My Chapstick Addiction…

All throughout high school and college I had a Chapstick addiction, and I had to have one in my pocket at ALL TIMES!  I would panic if I couldn’t find a tube when I needed one!  I would apply and reapply hourly!  But at some point I realized the more I applied, the more dehydrated my lips became! Chapstick addiction is REAL!  Can anyone else relate?

Here’s what I learned…

Chapstick addiction is real!  A quick Google search for “Chapstick addiction” lists article after article of information supporting this theory!  Most researchers agree on a few key facts.  First, ingredients such as fragrance, camphor, menthol, or salicylic acid are skin irritants and can actually pull the hydration out of your skin.  This is the exact opposite response you are looking for!  Another harmful ingredient found in a lot of lip balms is petroleum.  Petroleum acts as an artificial barrier locking in moisture.  Good, right?  Nope!  After repeated use, your lips forget how to create their own moisture and become dependent on the petroleum to hydrate them.  Someone once compared petroleum and mineral oil to putting plastic wrap over your skin.  Sure, it’s protecting your skin and your lips, but it’s also suffocating the skin cells preventing them from doing their job – making natural oils, breathing, and regenerating.

Compare the Ingredients:

Ingredients in the Spearmint Chapstick:

White Petrolatum 45% Skin Protectant Inactive ingredients Arachidyl Propionate, Blue 1 Lake, Carnauba Wax, Cetyl Alcohol, Fragrance, Isopropyl Lanolate, Isopropyl Myristate, Lanolin, Light Mineral Oil,Maltol, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Octyldodecanol, Paraffin, Phenyl Trimethicone, Saccharin, Spearmint Oil, White Wax, Yellow 5 Lake.

Ingredients in the Lemongrass Spa Spearmint Lip Balm:

Prunus armeniaca* (apricot) kernel oil, cera alba* (beeswax), cocos nucifera* (coconut) oil, theobroma cacao* (cocoa) seed butter, ricinus communis* (castor) seed oil, helianthus annuus* (sunflower) oil (and) natural plant extract*, stevia*, mentha spicata* (spearmint) oil, d-alpha tocopherol (sunflower vitamin E) *certified organic

Ditch and Switch…

Although my beloved Spearmint Chapstick contained way too many of the “no-no” ingredients, my current love affair with Lemongrass Spa’s Lip Balms and Lip Butters does not include ANY of those ingredients!  It took a few weeks to transition, but I am happy to say that I am no longer addicted to Chapstick!  In fact, I can go a whole day without applying any balm to my lips these days.  Now I apply when I go out or want a little shine to my lips and of course I use it on days that my lips need a little TLC after too much wind, dry air, or sun!

I hope this helps someone!  For more information on Lemongrass Spa’s Lip Balms and Lip Butters, shop my site: https://susanlarimer.com/