Chapstick

[bmorey]

I never thought I would see the day -- wrong science in Cecil. I quote, "Salicylic acid, by the way...[is] a component of aspirin..." Jeez.

[bibliophage]

A link to the column is appreciated. Is it possible to be addicted to Chap Stick?

"Component" seemed like an odd choice of word to me too. I seem to remember that my chemistry professors reserved that word for the parts of a mixture. Aspirin is acetylsalicylic acid¹, a chemical, not a mixture. But now I read in my chemical dictionary that acetylsalicylic acid slowly hydrolyzes in the presence of atmospheric water vapor to a mixture of salicylic acid and acetic acid. So chances are that salicylic acid is a component of the aspirin tablets in your medicine chest.
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¹Also known as 2-Acetoxybenzoic acid, acidum acetylsalicylicum, Acetilum Acidulatum, Acenterine, ortho-acetoxy-benzoic acid, etc.

[bob100]

Down south we have a guaranteed way for a person to NOT lick their lips. If you live on a farm, it is much easier to to do. All one need do is get a little (about the size of a Kennedy half dollar) of fresh chicken s--t and smear it on one's lips. I promise you, that you will cease licking your lips at that very instant, and more than likely, never lick them again.

[Jimbrowski]

1. That chicken s**t comment was nasty, I don't care how true it is.

2. I am a horn player (mostly trombone, I also play baritone & tuba). In high school, drum corps, and college band there was what I assumed to be an urban legend regarding Carmex. Specifically, it said that almost all lip balms were equally valuable at repairing/preventing chapped lips EXCEPT...... Carmex. Carmex was rumored to "numb your lips" to the point it interfered with your playing. Cecil mentions the "Carmex buzz" in his column, this must be it! I must admit that I have never in my life used Carmex based solely on the afore mentioned brass-player's urban legend. Now, however, I learn that it's clearly based in fact. Thanks Uncle Cecil!!!!

[Laughing Lagomorph]

I was surprised that the subject of psychological vs. physical addiction was not touched on. Is it possible that some of these people are addicted to the feeling of spreading and/or having of lip balm on their lips, rather than chemically dependent on some substance in the stuff?

[yabob]

Some previous discussion:

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/...threadid=47500
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/...threadid=47494

[jonfromdenver]

lagomorph,
i am totally with you on the psychological side of chapstick addiction. while i wouldn't call myself an addict, i use chapstick on a regualar basis, and for me, it's all a part of my oral hygiene. i can get extremely obsessive about this, from my 5-10 minute brushing routine in the morning to the chapstick and pack of winterfresh in my right pocket. so yes, i think it is all psychological, because i apply chapstick on the hour at least, and yet i have the same tendencies with gum and brushing. either that or everything i own is doused in heroine on a daily basis.

[pach]

I have broken myself of chapstick or other lip balm addiction a couple of times. Unfortunately if your lips get chapped you have to use the stuff.

My theory is that by putting it on you soften your lips own natural membrane making you more susceptible to chapped lips when you stop (or at least the feeling that your lips are dry).

If you can kick it for a couple days or at least dramatically reduce its use, perhaps only at night, your lips will strengthen and you will be no more susceptible to shaped lips than before.

[andros]

Unfortunately if your lips get chapped you have to use the stuff.

:shrug: If my lips get chapped, I stop licking them until they heal.

[Arnold Winkelried]

Welcome to the SDMB, bmorey, and thank you for posting your comment.

Please include a link to Cecil's column if it's on the straight dope web site. To include a link, it can be as simple as including the web page location in your post (make sure there is a space before and after the text of the URL).

Cecil's column can be found on-line at the link provided by bibliophage.

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moderator, «Comments on Cecil's Columns»

[bughunter]

Originally posted by Jimbrowski
2. I am a horn player [...] Carmex was rumored to "numb your lips" to the point it interfered with your playing.[/b]

I was a high school trombone player, too, and I distinctly recall that after a half hour or so of steady practice, buzzing your lips into that giant cup, your lips get numb anyway.

