ChapNews Vol. 17: Addiction (Again)

It seems that lip balm addiction is the go-to "human interest" story for a lot of newspapers and TV stations. It's sort of weird because it's such a non-story on its own as a concept, but when you add in the INTERNET, suddenly it's worth spending four minutes reporting (sorry, Darfur!). I will do commend Kesshia Peyton (who no doubt included this little gem in her reel) of WKRG News Pensacola for actually trying to debunk the addiction myth:

If you think you're addicted to your lip balm, it could be all in your head. There's a lot of chatter online from self-proclaimed lip balm addicts. But dermatologist Dr. Marcia Driscoll says, right now, there's no hard, scientific evidence that it's a real problem.

"True addiction is thought of as something that is a physical dependence. That is, that if you take away the lip balm, would the person have a withdrawal syndrome?" said Dermatologist Dr. Marcia Driscoll.She says the urge to gloss could be more of a 'psychological' dependence - a habit that can start by simply having chapped lips.
"Sometimes it's a chronic problem because of an allergy or a chronic irritant exposure," said Dr. Driscoll.

The culprit could be the fragrances added to your lip balm. Switching to a petroleum-based product might help. Lanolin and sunscreens can sometimes be an irritant to your lips. Also sun, wind, cold temperatures, licking your lips, toothpaste and even dental floss can cause problems.

I don't know who's flossing so hard they're chapping their own lips, but listen to the doctor. Everyone is different, so consider switching to a more effective, less irritating balm if you're over-using yours.

(If you can't see the video below, just go to the site I mentioned above.)

WKRG.com