Lip Balm Addiction

Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports
1

I think Unca Cece might have missed a key point in this column:
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/981225.html
Here’s my theory -
Sure nothing in lip balm is addictive. However, people use lip balm to moisten their lips. Might it not be that, if you use lip balm constantly, your body no longer gets signals that it needs to secrete whatever fluids it normally does to keep the lips moist? After a while, wouldn’t the natural lip-moistening mechanism shut down, and therefore lip balm addicts become dependent on artificial moistening of the lips?

Sua

2

I find it highly doubtful, Sua. I don’t know the actual mechanics by which the body maintains lip moisture, but I’m not aware of anything being secreted.

That web site Cecil mentions about lip balm addicts is fascinating, though. I haven’t visited it it since the column first came out, but if it’s still active, it deserves to be a Wierd Earl. It is the first time I’ve seen something and genuinely could not tell whether it was a joke or not. They did have a few real points, however. Most lip balms do have either an irritant (like camphor) or some flavoring agent, which encourages the user to lick his lips more, drying them out again. If someone were especially prone to this, they could become “addicted” (in a very loose sense of the word) to lip balm, a fact that the manufacturers undoubtedly take deliberate advantage of.

3

Hello. Following you over from GQ.

That could be the case, I suppose, but there’s a lot of products you can “get used to” one way or another, and be uncomfortable when not using them, through a variety of mechanisms. Somebody over in GQ had an “is underwear really neccesary?” question - I feel uncomfortable when I go without my briefs because I’m used to having my testicles supported. Am I “addicted” to briefs?

I would say it’s closer to the mark that many people can develop an obsessive behavior pattern regarding lip balms - and after a while they just don’t like the way their lips feel without the gunk on them. I will concede that there might be some physical change with long term use that exacerbates the effect, though I would expect it would correct itself relatively quickly. Whether the pattern is really a problem or not is probably up to the individual, and people who have to live with the individual.

Partially a semantic issue - we are devaluing the word “addiction” to make it cover cases of obsession.

4

I agree that this is more likely, and if this is the case, your comment about devaluing the word “addiction” is spot on. Alan, I too do not know what, if any, lip-moistening mechanisms exists. If it is simply saliva and a matter of licking your lips to moisten them, then my theory goes out the window.
Any biologists/M.D.'s out there who have dedicated their lives to the mystery of moist lips who can speak to the issue?
Sua

5

Hi. My name is Redtail, and I’m a recovered Carmex addict. <Hi Redtail!>
Seriously, I was physically addicted to Carmex - not any bizzaro weird or mental stuff, just that if I didn’t re-apply the stuff at least a dozen times daily, my lips HURT! Getting that Carmex monkey off my back took several weeks of burning, stinging, aching lips. Then I was dumb enough to start again!

But I’m proud to report that I’ve been clean and dry for many years now. :stuck_out_tongue:
I’ve never really had problems with any other brands of lipbalm, just the evil Carmex. But then again, that was the only kind I used, so I can’t really compare.

The ‘addictive power’ of Carmex was well-known amongst all of my friends. Well, ok, we didn’t make up freakazoid theories about them putting in addictive ingredients (except as a laugh), but we all had the same problem with not being able to stop because it hurt so much to go without. We just figured the stuff dried out your lips really badly, while keeping them gunked up enough that you didn’t realize it until you stopped. I have a good friend that still carries Carmex everywhere he goes, just as I did 15-20 years ago. I quit; he didn’t and has been using Carmex daily for all of that time.

I would guess that the phenomenon is the same sort of dry-skin problem that many people experience from excessive exposure to detergent or other chemicals (aka “dishwashing hands”).
So no, my problem was NOT “obsessive behavior”, thank you very much. It was a purely physical problem. The longer you used Carmex, the more often you used it, and the longer it took to quit hurting when you stopped using it.

