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Petrolatum (the main ingredient in chapstick) is solidified petroleum jelly. Petroleum jelly's original purpose was to seal gaskets on submarines, because it is 100% waterproof. Now give that a moment to sink in (pun intended).
100% waterproof, on chapped lips. Lips that are lacking in moisture..meaning - water.. getting a waterproof seal preventing any moisture from entering them. Not only that, but also preventing any dirt from escaping out.
You are coating your skin with a moisture-proof barrier. It gives a *facade* (a false surface) of softness. But you have deprived your lips of moisture for the past few hours, and when it wears off, it's even worse, forcing you to add more to give it that facade of softness.
Burt's bees will do the same thing, because burt's uses beeswax - which is - you guessed it - 100% waterproof. And neither wax nor petroleum can absorb into the skin. They remain a barrier. That is their function.
What you need, is a humectant, or other absorptive emolliant. Nut and vegetable oils of any types, glycerine (vegetable or animal), propylene glycol, sorbitol, shea butter, jojoba oil (which is technically a liquid bean wax). All of these will absorb into the skin instead of being a barrier on top of it, and will allow water to absorb in as well. All of those things will provide moisture -and- softness, without feeling even worse when they wear off.
Yes, yes, and yes. You don't want to deprive your lips of moisture any more than you want to deprive your nasal passages of it, which is only one of the dastardly things the repeated use of nasal sprays do.
You can buy from them online or their website has a store locator — they're in lots of "natural foods" stores, such as Whole Foods, Sprouts, or Sunflower Farm Markets. The cosmetics store Alta also carries some Badger items. I've had good luck with their cuticle care balm. They also make a lot of baby products.
I think you'll find that once you replace some of the moisture in your lips you won't need to apply products as often.
This is interesting--years ago I heard Dr. Dean Edell commenting that there is actually such a phenomenon as lip balm addiction. The lips adapt to regular application of balm and becomes dependent on it, and dry & chapped without it. The human body seems to adapt to whatever we throw its way, whether lip balm, drugs, or marathon running. It's a curse and a blessing; I suppose our job is to figure out how to bring out the latter.
Dr. Hauschka makes the best lip balm on the planet.
Once you use Dr. Hauschka lip care stick (as they call it) nothing else will suffice.
I use 2-3 a month.
Pricey > $14 for a stick!
Dr. Hauschka skin care products are one of only a few extravagances that i indulge in.
Actually, I make pretty awesome lip balm. But it's not for sale. I use raw shea (karite) butter, jojoba oil, a drop of german chamomile and 2 drops lavender essential oils. I mash it all up in a little 1-ounce tupperware container. Can use it on my hands too, it's an all-purpose balm. It costs me 70 cents to make, not including the container which I re-use when it's empty.
Solid wax is cannot absorb into the skin. The purpose of beeswax, as an ingredient in skin preparations, is to provide a light film - or barrier - and soften the outer surface of the skin. Beeswax is not a liquid. Jojoba is. Beeswax is mixed with other ingredients to emulsify it, thus allowing it to spread onto the skin, rather than just falling off of it. Jojoba blends into the skin, because it is the closest thing to sebum that the plant world has. Beeswax does not blend into the skin, because it is nothing at all like sebum, it isn't compatible with sebum, and it is a solid - no matter what emulsifies it in a lip balm (typically lecithin).
There's nothing magickal about beeswax. Just because honey is amazingly healthful (unless you're an infant, or allergic), doesn't mean that any other aspect of a bee's productivity is healthful. It's not bad for you, but it doesn't really do anything especially good either. It's just wax. Same thing that some artists make candles with. You'd have the same result with temporarily soft skin if you used parafin. And that is why parafin is used to dip hands and feet in, at manicure/pedacure salons. It provides temporary softness to the outer surface of the skin. It does nothing to moisturize it.
when paraffin treatments are applied to the hands or feet, it is usually applied over an application of quality plant based oil/essential oil. the point of the paraffin is that it is hot and opens the pores so the oils absorb. a secondary benefit of paraffin is the heat, which penetrates deeply and relieves arthritis.
