Beauty Tips For Body Care
If you're like me, your lips split and bleed in the winter, you're afraid of lipstick because you always have dry skin, and you've never been able to go a day without chapstick without being miserable. You've probably gotten a whole lot of "helpful" advice from people with normal lips on how "you wouldn't need lip balm if you used it less," "you should just drink water," or "you should just exfoliate to get rid of the dry skin." This is actually great advice, but we have to remember that everyone's different and some of us will just always need more help to keep our lips from chapping. I have the dryest lips of anyone I've ever met, and have tried almost every drugstore brand under the sun, and here's what works for me.Disclaimer: I'm not a medical professional, and this is purely based on my own experiences + googling + this sub.Google and dermatologists and this sub all say you should avoid the following ingredients:camphoralcoholsYet, most recommended products actually include at least one of these!Important! "Alcohol" is a category, not an ingredient. It includes anything that ends in "ol": phenol, tocopherol, etc. This is what trips people up. I've been successful because I've avoided every alcohol in lip balms. There's a chance I'm just allergic to one of them (it's most likely tocopherol/tocopheryl, because that's in practically everything). But if you've been having chronic dry lips, try to eliminate all of them. (Or to be more scientific, eliminate one at a time.)The only products available in common US stores chain stores that have no camphor or alcohol in them: (Don't live near an Ulta/Sephora? This is for you!)ChopsaverAvailable only at CVS and certain music stores. It's a lifesaver! I only have to use it after it rubs off from meals, and it smells nice and citrus-y. It's marketed at wind instrument players, because let me tell you, there's nothing worse for my lips than hours of rehearsing with no water breaks and a reed chafing my lip.O'Keeffe'sI can't seem to find this one consistently, but it is thereotically available at CVS, Walgreen's, and Wal-mart. Pro-tip: I can almost always find it at the hardware store. (It seems that O'Keeffe's has built up a "manly" reputation for people who work with their hands or outside.) Like Chopsaver, it's another nice traditional tube-based lip balm.Bag Balm Lip TubeThis one's at Walmart, CVS, and Walgreen's. However, it rubs off so easily I only wear it at night. Note that its main ingredient is lanolin. It seems to be the only lanolin-based lip balm available at drugstores. Since lanolin is a common irritant, watch out, but it doesn't seem to bother me.Rosebud SalveI can't find it outside Ulta, but it's so commonly recommended I thought I'd include it. This works fine, and there's enough of it in the tin to justify the higher cost, but I work with kids, so my fingers get too gross to dip in a tin.Vaseline/Aquaphor is commonly suggested, since petrolatum doesn't usually irritate and it really does lock in moisture. Be careful, these brands are making spin-off dedicated lip balms that are identical to Chapstick and the other alcohol-heavy brands. But even if you're getting pure Vaseline, I find that my lips don't naturally produce enough moisture to be worth "locking in." Also, this kind of balm simply rubs off my lips during the day, especially if I play my saxophone or eat. I'd recommend them for night-time use, but you should be able to do better.Note that none of these commonly referred products work for me: Chapstick (I've tried every color), Burt's Bees, Nivea, Blistex (tried them all too), BabyLips, EOS, Carmex, Lip Smackers (super mad about this one)In summary, what not to do: Don't use products just because they work for other people! Chapstick and EOS give me immediate relief, but I have to apply them every hour. Blistex works for a week before it stops working. Burt's Bees hardly does anything. Don't be content with something that is only marginally better than the last product, and don't be taken in by advertising that's "all-natural" or "soothing."What to do: Go through this list of common allergens and irritants. Go to the store and start looking at labels. Try a new brand every two weeks, or every month, and take note of what doesn't work for you. Absolutely avoid Phenol and Camphor. Be careful of Tocopherol and Tocopheryl.Edit: formatting
Girls Blog 2015
Submitted by amelaine_
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