As far as ‘devaluing’ the word addiction, the online dictionaries state:

addiction n
1: being abnormally dependent on something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming
1: The quality or condition of being addicted
2: Compulsive physiological need for a habit-forming substance

Since it was physically habit-forming and I was abnormally dependent, I’d say it qualified as an addiction. Was it a serious, life-threatening addiction? No, of course not. Neither is my caffeine addiction, my addiction to the written word, nor (shall I say it?) my addiction to SDMB ;). Was it so addictive that I couldn’t stop? No, but I did have withdrawal symptoms.
The best cure I’ve found for chapped lips is to stay hydrated (I used to drink NO water at all). If your lips start chapping, you can gently scrub them with a soft toothbrush or wet washcloth to remove the dried-out skin before it peels. (IME, when it peels off by itself, it tends to take more ‘good’ skin with it and compound the whole problem.) But then again, there are just times (e.g., deep winter or post-sun frolic) when they’re just a-gonna be chapped. Pure aloe vera (I use the bottled gel due to my complete black thumb) seems to help chapped skin no matter where on my body it is.
But y’know, that heroin line from the Carmex guy was almost funny enough to make me consider giving them my money again. Anyone who would answer like that is someone I could get along with.

I haven’t read the lipbalm website - is it actually amusing enough to be worth it, or is it just another website by a bunch of clueless idjits with a ‘cause’?

6

Clueless idiots, I’d say.
These people should be told that you spread the stuff on your lips-you don’t smoke it.
http://www.kevdo.com/lipbalm/home.html

Some people just have naturally dry skin-like me, and my dad. In the winter, my hands get so dry and cracked they BLEED…I have to use handcream, and not cheap, scented stuff either. A couple of times they were so bad I had to use vegetable oil and vaseline. NOT FUN…stupid sensitive skin I inherited from my dad…thanks DAD!!!

7

psst - Redtail… you ever try Blistex? I had quite a… problem with that some years back.

8

Hi Jillgat! Welcome to Lipbalm Anonymous.

Well, back in the day I was a one-trick pony. Ya couldn’t get Blistex on me short of a straightjacket. I thought the stuff tasted nasty. The only thing worse was Chapstick, which felt like a candle softened with earwax.

However, I’ve just gone to check my secret stash, er, I mean, medicine cabinet and I’m afraid that I must report ownership of one tube of the dreaded Blistex. Berry flavor, no less. That last item being the reason, actually. It’s the one flavor I’ve found that no one will steal.

Yeah, actually, I’ve noticed the same problem with it. I just don’t use it very often, so I’ve never gotten really hooked. If I run it for several days in a row, though, I’ll start seeing the symptoms and have to do an intervention on myself.

I’m afraid to try Carmex again. Ya just never know, y’know?

:smiley:

9

One word–Chapstick.

You can buy it over the counter everywhere. You don’t need a prescription, you don’t have to ask the clerk to unlock a cabinet, and best of all, your kids won’t steal it and experiment with it. (And if they do, it won’t hurt them, just make them smell like Cherry or Spearmint for a while.)

10

My name is Beruang, and I’m “addicted” to Chapstick. Have been since I was 8 and sucked my lips compulsively until they were raw. Chapstick eased the pain, and was convenient enough to carry around all day.

For me, it’s a purely psychological addiction. If I walk out of the house without Chapstick, I’m absolutely fine – until I realize I don’t have my little tube. Then I suddenly get an irresistable urge to lick my lips. I now keep extra tubes stashed everywhere – at work, at home, in suitcases and briefcases (in case I go somewhere and forget my tube).

Once in high school I decided this was silly, threw out my tube, and went to school. I was in agony. I got home, ran to the trash can, and rumaged through it until I found my tube. Instant relief.

So there’s my sad and degrading story. I hope my wretched example serves as a warning to all you youngsters out there who are thinking of experimenting with Chapstick. Oh, sure, you might think it’s cool now. Just wait until you’re a pathetic old geezer, struggling to support a two-tube-a-year habit.