Do you find the more lip balm you apply, the more you need to apply?

Do you find some lip balms dry your lips out more?

Do you find some lip balms leave you with enlarged and blocked pores around your lips?

When I surveyed you on Instagram, I couldn’t believe how many of you were experiencing this too. The good news is there are some easy steps you can put in place to avoid this from happening (keep reading – this isn’t a product push I promise!). Let’s take a minute to discuss your lips and what you put on them – Information Is Key!

 

Let’s get to know your lips a little better

The skin on your lips is actually really, really different to the skin on the rest of your face. To start with, it is about 3-4 times thinner than the skin on your face. Your lips are about 3-5 skin cell layers thick compared to up to 16 layers everywhere else. This makes it very flexible and allows us to make ALL the expressions but doesn’t offer a lot of protection.

There is also no oil or sweat glands in your lips so again, they lack the same protection as the rest of your face. Unfortunately, this means your lips are much more likely to experience trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL) and are the first part of your body to feel the effects of dehydration especially when the weather turns on us.

 

News flash! Not all lip balms are created equal

Remember when everyone, in Australia at least, became attached to the little red tube of ‘Papaw’ balm? It became an Aussie staple, a handbag essential. But did you ever look at the ingredients on the back? You know we are big fans of the ‘turn and learn’ at SEEH Skincare.

So, while the marketing taglines claim the hero ingredient is freshly grown Queensland papaya, in actual fact the vast majority of the product is Petroleum jelly… made out of (you guessed it) petroleum. Sure, it’s refined and processed to within an inch of its life, but at the end of the day whatever healing benefits are contained in the ‘hero ingredient’ they only make up a small (very small) portion of the ointment. The rest is very cheap, very fossil fuel-based, hydrocarbons.

I don’t know about you… but I just don’t want that on my lips.

 

So why is it that the more I apply, the more I need to apply??

Petroleum Jelly is a really ineffective moisturiser. Mic Drop.

It’s made from crude oil and oil repels water. It cannot penetrate and hydrate the lips. It sits on the outside, creates a barrier and seals in any water from leaving the lips. BUT it also stops water from getting in and if you have dry lips, you need water and hydration to be drawn INTO your skin.

If you already have dry, chapped lips then petroleum jelly isn’t going to help one bit.

It’s also probably going to clog the pores around the mouth leading to blackheads and whiteheads…

 

SO, what do I do then?

Great question! You need to make a few changes. Most of them are easy, inexpensive but do take a bit of habit rewiring.

Firstly, ditch the petroleum jelly and find something that has humectants AND occlusives in it. The humectants will draw moisture from the air into the skin on your lips. Occlusives will help create that barrier that will seal that moisture in.

Look for humectant ingredients like Glycerin, Hyaluronic Acid, Sodium PCA, Sodium Lactate, Aloe, Panthenol or Honey and Lanolin if you aren’t worried about vegan/cruelty-freeness. Shea Butter is actually a humectant and an occlusive – two birds, one stone!

You should also up the water intake and look at getting a humidifier in your room if you live in a dry environment. Mouth breathing also doesn’t help.

Exfoliating your lips (if they aren’t too sore) can also help to remove flaky skin and allow your *new and improved, humectant-rich* products to penetrate deeper and be more effectively.

Now for the small product push (sorry I had to!). Our LUSCIOUS Lip Treatment Balm is designed with ALL this information in mind so you don’t have to worry about a thing. It contains humectants (Shea Butter, plant-based Lanolin and Glycerin derivatives), as well as barrier healing and repairing Calendula, Olive, Avocado and Vitamin E oils. 

The careful formulation is able to hold 400% of its weight in water, so it’s both hydrating and moisturising, drawing in water to repair dry, chapped lips and locking that water in to prevent water from escaping the skin barrier.

 

Hope that helps lovelies 😊 If you ever struggle with any skin related concerns, please let us know and we will do our best to help!

Lots of Love

Sophie

xx

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