# Chapstick Addiction Revisited **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [June 10, 2002, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chapstick-addiction-revisited/113322 "2002-06-10T22:34:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RobOz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9e8a1a/32.png) [@RobOz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobOz)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2002, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chapstick-addiction-revisited/113322/1 "2002-06-10T22:34:24Z")
I didn’t check the forums thoroughly, so hopefully this hasn’t already been brought to light. When I was younger, I was put on Acutane for my skin. This started to dry out the areas around my nostrils and my lips. The doctor had explained to me that this was going to be the case and to apply petroleum jelly to my nose area and chapstick to my lips. So, I get off the medication after a couple months and decide to stop using the Vaseline and chapstick. Dropping the Vaseline was no problem, but dropping the chapstick… Oh boy. I discovered that my lips weren’t producing moisture on their own anymore. In hindsight, I should have stopped right then since I had only been 2-3 months into the habit, but instead I continued on. It’s now years later and the few times I have tried to ween (spelling) myself from the chapstick, I find the pain is just annoying enough to keep me from sleep. Cosmetically, cracked lips aren’t very attractive either. So, perhaps it’s not a chemical addiction, but a subconscious urge for moisturization of your lips? That’s my theory and I’m sticking to it!!! : ) Have a great day. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2002, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chapstick-addiction-revisited/113322/2 "2002-06-11T02:51:07Z")
[Is it possible to be addicted to Chap Stick?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a981225.html). ---
**Author:** ![RobOz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9e8a1a/32.png) [@RobOz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobOz)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2002, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chapstick-addiction-revisited/113322/3 "2002-06-11T10:18:19Z")
I’m not sure why you posted that. I am going to assume it’s because you think I am unaware of the original content. That’s not the case. I was actually commenting further on the already existing reply of Cecil’s on the subject. It was left pretty much unanswered, so I thought I would share my theory with everyone. ---
**Author:** ![fgarriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c6cbf5/32.png) [@fgarriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fgarriel)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2002, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chapstick-addiction-revisited/113322/4 "2002-06-11T10:49:08Z")
He put it there because it’s a forum rule to put a link to the column we are talking about. It can get mighty confusing without them. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2002, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chapstick-addiction-revisited/113322/5 "2002-06-11T18:17:13Z")
Welcome to the SDMB, and thank thee for posting thy 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 thy 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 esteemed poster Duck Duck Goose (who is a she.) * * * moderator, «[**Comments on Cecil’s Columns**](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/forumdisplay.php?forumid=1)» ---
**Author:** ![RobOz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9e8a1a/32.png) [@RobOz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobOz)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2002, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chapstick-addiction-revisited/113322/6 "2002-06-11T20:11:29Z")
Oh okay! Sorry about the rule breakage and the misunderstanding. Thank you to the person who posted it for me! : ) ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2002, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chapstick-addiction-revisited/113322/7 "2002-06-11T21:16:41Z")
So your theory is that your lip cells have become accustomed to chapstick? Aren’t lip cells, like skin cells, constantly being regenerated? Or perhaps you just got out of the habit of licking your lips when you started using chapstick? ---
**Author:** ![Threadkiller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aca169/32.png) [@Threadkiller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Threadkiller)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2002, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chapstick-addiction-revisited/113322/8 "2002-06-11T22:18:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Arnold Winkelried Cecil’s column can be found on-line at the link provided by esteemed poster Duck Duck Goose (who is a she.) Or at least she _says_ that she is a she. ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2002, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chapstick-addiction-revisited/113322/9 "2002-06-11T23:44:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Arnold Winkelried \* > **So your theory is that your lip cells have become accustomed to chapstick? Aren’t lip cells, like skin cells, constantly being regenerated?