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Anybody have any suggestions for a healing lip balm for extremely chapped lips?

Posted: Jan 4, 2014

I never used to have problems with chapped lips. I generally wear makeup everyday and always have something on my lips in the way of lipstick, lip gloss, chapstick. However, in the last few years, every single winter I have had a problem with extremely chapped lips and cold sores. I know the cold sores are caused by stress, but it seems every winter my lips start to get dry and no amount of chapstick will keep them moist and then I develop what I call "my Christmas herpes" which is a run of cold sores that are brought on by a combination of the stress of the holidays, dry and cold weather, and chapped lips. Problem is I have gotten the cold sores healed, but my lips are just plain gross. Dry, cracked, and flaky. Currently I have been trying Carmex protecting lip balm, but my lips are still terrible. I have tried everything from your garden variety Chapstick, Carmex, Blistex, etc. Nothing is working. I have tried "gently exfoliating" my lips with honey and sugar, but that seemed to exacerbate the cold sores. Any suggestions?!? I'm at the point where I've decided to never leave my house again to save the public from my leprous appearance! Thank God I work at home!

While we're at it, any suggestions for extremely dry legs. I've been using Eucerin, but with the frigid air, below 0 temperatures of late, my legs are driving me crazy itching and flaking. I'm a mess I tell you! Winter just sucks as you get older!

Thanks for listening to my whining!

;

Same thing here every winter with cold and stress. - SM

[ In Reply To ..]
Start in about middle of November with "Super Immune Plus" by Quantum Health. It's a lysine supplement blend. Continue thru January or February. Dose is 3 caps qd, but you can do 1 or 2 every other day or so as maintenance.

Don't exfoliate lips, that makes it worse. I have Burt's Bees lip gloss, cuticle cream, you could even try their lotion. I believe anything beeswax based might be a lot better for you as far as lotion. Or anything that's vegetable oil based instead of petroleum. Walgreens or other local pharmacy may have some natural things.

Oatmeal bath at night for dry skin. I have a lotion with honey and beeswax made locally.

This site may help for research to get you started: http://www.justnaturalskincare.com/9/creams/-body-lotions.html

Or use plain honey itself: "Honey helps lock in moisture, has antioxidant and anti-microbial properties, which makes it a sought after ingredient in many over-the-counter skincare products. Why shell out money on those, when you can buy yourself a bottle of honey (which is cheaper) and use it to treat your skin. Lightly heat 2 tsp. of honey any apply it onto your skin (face, hands, legs) while warm. Leave it on for 15 minutes, and then wash it off. There’s nothing better your skin can ask for."

I love Burt's Bees products - SAM

[ In Reply To ..]
I've tried them all, from the expensive higher-end balms such as Fresh Sugar to plain old Chapstick, and I always end up going back to the Burt's Bees, the original lip balm in the little yellow tub. Another good one, although it sounds gross, is Bag Balm, which comes in a green tin and can be used to moisten just about anything from chapped hands and feet (I like to use it at night before bed, then put on white socks and white gloves to absorb the excess product, and hands and feet are really soft and smooth the next day). It works on the lips just as well, too, and it's really cheap and lasts a long time.

One thing you might want to avoid is Carmex. I've read that there are ingredients in Carmex that your lips actually become "addicted" to and can wreak havoc with cold sores, cracked lips, etc. Google could probably give you more details on it but I stopped using Carmex after I heard about the side effects.

HTH!!!

Some thoughts and suggestions - Could be me, or was

[ In Reply To ..]
OK, here are my thoughts and suggestions on this. I'll warn you in advance that they might not be quite what you expected, because I am going to give you more than the name of a lip product. Some of what I am going to share may seem to you to be more effort than you think you want to expend.

Cold obviously has a lot to do with your problems. You do need a lip protectant, but the ones you are using contain very irritating ingredients. I think they are some of the worst products for that purpose. They are outdated and I even suspect they keep the problem going in order to sell more product. Many cosmetic lip products like lipstick and glosses actually dry the lips. Some are notorious for it.

I personally find that Mountain Ocean's Lip Trip does a fantastic job of coating the lips to prevent drying out, and it contains nothing particularly irritating. Beeswax, lanolin, aloe vera, cocoa butter, apricot kernel oil, allantoin, and vitamin E. It is the best, in my opinion, and my go-to choice. Burt's Bees and some others are good, but Lip Trip is great. It was designed for cold mountain conditions. You can get it on Amazon or at natural food stores.

For an indoor lip product, Lancome's Juicy Tubes lip gloss is about the best you can get. It is a cult favorite. It is not irritating or drying, really sticks to your lips, doesn't wear off easily, and comes in almost invisible colors. A little goes a very long way, so the price isn't bad.

For removing the dead skin, the easiest and most effective fix is milk of magnesia, like Phillips. Just apply liberally and rub gently for a few minutes. The flakes will rub off like eraser crumbs. You can use it everywhere. It is super safe, since you can consume it. Try it on your face first to see what it does. Then you will understand how to deal with the skin around the cold sores.

You can use that on your legs, too. I would follow it with plain olive, grapeseed, apricot, or almond oil. They are available at most grocery stores now. Coconut oil is also readily available now. It is thicker at colder temperatures. You might make your own mix with some beeswax added. It is very simple to do in an enamel pan on the stove.

I second the suggestion another poster gave about the honey.
I would avoid most commercial lotions, because they contain irritating ingredients, including fragrances, preservatives, wheat protein, thickeners, and fragrances. They certainly made a mess out of me.

Your soap may have a lot to do with this. They can contain irritating ingredients like the lotions, and a lot are actually detergents, not soaps. Sodium lauryl sulfate is a serious irritant and should be avoided. Go for soaps made from oils and sodium hydroxide, or cleansers that do not contain SLS.

