Hi, I’m 15 and have been gradually getting more addicted to lip balms for the last 10 years. It has come to the point where I can no longer go 20 minutes with out the need to apply lip balm. I find your site very supportive, however there is no advise on how to quit lip balms. Please could you post a step by step method on how to stop, opposed to your current 12 step program that does not help the user stop their addiction.

Thank you for the help the LBA has already given me and I hope I will be able to post my story when I quit in the optimistic future.

Yours sincerely, Alfie S. (addict)

Our Recovery page lists three methods: Cold Turkey, Weaning, and the 12 Steps. The first two don’t really lend themselves to the step method you’re asking for.

• Cold Turkey Step One: Stop using
• Cold Turkey Step Two: there is no step two.

Weaning inherently has a step process, but this will differ quite a bit from person to person.

There’s a reason by the 12 Steps exist. For some people that’s the only way to overcome their addictions to lip balm. It doesn’t work for everyone, though, which is why we do mention these other techniques. If you have any other ideas, just leave a comment below.

Candor Entertainment is looking to help people get over their obsessions and addictions.  We are a production company in Los Angeles, and we are casting for a new TV show about people who are fanatical about something to the point it has started to have a negative impact on their lives.  It can be anything from Harry Potter to The Red Sox to Lip Balm.  The aim of the show is to help people let the negative thing stop running their lives.  If interested, tell us about it at entertainment.candor@gmail.com.

I am addicted to chapstick, I have been for years. I am on day two of not wearing any. My lips haven’t had moisturizer for 2 days and they are in terrible pain.

I am just wondering, after I get better…when I wear lipgloss  or lipstick (down the road) I am scared I will fall into the same habit with those or go back to chapstick. Have you heard of any cases like this?

Have we heard of this? Of course we have.

Among the reasons for lip balm addiction are the psychological feelings one gets when you start your ritual of covering the lips. For some, trading lip balm for lip gloss or lipstick equates to someone addicted to drinking beer switching to wine. At the same time, lipstick especially will form a barrier between your lips and the elements. So, you definitely need to be careful to keep your use within appropriate limits.

Unless there is a professional reason to use lip gloss, however, we’d recommend staying away. Many of these are flavored, which only adds to the impact of “glossing.”  These are essentially more viscous versions of lip balm anyway, so if you’re trying to cut the habit this isn’t much of a step.

Hope your sobriety continues.

I have used lip balm several times a day for years  – it just seemed to me that my lips were a little dry and a little lined compared to models and I wanted them to look plump and smooth. I figured make-up manufacturers add powder to lipstick to get it to stay on, which dries my lips out, and the pictures of models lips were air-brushed, so I was never concerned about it.  I saw your website and thought it was interesting, but since I had reasons for my lips being dry and wanted them to look nice under my lipstick, again, I was not concerned.

I went to the doctor yesterday for a one year follow up appointment and skin check after having a little basal cell carcinoma (skin cancer) last year. She asked if my lips were dry a lot and I told her that they were. She took a closer look and said that my entire lower lip appeared to have sun damage and pre-cancerous activity. She said it needed to be treated aggressively because pre-cancerous activity in the lip area can turn into cancer quickly. She prescribed a medication that I am using now to treat this condition. It will be interesting to see what my lips are like afterward.

I don’t want to scare any one, but I thought about your website and whether there might be others who, like me, thought they just had dry lips, when it could actually be something else and thought I would just pass the word along. I had the same dry lips a year ago when I was diagnosed with the basal cell carcinoma, but that doctor apparently didn’t notice the lips, and I had no idea that dry lips could be a symptom of a pre-cancerous condition.

This is a great example of what we’ve always said, which is to see a doctor rather than “self medicating” with Chap Stick or even “medicated” lip balms. In these cases, the doctor may prescribe a lip balm to reduce the dryness of the lips. If so, that’s fine… but once your lips are moist then it’s time to cut back on the balm!

