Note: This is not a sponsored post, and I am not receiving any compensation from these brands. I just think they’re kind of cool.
I have perpetually chapped lips.
So when I was standing in the check-out aisle of my favorite beauty supply store recently, I noticed this:
The peppy salesgirl informed me that this Lip Scrub by Sara Happ was an exfoliant for the lips, and that it worked wonders. It would slough off the dead skin on my lips, she said. Then she peered closer at my mouth.
“What product are you using to moisturize your lips?”
I told her the brand I’d been using for years, what I thought was the Gold Standard for lip care.
She shook her head, and gave me a patient, gentle look, not unlike the look given me by the Victoria’s Secret saleslady many moons ago, who told me the bra I’d been wearing for years was all wrong, and promptly introduced me to underwires.
“It has petroleum jelly,” the salesgirl said. “Petroleum jelly dries out your lips.”
Am I the only woman on the planet who didn’t know this? And why manufacture lip moisturizer that dries out your lips? Clearly, to get me to buy more lip moisturizer that merely poses as lip moisturizer! I felt the sting of betrayal.
“You should use this instead.”
Here’s what she handed me:
She explained that Dr. Hauschka’s Lip Care Stick is made with oils, not petroleum jelly, and will not dry out the lips.
Before I knew it, I had both products in hand, with instructions to use the Lip Scrub to exfoliate my lips once a week and apply the Lip Care Stick as often as I liked.
I’ve used the lip exfoliant once. Too soon to know if it lives up to its hype, although it does smell and feel dreamy. I use the lip care stick several times a day and love how easily it goes on. I’m not sure if my lips are any less chapped, but that could be due to the dry winter air.
If nothing else, I am the owner of two sexy new lip care products and can walk into the beauty supply store with my head held high.
Until I learn that everything I thought I knew about enhancing some other part of my face is wrong.
What about you? Any lip care secrets you’d like to share?
That’s funny because I was once visiting a friend whose father is an MD and when I whipped out a tube of Blistex with which to slather my lips, she said that her father told her that anything with menthol or eucalyptus in it dries out your lips faster, hence having to use so much of the product. Great marketing strategy introduced many years ago. Then she in fact, call him and he said “plain ole petroleum jelly” works best to protect lips from drying out and getting irritated. Then he made the analogy of a baby’s bottom and why petroleum jelly works best as a barrier to diaper rash versus powder. Made sense to me and that’s all I’ve used since. He also said, plain old chap stick (without all the fancy dancy stuff added) works pretty well too, just stay away from all menthol and eucalyptus. I have seen a difference but in the end, we all end up having to re-apply at some point. Will be interesting to see how you make out with all of it. Keep us posted!
Petroleum jelly works for you? It’s all so confusing!
One thing I’ve missed in the years since I quit selling Mary Kay Cosmetics is the Satin Lips set. It has an exfoliant and a moisturizer. Really was a good product.
This year, I’ve discovered Jack Black lip balm, and it has changed my life. The Fresh Sugar lip balm is also pretty good.
That Happ stuff is nice, but you can make your own using a little oil and some sugar. Haushka is a really great line line. And its rose day cream is a perfect winter moisturizer for face. I also like the Sugar lip line in either classic or rose. And I agree with Christina about the Vaseline. If it’s good enough for baby’s butt, it will probably work on lips too. Although that sounds kind of gross.
I was given Eos lip balm for Christmas, and it is amazing. All natural, no petroleum! I don’t even have to reapply very often.
I have been addicted to lip stuff for as long as I can remember and have tried everything. I like rosebud salve the best, which I think is just fancy petroleum jelly.
The petroleum jelly thing is something I’ve found a lot of doctors to be confused about; fortunately dermatologists and estheticians know the truth. Chapstick is still good if you’re going to be in an environment where the elements are really rough (skiing comes to mind) but for day to day it’s not the way to go.
When my lips are chapped, I take it as a sign that I need to drink more water. If I am well hydrated, I rarely have chapped lips, even in the winter.
Drink lots of water, rehydrate from the inside! Take a spoon of fine brown sugar, olive oil and honey, best exfoliator ever. After that, I use the little yellow pot of CARMEX for cold sores.
Yes, it is with Menthol and I have used it for at least 10 years. My lips are like silky, soft and smooth.
Need to explain the cold sores part…
It just says on the pot “for cold sores” but I use it for moisturizing my lips and it is fantastic.
For cold sores, menthol works wonders BECAUSE it dries out your lips. It is in fact, a wonderful product for that very thing.
The topmost delicate skin layer of our lips is affected by enzymes present in our saliva which aid the digestion process. In the winter, when the air is dry, we tend to lick our lips more frequently, thereby over-exposing the delicate skin to the digestive enzymes. Petroleum jelly has always worked well for me when liberally applied at night (to heal) and before I leave the house (to protect).
Not to mention a container lasts a long, long time.