** Yeah, I don’t think the OP has an airtight case either, but I don’t think it’s the actual skin cells that would cause the problem. Wouldn’t the sense of dryness be caused by some sort of nerve cell or something like that? ---
**Author:** ![RobOz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9e8a1a/32.png) [@RobOz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobOz)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2002, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chapstick-addiction-revisited/113322/10 "2002-06-12T02:11:04Z")
I believe there are actually glands that produce the moisture. They do react to nerves on the lips though. But if you were to take insulin via syringe eventually your pancreas would just stop working. This was explained to my by a doctor who was explaining about a period of the pancreas known as the Honeymoon period. So, it’s possible that the glands were sensing that there was always moisture and then stopped producing it. At some point they became useless. It’s definitely not just a ‘feeling’ of being dry as I have tried to quit chapstick on several occasions and I would get up to the 2 or 3 week mark of not using chapstick and my lips actually were dry, cracked, and bleeding. Not just feeling dried. So there is more to it than nerves, for sure. ---
**Author:** ![fgarriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c6cbf5/32.png) [@fgarriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fgarriel)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2002, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chapstick-addiction-revisited/113322/11 "2002-06-12T11:45:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RobOz \* > **I believe there are actually glands that produce the moisture. They do react to nerves on the lips though.** My lips are usually moistened by my salivary glands. > [@](#): > > So, it’s possible that the glands were sensing that there was always moisture and then stopped producing it. At some point they became useless. I use my salivary glands for more than moisturizer. > [@](#): > > It’s definitely not just a ‘feeling’ of being dry as I have tried to quit chapstick on several occasions and I would get up to the 2 or 3 week mark of not using chapstick and my lips actually were dry, cracked, and bleeding. Not just feeling dried. So there is more to it than nerves, for sure. No doubt this happened, but I would think you were just out of the habit of moistening your lips. Maybe layer of skin that you waxed for so long was too tender and unexposed to the elements… like the skin of a recently healed wound. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2002, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chapstick-addiction-revisited/113322/12 "2002-06-12T15:42:50Z")
From a dental site on [dry mouth](http://www.familydentcare.com/dry_mouth.htm) > [@](#): > > Vaseline and other petroleum based products are useless for [dry lips], and actually cause more cracking and peeling by leaching under the surface mucosa and lifting it off. This is why you occasionally get patients in that say they are “addicted” to Chapstik or vaseline on their lips. These products cause cracking and peeling, which the patients treat by putting on more Chapstik / vaseline, which causes more cracking and peeling, and on and on. > > Water based products for the lips (Blistex, Lypsol, KY jelly) don’t have this problem. The patient has to apply it to their lips more often because it is easier to lick off, but they don’t have the cracking / peeling problems of petroleum based products. The KY jelly is cheapest, and now they have a small purse / backpack size packaging which is handy. Just encourage your male patients to throw away the package insert… Yeah, you’re addicted to ChapStik, like your car’s vinyl is addicted to ArmorAll. ---
**Author:** ![fgarriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c6cbf5/32.png) [@fgarriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fgarriel)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2002, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chapstick-addiction-revisited/113322/13 "2002-06-12T20:27:21Z")
> [@](#): > > The KY jelly is cheapest, and now they have a small purse / backpack size packaging which is handy. great! I’ve finally got an excuse to give about that big tube of KY I keep in my backpack! ---
**Author:** ![lel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8797f3/32.png) [@lel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lel)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chapstick-addiction-revisited/113322/14 "2002-06-13T04:00:00Z")
Regarding the above quote by **Nametag** , does anyone know if people who are stuck in a cycle of oil-based lip product usage can break the habit by transitioning to water-based lip products and weaning themselves off the lip balm addiction that way? (Anything to get me away from this horrible addiction.) ---
**Author:** ![PBear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/839c29/32.png) [@PBear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PBear)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chapstick-addiction-revisited/113322/15 "2002-06-13T05:22:38Z")
I have long been dependent on (which, IMHO, is by far a more apt description than “addicted to”) lip balms of some sort. Call it psychosomatic if you like, but in my experience without them my lips dry, crust, and split. I have indeed found, though, that water-based products - I mainly rely on Lubriderm - are more effective than vaseline or wax based.