Castile soap, like Kirk's, is very basic and should be at your grocery store. Also good are glycerin soaps IF they do not contain additives, but those are hard to find. You might just want to get a bar of Mountain Ocean's Skin Trip while you look for something.

I think Neutrogena bar and liquid are fine, unless you are super sensitive. Philosophy liquid bath soaps are pricey, but goes a long way and most are not irritating. (Avoid the florals.) You just have to hunt for a plain, natural sort of product that is free of known irritants. Try the natural food store. Be sure your shampoo is also sulfate free, because it ends up all over you. Read those labels!!

Your detergent can make this worse. Try washing your socks in shampoo.

Now for the controversial part of this. This is from personal experience and that of several friends. We all had the same problem. Itching, flaking skin, cold sores, cracked lips, aphthous ulcers. Some of us had dermatitis herpetiformis, itching papules, and so forth. It was worse in the winter. Every one of us had to go gluten-free for some other reason, and after we did most of that just went away. We will still get some dryness from the cold and wind, but it is nothing like it was before. We hardly have cold sores anymore, either.

I used to hunt endlessly for a product that would cure my itching and flaking. No more. In fact, I got rid of a big box of lotions, creams, and such about 6 months after I went gluten free. Hardly ever use it anymore, except for a little almond oil in the winter.

That's just a thought, though. Try the other suggestions first.

I use Neosporin Overnight Renewal Therapy for my lips - hate dry lips

[ In Reply To ..]
It comes in a little tub and costs about $5. I had coupons and bought two, one for my purse and one for my nightstand. I know it says overnight, but I use it whenever my lips feel dry. I have not had ANY cracked lips since I started using it. I don't use any lipstick, though.

When I get the first sensation of a cold sore on my mouth, I dose myself heavily with L-Lysine 1000 mg tablets. I will take two tablets up to 4 times a day. Sometimes the cold sore will go away before it ever starts. That depends on how early I start the L-Lysine, if it was going to be a small outbreak, etc. But even if it is a full-blown outbreak, taking the L-Lysine greatly reduces the length of the outbreak and the intensity/severity. Lysine is something the body has to make from nutrients in the diet, which I know I don't get with my diet, and it is know to help with HS. I think the body discards any not used, so there is no danger of overdosing myself with the supplement.

For dry skin, I have been using Nivea Skin Creme. It is about $6 for a 6.8 ounce tub. I try to use it before bed every night. It helps my arms and elbows, too. You can usually find coupons and sales for both the Nivea and the Neosporin products. That's how I was introduced to using them. I found the Neosporin at the lip care center of my grocery store with Chapstick, etc., but over to the side in a section devoted to more intensive lip care.

I feel your pain. Hope you get better!

Avon's Moisture Therapy lip balm works for me. nm - Maggie May

[ In Reply To ..]
x

Vaseline - works for me

[ In Reply To ..]
Plain ol' petroleum works for my dry chapped lips. It actually works for any area of dryness, but it's greasy.

You could use coconut oil on lips and skin--sm - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
The coconut oil at Trader Joe's is a good price and good quality stuff too. I believe it is organic and $6 for the jar. Best price I have seen although I have heard Costco carries coconut oil too (I am not a member so cannot confirm it).

i make my own lip balm and it has coconut oil - mtr

[ In Reply To ..]
coconut oil is very good on dry skin

my child's pediatrician from Jordan recommends - olive oil

[ In Reply To ..]
I have used it a couple of times, but not daily, before bedtime. I worried I would attract bugs or something because I was wearing food to bed. I'm sure if my skin was dry enough, I could overcome that fear, though. lol! It made my skin so soft and moist. He said just use whatever OO you have in the house (I was asking about extra virgin or tasting oil).

lips - Anon

[ In Reply To ..]
Same here. Neosporin seems to work wonders for me. No more peeling! Can't remember what I started using for my "other" dry skin but my daughter-in-law had me try something at their house. It's baby lotion, vanilla scent but is kinda like the Aveeno type stuff I'm thinking. Can't remember the name but does work pretty well.

Vasoline slathered on overnight! - Depressed

[ In Reply To ..]
I used to have the same problem. I think the overnight hours the Vasoline is on is probably the key. Maybe anything will work if you put it on for the night. ;)

herpes, dry skin - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Make sure you are getting enough water, dehydration gives you chapped lips. I use plain Chapstick, drink lots of water, use a humidifier, and put vaseline on my hands, feet and elbows, olive oil on the rest of me. When I get cold sores I load up on 3000 mg of L-lysine immediately, Abreva immediately, and then 1000 mg of lysine every day until it goes away. I haven't actually had an outbreak that produced a sore for several years doing that.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3115841
Success of L-lysine therapy in frequently recurrent herpes simplex infection. Treatment and prophylaxis.
Griffith RS, Walsh DE, Myrmel KH, Thompson RW, Behforooz A.
Author information Department of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis.
Abstract
A double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial of oral L-lysine monohydrochloride for the prevention and treatment of recurrent herpes simplex (HSV) infection was conducted. The treatment group was given L-Lysine monohydrochloride tablets (1,000 mg L-lysine per dose) 3 times a day for 6 months. A total of 27 (6 male and 21 female) subjects on L-lysine and 25 (6 male and 19 female) subjects on placebo completed the trial. The L-lysine treatment group had an average of 2.4 (p less than 0.05) less HSV infections, symptoms were significantly (p less than 0.05) diminished in severity and healing time was significantly reduced (p less than 0.05). L-Lysine appears to be an effective agent for reduction of occurrence, severity and healing time for recurrent HSV infection.

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