How Does Lip Balm Work?

Here at Lip Balm Now we love lip balm! We love talking about it, making it, learning about it, and sharing it with you. We decided to write this article to cover a little bit of the basic science behind lip balm and why it is so great! If you need custom lip balms for your business or event (including personalized lip balm labels), or you make your own lip balm and need lip balm containers, please browse our store. We can easily take care of whatever lip balm related items you might need.

First Thing’s First: What’s In Lip Balm?

Lip balm is a collection of ingredients, usually starting with one of several different kinds of waxes. Along with the wax, colors, flavors, and other ingredients like sunscreens can be included. Ingredients have varied wildly over time, and the first substance that may have been used as a lip balm might have been earwax — a remedy that was still being used in the nineteenth century.

Why Do My Lips Need Lip Balm?

The lips are some of the thinnest skin on the body and are one of the first areas to show signs of dryness. Lip dryness can be caused by persistent exposure to wind, dry air, or cold, and gets worse if not treated. Left untreated, dry lips can become more and more dried out, and eventually they will start to crack and bleed, which then creates a host of new problems. When your lips crack and bleed it can take them much longer to heal than if your lips were hydrated, not to mention the annoying pain that comes from cracked lips. Licking your lips won’t help this problem because the moisture in your saliva evaporates and takes even more moisture with it.

So How Does Lip Balm Help Your Lips?

Lip balm acts as an occlusive layer when applied to the skin of your lips. An occlusive layer is a layer of something over the skin that seals in moisture while preventing further external interference.

When ingredients that form an occlusive layer are used to treat dry lips, they form a barrier that prevents the hostile external forces from making things worse because these ingredients are very resistant, if not outright immune, to evaporation. Usually the reason that you have to reapply lip balm is because it rubs off on your tongue, your teeth, or anything else that comes into contact with your lips.

If you run a business where people might leave with their lips more chapped than when they came in (like at a dentist’s office or a spa where a customer might have used a sauna), you might want to send them out the door with a personalized lip balm. Not only will they experience quick relief from dry lips, they’ll also remember your business (and how much you care) every time they use it. Lip Balm Now can package and ship a bunch of different flavors with custom labels for your business or event, and we can do it quickly. Browse our website to see our all-natural lip balm flavors and choose a design template or upload your own custom artwork for your very own custom lip balm!