Lip Balm is Making your Lips more Chapped

Question

Some signs point to ideas that could keep your lips form healing. Some including, certain ingredient in lip balms, as well as climate could result in making your chapped lips impossible to get rid off.

Comments

Upon fact checking this claim, I found numerous articles questioning the usage of lip balm on chapped lips, which was similar to the title of the article they linked in their claim. Google even gave me an "instant answer" when I searched their claim and agreed with their statement. From just a simple Google search, I was able to get the idea that this claim may be true; however, strictly googling this claim shows bias, so I looked more into it.
After reading the article linked in the claim, I can summarize that this CNN article did not explicitly state that lip balm is making your lips more chapped. The article, however, did mention the science behind chapped lips (thus, the causes of chapped lips), common ingredients in lip balms that are irritants and may contribute to chapped lips, as well as what to use instead to prevent chapped lips. This information is not enough to state the broad claim that all lip balms make lips more chapped. While it is true that there is correlation, I feel as though lip balm has an indirect effect on chapped lips (i.e. some people may be allergic to certain common chemicals found in lip balm, like Beeswax, which can cause drier/itchier lips). However, the article retrieved their information from doctors and reputable institutions, so I decided to look into the other articles I Googled earlier.
I found this article that was updated in July 2024 and reviewed by Michele Farber, a New York-based board-certified dermatologist that states “It's possible, but it depends on a number of factors”.
https://www.byrdie.com/does-chapstick-make-your-lips-more-chapped-6825041#:~:text=%22These%20'medicated'%20lip%20balms,out%20the%20lips%20even%20more.%22
Similar to the CNN article, this article gives multiple factors and situations in which a lip balm may cause dried lips. For example, menthol may initially give a relieving sensation by exfoliating the lips (and removing dried cells), but eventually damage the thin protective layer on the skin that is responsible for moisture. This article was medically reviewed, along with the fact that the author has a Master's Degree in Public Health Nutrition, making this a reliable second source to the original claim. Overall, this claim is true in that some lip balms do indeed contain drying ingredients, but not all.

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You did a great job at looking at sources and finding out which ones are unbiased. Out of everything you looked at why did you decide to use birdie as your main source?

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Your source seems to be reliable by a big news network. But I wonder why you chose this one since others have shown there are many other sources for information on this topic.

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This is one of the most in depth fact checks I have ever seen. I agree with this whole heartedly and can see every part of your process. I have to say bravo to you and I hope you fact check many in the future!

Answer 1

Yes, Lip balm is making your lips more chapped. However- this is more of an "what if" situation. As stated in the original claim, this is only 100% true throughout some types of chapstick, and more importantly some - not all - ingredients in chapsticks. This topic has been covered by many different sources. Just one that supports this claim is linked below. The ending verdict is that some chapsticks do in fact make your lips dryer.

https://www.health.com/lip-balm-drying-out-lips-8572161

Comments

Your answer is great! I feel like it also just depends on the person and how their body reacts to certain products. I frequently apply lip balm and my lips are never chapped. When I forget my lip balm somewhere or don't have it I can feel the effects and see how dry my lips have gotten just through the short time period.

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You did well on your fact-check. You were concise and direct. You added to the claim and used another source to help support it.

Answer 2

This article seems very legit and well organized for the argument that chapstick increases the risk of chapped lips. Dr Reshmi Kapoor, a dermatologist in Brooklyn, makes several arguments that certain ingredients found in chapsticks can enhance crack and dehydrated lips. These ingredients seem to include beeswax, salicylic acid, and fragrances that are added to the chapstick. Although there is evidence mentioned in this article that would suggest these ingredients to give someone chapped lips, there is no definitive answer in this article. The evidence mentioned is just merely to state that these ingredients MIGHT give you chapped lips, but there is no guarantee on either end. These claims are backed up through Dr. Kapoor's Brooklyn Dermatology offices, as well as US Food and Drug Administration, so there is credibility to them in that regard, but there is no definitive answer provided in this article. ttps://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/cosmetic-ingredients/allergens-cosmetics