After ten years of a crippling addiction to Blistex, I am finally free.  My name is Sarah and I am fifteen years old.  When I was at the tender age of just five, my poor, uninformed mother noticed that my little lips were badly chapped.

And so the addiction began.

Blistex Lip Medex

I can recall several mornings when we were standing outside my house, and I would suddenly exclaim, “Mommy!  I FORGOT TO PUT ON LIP MEDICINE!”  Little drama queen (and addict) that I was, I would proceed to scream, cry, and wave my little pudgy arms in practical hysteria as my dear mother sprinted into the house, grabbed the little barrel of evil, sprinted back outside to her bawling daughter, and applied it to my dependent lips, all before the bus even arrived to take me to Kindergarten.  Over the years, it saddens me to tell you that my addiction only worsened.  Blistex became my constant companion, always ready and eager to soothe my lips (and my soul).  Sadly, I had no idea of the danger of my obsession until my mother happened to inform a friend of hers of how much I adored Blistex.  He quirked an eyebrow and wondered suspiciously, “When she puts it on, does it tingle?”  My mother, of course, had no idea what he could mean by this strange question, and when she relayed it to me, I, too, was oblivious.  Finally, the turning point in my painful addiction:  I happened to Google “dependence on Blistex,” and a world opened up to me.  I discovered that there were two dangerous ingredients in Blistex, Camphor and Menthol (which cause a tingling sensation), that had led not only to a weakening of my poor lips but also to further dryness, thus increasing my want (and need) for the malevolent Blistex.

I was distraught; I had nowhere to turn.  How could I destroy my addiction when it had all but consumed me?

Finally, the heavens smiled upon me:  I stumbled upon Lip Balm Anonymous.  Without your fantastic web site and liberating 12-step program, I would surely be applying Blistex at this very moment!  I just had to write you and thank you for the wondrous new life you have given me!  “Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, I’m free at last!”

Very Sincerely and with Many Thanks,
Sarah

Nominally to celebrate Burt’s 25 years in the business, the company is giving away 1,000 free tubes each day for 25 days.

The giveaway starts anytime between 9 a.m. and 12 noon EDT but no one knows exactly when! To equal the odds and give you the fairest chance at a free balm, we’ve randomized the giveaway to start anytime between 9 a.m. and 12 noon EDT. It could be anytime. For instance — it may be 9:15 AM one day, 10:25 AM the next, or 11:51 AM the day after! We don’t know either - and that’s what makes it fun! And if you don’t get it one day, you’ll get your chance. The balm giveaway goes through June 20, 2009.
www.burtsbees.com

I’m not sure what the point of this rotating starting time is, other than to increase hits on their website. It surely will frustrate some looking for their free hit, though we can’t say that people who give up after missing their deal are worse off. 

Burt's Bees Lip Balm

My father was a carmex user, my boyfriend a blistex guy - I try to warn him that his natural lips will lose their ability to self moisturize, but he denies that.Any ideas what kind of profits these guys make?
Amy L.

Carmex is marketed both as a lip balm and primarily as a cold sore remedy. As such, Carmex and other “medicated” lip balms actually dry out your lips as a way to treat cold sores. So, your boyfriend is wrong.

In terms of profits, Carmex is a privately held company and does not release financial statements. Paul Woelbing, grandson of Carma Labs founder Albert Woelbing, says “We sell Carmex for the lowest price possible, which allows us to make a reasonable profit.” (answers.com).

I just ran across a news article on Yahoo.com about your website, so I took a look at it.  I’m just wondering what all the hype is about.  So people use chapstick–big deal!  I can understand someone being worried if they’re putting it on every 5 minutes or something, but I don’t put it on that often.  I always have it with me so I can put it on when I need it, but I don’t use it excessively.  On the rare occasions when I run out of chapstick, my lips feel too try after a while, and it gets worse the longer I have to wait.  But if I have it with me, I just put it on a few times throughout the day, and I’m fine.  Why would I want to stop using it? 
Sabrina K. 

