Oh lip balm. The thing that saves our lips, and our lives, in more ways than one. From soothing our burnt lips after a long day in the sun (yes, sunburnt lips is a thing and it's brutal) to easing our chapped frost-bitten lips, lip balm really does work wonders. Some even love it as a base for their favorite lip stick too. It seems like lip balm does everything! In fact, it does so much, we can't just have one. We probably have about five different lip balms lying in our purse and even more around the house that we don't know of (those things seem to run away the second we fall in love.)
Have you ever come across that one kind of chapstick though that seems to make your lips worse over time?! Been there, done that and we would not wish that annoyance on anyone. It's a vicious cycle that never ends. Your lips are chapped, you apply the lip balm and they just become more chapped, so you apply more. It does not end. Thanks to a recent discovery by StyleCaster, we now know why this dreadful cycle happens (well, it doesn't have to happen, but it does if you choose the wrong kind of lip balm.) Some of your trusted lip balms actually dry out your lips instead of help them!
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The reason for this issue? One ingredient, humectants, which can be found in the form of glycerin and hyaluronic acid. While your dry lips do need humectants to retain moisture, you also need a product that has occlusive ingredients, like bees wax and shea butter. The occlusive ingredients help keep your lips from getting drier and more chapped. Occlusive ingredients are found in Vaseline and Aquaphor. By finding a lip balm that includes both humectants and occlusive ingredients, your lips will be able to withstand anything that come their way. So next time you shop for lip balm, look for a brand that has both of these ingredients. Otherwise, you may end up with a set of forever chapped lips and no one wants that.