When the weather turns your lips from soft and hydrated to chapped, peeling, and totally frightful, it's tempting to re-apply lip balm 100 times a day to solve the problem. But if you aren't using a balm that contains deeply hydrating and protective ingredients, you could be leaving your lips vulnerable to even more dryness. This is the absolute worst lip balm you can choose on chapped lips.
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Lip Balms With Petrolatum
Petrolatum is a common sealant that is used in many lip balms. It prevents moisture from leaving your lips — which is a good thing — but it also keeps moisture from entering its barrier. As a result, petrolatum in lip balm can actually dry out your lips even more. It creates a cycle in which you apply petrolatum, your lips feel dryer than ever, and you re-apply petrolatum to address the issue (unfortunately, it doesn't address it).
Most products with petrolatum that are properly refined are safe — but it's important to keep in mind that experts are on the fence about possible health risks associated with petrolatum that isn't fully refined. In some cases, toxic levels of petrolatum are lined to cancer.
Lip Balm: A Better Alternative
Opt for lip balms that are free of petrolatum and rely instead on natural ingredients to moisturize and protect your lips. A lip balm like Yes To Coconut Naturally Smooth Lip Balm smoothens very dry lips with a blend of coconut oil, beeswax, jojobo seed oil, aloe. and cocoa butter.
The closer to nature your lip balm, the better for your chapped lips.