Not everyone who uses ChapStick becomes addicted, just as there are many who can drink socially without becoming alcoholics. Looks like you’re in this camp.

When I first saw your web site on Yahoo, I thought it was a joke.  How could someone be addicted to lip balm?  I had been using it for a decade and I did not believe that I was addicted.  It started with Bonne Bell flavored lip balm when I was a young teen, and I have been using it ever since.  It was always in my pocket and if I left the house without it, I would have to go buy more.  I decided to become more aware of how often I was using it, I realized that I sometimes put it on with out even thinking about it.  It turns out that every 30 minutes, I had to reapply.  I knew I had to stop, I spoke with the my friends and they only use it once maybe twice a day.  I immediately made the switch to pure vaseline because my lips would dry out so much they would bleed.  It has now been over a month and I use vaseline four times a day, my goal is to get that down even more.

Thank you for creating this site and making me aware that I had a problem. 
Stephanie D. 

It’s stories like yours that illustrate the life-changing benefits of a site such as this one. Keep going with your weaning and best of luck for a full recovery.

It’s a shame that you trivialize 12 step programs with your silliness. Unlike yours, these programs have saved people’s lives — like mine.
Sue F. Fort Wayne IN

At LBA we take a live-and-let-live position on a variety of subject, silly or serious. We take our addiction seriously, but we don’t have an attitude where others can’t have fun. Look, clearly, balm addiction isn’t as serious as addictions to other substances like alcohol or hard drugs.

Lip balm addiction

I THINK The Washington Post article “Kiss your lip balm addiction goodbye” that appeared in The Argus on May 11 is the most irresponsible and deceiving article you have ever printed.

The writer probably never has had sun poisoning on her lips or cancer, or just dried, cracked lips.

I am 75 years old and I think lip balm is the best thing ever invented, and that it should not be considered an addiction.

The connotation of this article was really bad.

Pat Finn
Fremont

With a harshly worded letter  like that I thought I’d look at the article to form my own judgement.

Get over your lip balm addiction

By Julia Feldmeier 
The Washington Post

Let’s make a list of the important things you need before walking out the door: Wallet: Check. Cellphone: Check. Keys: Check. Lip balm?

You slap your back pocket. Nope. Rummage through your bag. Nada.

This is a problem. A huge, paralyzing problem. You are a lip balm addict, after all. And you are not alone.

Okay, I guess we know where this article is headed. And it’s off to a good start. Huge, paralyzing problem indeed. The article then mentions the plethora of online support groups including a link to our site here at LBA. But then the article continues…

The thing is, lip balm isn’t addictive. Nothing in these products drives you to be physiologically dependent. Nevertheless, there are steps you can take to reduce your compulsion to apply the stuff

Wait a minute. If it isn’t addictive, why are you offering advice to reduce “compulsion?”  The advice is good, though. Don’t lick your lips - long a hallmark of the advice we have dispensed here. A dermatologist also recommends using subblock on your lips. Sunblock, the ingredient that Pat Finn of Fremont should have been using on  her lips to prevent cancer, not plain old lip balm. Of course, Finn complained about the premise lip balm addiction but the article says it doesn’t exist. Hmm. Never mind.

Finally, think about whether it’s the product or the behavior. Lip balm may not cause a physiological dependence, but as an addictive behavior, it’s no less relevant if it leads you to make lifestyle changes, says Carl Lejuez, director of the Center for Addictions, Personality and Emotion Research at the University of Maryland.

So, if you’re arriving late to meetings because you were searching for your ChapStick, you may want to do something about it. Lejuez recommends replacing the lip balm habit with another. Every time you’re compelled to apply lip balm, reach instead for, say, your water bottle. Most of us don’t drink enough water anyway, and the hydration will only help your lips.

Well, sounds like Lejuez isn’t exactly denying lip balm addiction. And as a director of a research center about addictions he probably know what he’s talking about. In any case, drinking more water probably isn’t bad advice and if it saves just one person from falling down the path of addiction then why not. Drink up!