Chapstick's Anonymous - Seek help here

[Andre]

Hello, my name is Andre, and I am a chapstickaholic.


The steps:

1. We admitted we were powerless over chapstick.

2. Came to believe that raw food can restore us to sanity.

3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of raw food as we understood the value of its nurishment.

4. Humbly consumed raw foods to restore moisture developement in our lips.


.... you get the idea, lol.


Okay, I've been a user for over 10 years. I would bring chapstick around with me everywhere I went. If I forgot to bring it my lips would dry and I'd go through withdrawl and freak out until I got my fix. It's been quite the addiction. One day at work I realised I forgot it, I asked the boss for an early lunch to purchase more. That was embarassing. The only reason he understood is because he had a friend that 'needed' chapstick all the time as well...

Each spring when the weather is hot (moist - less dry) I make a vow to myself quit chapstick forever. Now, with my skin in better condition that it's been in several years, I'm ready for the challenge.

I've chapstick-free for 3 days! :D My lips are a little dry and I've been biting them, but I'm hanging in there!


Anyways, in all seriousness I do wanna give chapstick the boot. So I thought I'd post about it for anyone else who might be interested.

[shashibala]

I'm not sure if you want an alternative, or just want to go cold turkey, but coconut oil is very nice for lips. You only need it once a day, though! You probably wouldn't want to carry the jar with your everywhere, so it would be self limiting.
Good Luck!

[christofu]

I use comfrey salve as needed. It's really greasy,:p but the healing qualities are exceptional. I leave it on my dresser and apply it in the a.m., and before bed.

[lafsalot]

You are not alone Andre. Check out Lucy's thread: http://rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?t=30377&highlight=chapstick+addiction

Cathy

[Conscious Midwife]

Shea butter has a firmer consistency than olive oil and might make a great transitionary topical treatment.

[Andre]

Wow, I'm NOT alone, lol. * wipes sweat off head and slows breathing *...

I just decided to stop using the lip balm right away. I think I'll be okay. Most people never use lip balm, so I know it's not necessary to use it. And for $1.50-$5.00 per tube? These companies know we'll pay it. :rolleyes:

I don't wanna use anything. I'll give my body a chance to work it's magic. I believe that if the internal body is taken care of then the external body body will follow suit. That's why I don't use things like hand moisterizers, hair, conditioner, facial soaps, toothpaste, and so on. Food is my medicine.

At last resort I'll use coconut oil, but I don't wanna do that.

[juliebove]

I used to be an addict. In my case I think my mom didn't help me much. As a child, she was always getting after me for my peeling lips and making me put on Chapstick.

By the time I was an adult, I switched to other brands of lip balm, but I still had to have it. I'd have to wear either that or lipstick. Then one day, everything started giving me trouble. I could not wear any kind of lipstick. My lips got covered with blisters and were badly peeling.

I know now that I am allergic to almonds and chances are, I was using something with sweet almond oil. I didn't know of the allergy back then.

I didn't know what to do and searched the Internet. I found something that told me to put cortisone cream on my lips. I did, and no more chapped lips.

For years, I didn't need to put any kind of balm on my lips at all. Now I do, sometimes.

[RawHeaven]

Your post made me smile Andre. I've been using it since I was a teenager. I have a stick in all of my bags. :D Burt's bees peppermint is my favorite. I'm not giving up my chapstick anytime soon. Actually I believe it also protects my lips from the sun, keeps them nice and soft too. I never thought about it, but perhaps I'm emotionally attached. LOL. hahaaa.

[klomasius]

Haha!

your post reminds me of the day I realised that lip balms are actually the CAUSE of the dry lips they supposedly ease!

I've never been a regular 'user' (hehe) but I sold them as part of my vegan business and a customer told me about the fact they actually caused the dryness and peeling and it clicked in my head.

I decided to experiment, so I got a lip balm (it was a natural vegan mix of oils and waxes) and used it for a week, then went cold turkey. Sure enough, my lips cracked and started peeling, even though I'd not had a problem with this before!

So I'm sure your body will heal itself and you'll be rid of your addiction, and you are far from alone, I've known many who always had to have a stick of it with them at all times.

Nowadays, when I remember, I might use a stick of cocoa butter I have for stretch marks on my lips, it moistens and softens them, but doesn't seem to bring on the same cracked/peeling reaction.

Thanks for the funny post! :D

[jacsam]

I'm not sure if you want an alternative, or just want to go cold turkey, but coconut oil is very nice for lips. You only need it once a day, though! You probably wouldn't want to carry the jar with your everywhere, so it would be self limiting.
Good Luck!
I too was just going to suggest a little coconut oil....whenever I make something that has it in it, I wipe out the measuring cup and enjoy it on my skin.

[Andre]

Haha!

your post reminds me of the day I realised that lip balms are actually the CAUSE of the dry lips they supposedly ease!