and i will do more research, as i am not convinced that jojoba is any better than beeswax.
do you have a link for that quote in your post to jukesgrrl?
when paraffin treatments are applied to the hands or feet, it is usually applied over an application of quality plant based oil/essential oil. the point of the paraffin is that it is hot and opens the pores so the oils absorb. a secondary benefit of paraffin is the heat, which penetrates deeply and relieves arthritis.
and i will do more research, as i am not convinced that jojoba is any better than beeswax.
do you have a link for that quote in your post to jukesgrrl?
What quote in which post to jukesgrrl? I didn't post anything to her. She responded to my post, and my post doesn't have a quote in it.
As for jojoba's function, see this wikipedia article - it words the explanation better than I can: Jojoba - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
and in particular, this section a little more than halfway down:
Quote:
Jojoba is grown for the liquid wax (commonly called jojoba oil) in its seeds.[3] This oil is rare in that it is an extremely long (C36-C46) straight-chain wax ester and not a triglyceride, making jojoba and its derivative jojoba esters more similar to human sebum and whale oil than to traditional vegetable oils.
(note: whale oil was typically used in beauty applications, in the past. It's been replaced primarily with vegetable oils which can go rancid, and jojoba oil, which is not known to go rancid because it is technically not an oil even though it behaves like it).
Beeswax does not behave like sebum, or or any other oil or fat, because it is not liquid, and it is wax. Jojoba is liquid, it isn't liquid because it's mixed with something to make it liquid, and it isn't liquid only when it's heated up. It is naturally liquid. Because beeswax is a solid, it -cannot- be absorbed into the skin. Even if it's heated up, it will harden once it's not hot anymore. Beeswax is not used as a carrier oil, or as a carrier anything. It is used as a barrier, a protective film. Jojoba is used as a carrier oil because it so closely resembles the body's own natural oil (aka sebum).
I have psoraisis, and found vaseline actually dries out my skin, rather than moisturize it. I found this works--
Bag Balm. Its made for cow's udders, which can dry out and crack. It says not for human use, but works just fine on us humans! You can buy it in 20 lb cans at feed and grain stores, but that's a little over the top! My posraisis isn't that bad! Plus, those big cans get contaminated, yeech!
You can buy small cans at places like Walgreens, etc. About a 5 0z can cost about $4-$5. Its in a bright green can, or you can order it online from Drugstore.com. Its sort of like a salve, has some antiseptic properties, too. I find it really helps the dry skin associated with psoraisis.
I have psoraisis, and found vaseline actually dries out my skin, rather than moisturize it. I found this works--
Bag Balm. Its made for cow's udders, which can dry out and crack. It says not for human use, but works just fine on us humans! You can buy it in 20 lb cans at feed and grain stores, but that's a little over the top! My posraisis isn't that bad! Plus, those big cans get contaminated, yeech!
You can buy small cans at places like Walgreens, etc. About a 5 0z can cost about $4-$5. Its in a bright green can, or you can order it online from Drugstore.com. Its sort of like a salve, has some antiseptic properties, too. I find it really helps the dry skin associated with psoraisis.
bag balm is a petrol product: (vaseline)
The active ingredients of Bag Balm are 8-hydroxyquinoline sulfate 0.3% (antiseptic) in a petroleum jelly USP and lanolin base.[2]
Oh that. No, I was quoting stevemorse, who said not to use petrol products. I quoted him, because I agree with him. Thus the statement "quoted for truth."
Also, Marylee, Bag Balm's #1 primary ingredient, is petroleum jelly. Vaseline is petroleum jelly. Also, its #2 ingredient is lanolin - which is basically the oil from sheeps' wool. It is one of the most (if not THE most) common allergens in cosmetics. If it works for your psoriasis, it's probably the antiseptic mixed in with all that garbage. However, you might find more effective treatment if you found that antiseptic in some other product.
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