Hell, I can remember days where the entire bottom half of my face got numb!

[JohnNSS]

Far from being addictive, Chapstick is counter-addictive. I have stopped using it because it makes me feel mildly depressed when I use it. Not a good strategy for a product that is trying to be addictive!

[MysterEcks]

I'm a Blistex man, myself--I use it several times a day. It's not an addiction, and I don't habitually lick myself--I just have very dry lips*, to go along with very dry ankles and one very dry elbow. The ankles (at night, before I go to sleep) and the elbow get hand cream; the lips get Blistex.



*In part this is hereditary--my mother has the same problem. In part this is because I wash my moustache and beard with the same dandruff shampoo I use on my hair, and sometimes it gets on my lips--then they dry out even more and hurt like hell for several hours.

[flapcats]

It sounds like MysterEcks has excema - of which I have a mild version - typically if I eat a lot of chocolate.

I find that Betnovate cream will work on any area, *EXCEPT* the lips (Though I think it thins the skin) and clear it up for months on end after just a couple of night-time applications.

MysterEcks: Take multivitamin drinks, or fresh orange juice / fruit juice and cut down on milk products and get some sunlight (So your skin will produce more of its own vitamins) ... See if your dry skin goes.

:-)

[Ogre]

I'm not at all saying that I buy this explanation, but it seems more rational than the salicylic acid comment (which I'd never heard.)

I've always heard that Carmex is addictive because it contains alum, which is an astringent. Thus, it shrinks the tissues, leaving them feeling puckered and dry, leading you to use more lip balm.

[Qixotica]

In addition to what Ogre has mentioned about alum in Carmex, I would like to point this out as well...

Salicylic Acid is used in many things that don't really make me want to smear a nice portion of Carmex all over my lips. Acne facewash, acne rinses, acne cremes, dandruff shampoos, and even better: Corn and Wart remover!

Now when I saw this information here, I decided to look in my medicine cabinet at the bottle of Dr, Scholls Liquid Corn remover. Sure enough, "Active Ingredient: Salicylic Acid 12.6%" Now, this is surely a much higher percentage than what may be found in your average tin of Carmex, and Salicylic Acid may indeed be just "a componant of aspirin", but when you think about what it does to warts and corns, do you really want it soaking into your lips all day long, even at a small dosage?

Another point from the people who make the stuff: If you look on the Carmex Myths page, you will see they explain that "The only acid in Carmex is salicylic acid, which is closely related to aspirin. It serves as a pain reliever and an antiseptic. It also helps to dry cold sores." Now, if it helps to dry cold sores, what's to prevent it from drying out the rest of the skin it comes into contact with?

I would tend to think that much of the "Lip Balm addiction" stuff is psychological, but with ingredients like those found in Carmex, it makes you wonder if maybe, just maybe, some of the stories have merit.

[KidCharlemagne]

This psychological addiction stuff is absurd. Alcohol, Camphor, Phenol, and menthol are short term "feel good" measures that end up causing more irritation. It's not psychological if your lips are more irritated after the short term affects wear off. By the way, I dont believe this is some evil chapstick cabal, intended to keep Carmex rich and lips chapped. They are just taking advantage of the typical human behavior of seeking short term comfort at the expensive of long term comfort. Alcohol gives a cooling affect by evaporation. Menthol, Phenol, and Camphor are the equivalent of the hammer you hit your head with to stop your stubbed toe from hurting. They irritate the membranes of the lips, flooding the pain receptors and effectively fatiguing the acute sense of pain. When the short term affects wear off, your lips are dryer and more irritated than they were previously. Thats physiological not psychological. The spiral created by the reapplication of chapstick and consequent further irritation is worthy of being given the term "addictive."

[MysterEcks]

Thanks for the advice, flapcats. As it happens, I already drink a fair amount of V8 and OJ...but I love milk and its derivatives, and I'd rather have dry elbows than give it up. (I'm allergic to the stuff, and I haven't given it up for that reason either.)