People always say that I’m addicted to lip balm. I have to have it with me at all times, if I forget to take it with me, I have to buy a new one. I even sleep with it on my nightstand. I apply it constantly and have them lying all around my house. I even just applied some while writing this… I always find myself wondering if it is addictive. I’ve now found the answer…
No, lip balm is not addictive. But you can train your body to rely on lip balm. The reason this happens is because when your lips start to feel dry they send a signal to the deep layer of your skin (which is called the basal layer) to produce fresh skin cells. When you put on lip balm you are slowing down the signal because you are creating a layer that prevents the evaporation of moisture. So the basal layer never gets the signal to produce new cells.
When the lip balm wears off your lips dry out again and your basal layer has to start producing new cells. Then because your lips feel dry you apply more lip balm, which then again tells the basal layer that your lips are fine and not to produce more cells. Then the cycle repeats itself over and over again.
I’m not sure how to wean myself off of lip balm. That is my problem. I try to resist putting it on, but always cave in. Do you have any tricks? Let me know in the comments below.
What lip balm do you like best?
