Are Lip Balms Bad For Your Lips?

It’s chapped lips season and you know what that means — it’s time to whip out your favourite lip balms and scrubs! Clearly, chapped lips are probably one of the last things we’d want to deal with no thanks to our hot, dry humid climate. So at first thought, slathering on a thick layer of lip balm would only deem fit to save our puckers from drying out like the Sahara desert, right? But the boiling question that’s been surrounding lip balms over recent months is — does it really work?

Sadly, not for all cases.

Just when you thought lip balms weren’t a divisive product, lip balms have, in fact, their pros and cons too — and that includes constantly reapplying them which may make matters worse. Yes, some of us do admit to having the habit of reapplying them on every few minutes to achieve the feelings of soft, smooth lips, but what you don’t realise is, it may actually lead to a vicious cycle where your lips get too overdependent on faux moisture to keep itself soft and supple.

Providing temporary comfort, some lip balms can make your chapped, scaly lips even drier. As a matter of fact, the thin film that’s been deposited on your lips can, at times, evaporate, which may dehydrate your lips even more!

So what do we do to save our lips from the trenches of doom? For those of you who are guilty of picking out your products based on their packaging, you might want to think twice the next time you reach out for your next lip balm.

Some of the ingredients you should avoid in these formulas include:

Menthol; gives a cooling effect which is popular amongst consumers; however, they may cause contact dermatitis and slight irritation
Phenol; plumps your lips and acts as a preservative for other ingredients; however, similar to menthol, they may cause contact dermatitis and slight irritation
Fragrance or flavoured lip balms; dries out your lips and may cause contact dermatitis

But that’s not all. If you find yourself constantly reapplying your lip balms, the ones that you’re using may not be at fault and it might just be you. The approach is simple: if it’s not doing any good to your lips, you might want to lessen your balm habit or switch to a different formula.

Ahead, we’ve listed down some of our recommended lip balms to use this summer that might save you from your perennial chapped lips woes.