Applying lip balm constantly retards your lips' ability to produce new cells?

We all know the skin on our lips is different from the skin on the rest of our body. However, according to thebeautybrains.com, applying too much lip balm on your lips retards new cell production as your body is not receiving enough signals to stimulate normal levels of turnover.

The main culprits cited are petrolatum (that's most lip balms out there) and beeswax (hello, lipsticks) because they are the most effective barriers from the environment.

(Source: methodsofhealing.com)

Of course, you should not be rushing out to snap up all those "organic" lip protectants. I don't see any studies that show that using petrolatum and beeswax products will impact your lip cell renewal more than other lip care products. The writer is, as far as I am concerned, only stating that those 2 ingredients are some of the most effective moisture barriers, and theoretically, might have the biggest impact on cell turnover.

Also, the rest of your face apparently does not react the way your lips do, so you SHOULD still moisturize or at least wear sunblock.

Read more about it at:

http://thebeautybrains.com/2006/05/16/are-you-addicted-to-lip-balm/

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Personally, I first started using lip balms when I was 11 and got massively chapped and cracked lips during a trip to the dryer parts of Western Australia. I probably began regular balm usage from about 17, after I started wearing lipsticks, and since then I can't go ANYWHERE without something on my lips.

It's definitely not psychological, as my lips will get very tight, sensitive and uncomfortable very quickly, and licking or rubbing them excessively will almost always guarantee rashes and raw redness.

On one hand, I would like to dispute this claim about lip balms retarding cell renewal, but now that I think back on it, my lips weren't always this parched and sensitive until I started wearing lip products regularly.

Well, I might do an experiment (more in later posts) and try to slowly wean myself off lip balms to see if my lips get less wimpy, but honestly I'm not sure how much help it would make considering I use lipstick almost daily.

Still, it's worth a shot probably!