The beauty advice that made me throw away lip balms forever

I've always had a turbulent relationship with the skin on my lips. 

Even as a kid, every winter was marred with the pain of cracking skin, and my mother chiding me for picking at it. As I got older and realised the necessity of drinking water, the problem became slightly more manageable. Also, I now had disposable income and could buy whichever lip balm I pleased.

Despite this, I would still often experience lips so cracked that they'd bleed. It stopped me from wearing lipstick in the winter months, and forced me to drink more water and apply more products.

It turns out that experimenting with various lip balms might be just as detrimental as forgetting to drink water or moisturise. Earlier this year, I spoke to PhD scientist and former registered nurse, Dr. Michele Squire from Qr8 Mediskin about managing dry, winter skin, and her comments on lip dryness stuck out to me.

After our chat, I bought a 100g tub of Vaseline, and I have used it on my lips almost every day since. Now, I won't even look sideways at another lip balm. Why experiment when you've found perfection?

NOTE: Prices are accurate at time of publishing.

Vaseline Original Petroleum Jelly

Just $5.99 here

What is Vaseline?

Vaseline is made entirely of petroleum jelly (which has zero links to petrol, by the way). It's made up of mineral oils and waxes, which form a jelly-like substance.

It was created by Robert Cheesebrough, who discovered the substance inside rod wax, a substance found inside oil rig pumps. Oil workers would use it to treat cuts and burns, which inspired him to take samples, eventually extract the usable petroleum jelly, and sell it as Vaseline.

The patent dates back to 1872. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Why use Vaseline?

It turns out that some lip balm ingredients can irritate the skin, which leads to a cycle of cracked lips.

"People get lip balm addictions primarily because they create this cycle … my lips get cracked, I put this balm on, my lips get cracked," Dr Squire tells 9Product Reviews.

"It's because the lip balm, in some instances, is actually causing the chafing.

"You're getting like a contact dermatitis to the lip balm ... and that's usually when it contains things like menthol and camphor, or essential oils, peppermint, those types of things," she explains.

Dr Squire goes on to say you want something 'bland' and 'thick', and Vaseline is the best option.

"It's the best thing for holding water in the skin ... it provides an instant temporary skin barrier if yours isn't working very well."

Pros and cons of using Vaseline

I really didn't like using the Vaseline for the first few weeks.

It has a greasy texture, and it seems to hang around on your lips much longer than a standard lip balm. Even when I applied it to my hands or face, I didn't like the sticky feeling that lingered after use.

But then, it started working.

After a few days of regular use, paired with staying hydrated and avoiding touching my lips, the dreaded cracking (and the pain that came with it) started to ease.

Best of all, I'd paid less than $6 for something that wasn't going to exacerbate the problem. There's also still plenty left in my 100g tub, and winter is over! So, while I plan to keep using it to maintain healthy lips, the additional freezing winds and dry climate won't worry me as much.

There's also no real 'method' to using Vaseline. I apply it as needed and use it more frequently when my lips are extra dry.

Are there any other lip products worth using?

No.

Just kidding, but in the future, I will keep an eye out for certain ingredients that might irritate my skin, such as menthol, camphor, and essential oils. But if these have never bothered you, I don't recommend bulk-binning your lip balms the way I have.

In fact, I still use the Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask, a cult-favourite among beauty enthusiasts. However, I use it less often than I used to, and these days it feels like more of a little treat for my lips before bed, rather than a ride-or-die product.

Meanwhile, my trusty Vaseline never leaves my handbag.

Other lip products we trust:

Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask

$31 on SephoraOn sale at Amazon

La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Levres Lip Balm

$18.39 from Amazon

CeraVe Advanced Repair Balm

$16.99 here

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