I've never been a regular 'user' (hehe) but I sold them as part of my vegan business and a customer told me about the fact they actually caused the dryness and peeling and it clicked in my head.
That's exactly it. They cause the dryness. This is why I didn't use any kind of moisterizer creams, even when my hands were cracking and bleeding - ouch :( . I knew it could only make them crack and bleed more in the long run. Now that I went raw I have no cracking or peeling anywhere on my body.

It's what you put INSIDE that helps the OUTSIDE. There is no need for special creams and ointments for our skin at all. The idea of putting any cream on my face seems unnatural, even if it's a natural cream.

To put it simply, whatever product/suppliment you use, you'll need to use it for life because your body will adjust through homeostasis. After you stop using it you'll get a proportional adverse reaction for some amount of time.

This is why I only take a very small amount of suppliments B12 and iron. That's it. I realise that I will be taking them for life, and I'm okay with that.

[GoingtoRAW]

I am not a Chapstickaholic...but my two daughters are. OMG they won't leave the house without it. I had heard about this before seriously but I didn't think it was for real. Unfortunately my girls are not open to using anything "natural" or "organic" to help relieve their dry lips. Even if I told them that those balms actually don't help they wouldn't believe it or care. What to do? What to do?:(

[Andre]

I've been lip-balm-free for a week - Woohoo! :D

At first my lips cracked a little and I bit them, leaving them red and fleshy, bleeding abit too. They are almost all healed up now and the best news is that they don't feel dry all day. Only a couple times a day I licked them to moisten them.

Now they feel like they have a light coat of lip balm on them anyways - natural lip balm! ;) If I had to take a guess as to what's helping my skin the most I'd say it was the avocado's. I have one per day for my fats.

It feels nice to have one less thing in my pocket.


I am not a Chapstickaholic...but my two daughters are... What to do?:(
You're their mother so they likely won't listen to you. I would suggest you telling them what you heard, not as advice, but just in conversation. Just use one short sentence to tell them or you'll sound like a preacher. They can then decide the next step for themselves.

That's all you can do.

[queenfluff]

I am not a Chapstickaholic...but my two daughters are. OMG they won't leave the house without it. I had heard about this before seriously but I didn't think it was for real. Unfortunately my girls are not open to using anything "natural" or "organic" to help relieve their dry lips. Even if I told them that those balms actually don't help they wouldn't believe it or care. What to do? What to do?:(


Do you daughter's use the Chapstick brand?


You might want to tell them that it is half petroluem which is a by product of the oil industry. Not to mention all the other baddies in there that are cancer causing.

Inactive ingredients
arachidyl propionate, camphor, carnauba wax, cetyl alcohol, D&C red no. 6 barium lake, FD&C yellow no. 5 aluminum lake, fragrance, isopropyl lanolate, isopropyl myristate, lanolin, light mineral oil, methylparaben, octyldodecanol, oleyl alcohol, paraffin, phenyl trimethicone, propylparaben, titanium dioxide, white wax

Chapstick does have a new line of 100% natural chapsticks that doesn't have any baddies in it. Apparently the new line isn't tested on animals. I don't know if there other chapsticks are but I think they might be.

Why don't you buy them a bunch of the new line of Chapsticks?

[shashibala]

Andre, Congratulations on your new found freedom from lip crack, um balm!!
What a scam the "beauty" industry has going on. Almost as bad as the processed food industry passing off frightening food like products as food.

[Erika]

I just wanted to tell you that you really aren't alone. I'm an addict too. My "drug" of choice is carmex. I've been using it since I was a little girl. I have about 5 jars and 3 tubes in the house right now. There's always one by the bed with me at night, in my purse, in the bathroom drawer, in the medicine cabinet, in a box on the coffee table and probably a few other places. I have to have back ups in case the one I use daily runs out. I actually never let it run out because I will buy two tubes at a time. I just recently switched to burts bees. I think it's a little more friendly for me to use. I haven't gotten to the point of not having to have it and besides I just gave up smoking so one thing at a time for right now. Anyway, for me... I lick my lips out of habit or even when I don't lick them I always breathe out of my mouth and I can feel the air come across on my lips. This feeling bothers the crap out of me and I use the chap stick to cover the feeling. I've become addicted to the menthol though. If I put it on and the menthol wears off, I'll wipe the carmex off and apply some more. I can go through a tube in a month easy. I don't really like the texture or thickness of the burts bees but I'm dealing with it. Well, just wanted to share my story.

Erika

[ness.123]

I have been a lip gloss addict for as long as I can remember.....I used to use chapstick but switched to blistex. I have a little tub of it in each room of the house and in my purse etc. It really and truly is an addiction. Good for you for giving it up - I wish I could say the same.......

[Veganforlife]

http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?t=30377

I've cured myself of this "addiction"