time -- that has the same temporary effect, it's a lot cheaper, and it doesn't run the risk that bacteria will be trapped between the greasy lip balm and the skin, causing further irritation and even infection.

AVAILABLE NOW:

Peppermint and Rosemary
*NEW* Lavender
*NEW* Lemon Lavender