Is Your Chapstick Drying Out Your Lips?

Well hello there beauties!

Remember last week when I talked about my Mary Kay Facial and told you that my Mary Kay lady said something interesting that caused me to do some digging? 

Well, this is it....

And what I found out? Very interesting! It's definitely made me aware of what is in the products I am putting on my lips! 

So, what exactly did I find out about if certain chapsticks actually dry out your lips?

Well, according to an article by America Now News, certain lip balms do in fact dry out your lips! Now, despite a little marketing deception, I don't think these brands are trying to swindle us out of our money by making us use more and more product. They use these certain drying ingredients to help get rid of cold sores. 

Wait, use chapstick to get rid of cold sores? Yup. Thats what some brands like Carmex and ChapStick were originally made for. 

Now, just what are these not so magical ingredients?

According to the article, the harmful ingredients are:

Camphor

Menthol

Phenol

OL (usually stands for some kind of Alcohol)

and

 Salicylic Acid 

Keep an eye out for these ingredients the next time you go searching for the perfect lip balm to keep your lips hydrated all day long. For your convienece, I've compiled a list of three lip balms to try for long lasting lip wear, and three to avoid.

Do Use:

Baby Lips- It has petrolum in it, one of the BEST things for lip moisture.

EOS- Was there ever any doubt? This doesn't have any of the drying ingredients listed above.

Burt's Bees- I love Burt's! None of the ingredients listed above and no active ingredients, which can only be a good thing!

Don't Use:

Carmex- This was made for cold sores so, its one of the worst offenders out there for using drying ingredients. This contains Camphor, Phenol, Menthol and Salicylic Acid. 

SoftLips- contains methol, to give you that "tingling" feeling.

ChapStick- Not too bad of an offender but, it does contain alcohol, which can be drying for your lips. 

Be sure to check the ingredients next time you reach for your favorite chapstick! There could be a reason you feel like you have to re-apply it 50 million times throughout the day. 

Stay Beautiful,

Kailey