Welcome to Ask a Derm, a sequence from SELF through which board-certified dermatologists reply your urgent questions on pores and skin, hair, and nail well being. For this installment, we tapped Susan Massick, MD, FAAD, an affiliate professor of dermatology at The Ohio State College Faculty of Drugs targeted on affected person care, resident training, and neighborhood engagement. Her specialties embody zits, moles, pores and skin most cancers, and eczema.
Because the climate will get colder and the air will get drier, my lips begin turning right into a cracked, flaky mess. The one factor that appears to carry any kind of aid (even when it’s momentary) is piling on layers of lip balm.
However shortly after swiping or slathering, I discover that my lips really feel even extra dehydrated than earlier than. And so the cycle begins: I reapply once more…and once more…and once more, by no means reaching the long-lasting moisture I used to be anticipating. And after seeing a bunch of TikToks on the “addicting” high quality of lip balms, butters, and glosses, I began to marvel: Is that this all in my head, or might my trusty tubes be making my chapped lips…worse? That’s the query I delivered to Susan Massick, MD, board-certified dermatologist and affiliate professor of dermatology at The Ohio State College Faculty of Drugs.
The reply is form of difficult, however to sum it up: No, your tube, pot, stick, or no matter doubtless isn’t some advertising ploy to maintain you always reapplying (and repurchasing). “Utilizing lip balm isn’t a real habit or chemical dependency,” Dr. Massick says. “It’s additionally a fable that utilizing it typically will make it more durable in your lips to retain moisture by itself.”
However whereas some merchandise can work wonders to deal with and stop peeling and cracking, numerous them additionally “comprise substances that really feel hydrating at first however are literally irritating in the long term,” she explains.
Two frequent culprits? Added fragrances (together with “pure” ones, like important oils) and flavors. “These [ingredients] aren’t inherently drying, however they’re frequent triggers for anybody with delicate pores and skin or who’s susceptible to allergic reactions,” she says. Because of this, it’s possible you’ll expertise irritation, making your lips extra chapped and infected—which can immediate you to maintain reapplying for immediate aid. Nonetheless, it turns into a vicious cycle while you’re unknowingly loading up on the very factor that’s inflicting your dryness and flaking within the first place.
Plus, when your lips style like cinnamon or peppermint, it’s tempting to lick them. However as Dr. Massick factors out, “saliva isn’t a moisturizer.” Truly, it has the other impact: Not solely can the digestive enzymes in your spit trigger irritation, however when your lips always get moist—after which dry out—this could additionally injury your pores and skin barrier and result in cracking, as SELF beforehand reported.
Different frequent offenders that may dry out your pores and skin embody camphor, eucalyptus, and menthol, which are sometimes present in “medicated” balms. “[These] normally present a short lived cooling or tingling sensation, which can really feel good at first,” Dr. Massick says. Nonetheless, they’re additionally identified to trigger irritation, per the American Academy of Dermatology.