trying to heal lips - help!!!

[FarmGirl]

Oh yeowch! I hate it when I accidentally bite a piece of chapped skin off my lip--it hurts like hell!

I have about 20 tubes of lip balms around the house--all yummy flavors. I always have a tube in my pocket, in my jacket, in my purse, by the TV, next to the computer, in the truck, in the barn....EVERYWHERE!

I'm a freak like that. I can't stand it if my lips get chapped! Same goes for my hands. I should buy stock in the Vaseline company!

[bluemoon]

Has anyone tried Ceralip? My dermatologist suggested I use it - its for extremely dry lips. I've been using it for about a week now but haven't really noticed a difference. Its pretty expensive (about $15 CDN a tube) and I feel like I'm already through half of it. I just wanted to know if its something I should stick with or go back to plain old Vaseline.

[staceys mom]

I've used Ceralip - very good, non-greasy, works wonders. Just curious, for those of you who have the skin hardening/peeling lips problem, do you find its better to slough the dead skin off or let it peel on its own?

[meiastar]

Wow, this is amazing! There's a whole world of lip pickers out there! This is totally exciting! I keep telling my husband, and he's like, yeah that's cool...but this is THRILLING!!

I used to use Vaseline all the time too, until I found out about it being addictive. Since then I haven't found anything that works that great. I have a tube of chapstick in almost every room in my house, and in my purse. If I forget, I'm always asking people for chapstick.

I love kissing people...but it's inevitable that the lip balm wears off sooner that way and pretty soon I'm picking again.

I've found myself holding glasses of icewater to my lips, too, to soothe them because of the burning after a long picking session.

I recently bought some hemp chapstick, but that didn't do anything special. And it can't be chapstick that's too heavy, because then it feels like there's something on my lips and I tend to rub it off and inevitably go in for the picking.

Mary Kay even had a lip mask that was an exfoliating scrub and lip balm...not even that was enough to help. I also scrub my lips with my toothbrush...I could go on...it seems like I could echo everything that has been said here.

It's really hard to find balms without petroleum...I've been looking for some time. I'll keep my eye open for the shea butter based balms (wow, look at all those B words...) per the suggestion in this thread.

Wow, I just feel like thanking you all for being here. Hee hee.

Stacey's mom...I could never leave my lips alone long enough to let them peel on their own, personally.

[kazz]

Hi everyone yes I know the problem with lips lick lick lick I eventaully went to a dermatologist and she sent me to someone to have my bottom lip lazered the top skin removed. Not a pretty sight when the lip swells and you get huge scabs on the lips which you do not dare to touch as there is brand new skin growing underneath it is not a pretty sight for 6 weeks but the after affect is wonderful best thing ever. I had to keep vaseline on them all the time reapply every 1 to 2 hrs. I had this done about 5 yrs ago now and I no longer lip my lips carry lip balm or vaseline with me at all time do not wake at night to put stuff on it best thing ever. so if you can see your dr. about getting your lips lazered if they cause you a lot of problems.

[Meep]

I have a Huuuuge problem with lip picking!
I have found that if I have those annoying dry scabs that it is best to soften them and exfoliate before putting chapsticks on becuase if they are there, the chapstick just makes them easier for me to pick at.
I have also learned to avoid products with Camphor or Phenol in them. They encourage an extra thick outer layer of skin on your lips. This always bugs me becuase it feels like I have saran wrap or something on my lips and I pick them.

[sos]

Hey lippicker and all other lippickers,
The lips do not have any oil glands etc. so that's why they stay dry...I have found like the last message any product that has camphor and phenol is really more drying to the lips...if your a girl...lip gloss is one I use to not pick at the lips...at night is when you will get the most healing and the best I have found is Vaseline...I also use cocoa butter pure stick form not Palmers on my lips. Chap stick seems to be drying to me and I hate the feeling of it...Burts is good but sometimes you don't want anything in the lip product(peppermint etc.)
ox,
sos

[southerngal]

Hi everyone, this site is great! I thought that I just had some strange habbits but it looks like I'm not alone. I have been picking my lips for several years much to my husbands dislike. He says that he cannot take me out in public because we look like we have been in a boxing match. Ha Ha!!!
I do use vasaline pretty religously, though I did not know that it could be addictive. I will have to keep an eye out for the shea butter products and give that a shot.
It is so great to know that there are other people who are like me and that there are others I can talk to about this problem.
One other thing, does this type of behavior also go along with shaving off calouses on your feet, because I do this on a weekly basis and I think that it is just making the calouses on my heals worse.

[Thalia]

I'm taking Acutane right now, so my lips were litterally bleeding every day. And I chew on my lips, so it made it worse. Since this is going to be something I'm going to have to live with for several months I needed to find something really good that would work on my lips.

At first I used the typical chapsticks. No good. All had salycilic acid in them or camphor or menthol. Which works great on cold sores, but I don't have those. Then I resorted to putting actual lotion on my lips. That didn't do ANYTHING.

So I talked with my pharmacist, who gave me a tube of Vitamin A and D Ointment. The 2 oz bottle was 1.50 and is absolutly amazing! The Vitamins are in a base of lanolin, petroltum and parrafin. At first I put it on every hour religiously for about three days. After that I was able to cut down. Now I just put it on when I need it! I've even gone a whole weekend without it! Remember that I am still taking Acutane and it does cause VERY dry skin, but I've NO problems with this stuff.

And even better, if you have any sores or dry spots on places other than your lips you can use it there too!

[mo]

I have a problem also with lip licking, picking, peeling etc. it seems so ridiculuous that i do this. it's embarassing and i dont want to go out often when its hurt. i have a severe problem with social anxiety as well, and this lip hurtin habit has been associated in my mind with avoiding folks, so i guess i have been rewarding the habit by avoiding situations that cause me serious anxiety (socializing, and most people). anyways, #1 i want to have my lips heal and never hurt them again, and #2 i want to be more comfortable around people. this habit is contributing a lot to my social anxiety and self-consciousness these days, because it embarasses me and hurts my self esteem. i'm 19 yr old guy and i really want stop this habit for good

[lizardly]

I use blistex or carmex and does it ever work. I find that if i stop using it the dry skin comes back and i start to peel, so I have to remember to use it constantly. usually if I have really bad splits or spots where i've picked I put it really thick at bedtime and if I use it all the next day it's gone by that night.

[LiViNgDeAdGiRl]

Ive always used either Burts Beezwax chapstick, Softlips or Natural Ice. I LOVE it!

[cowgirl]

The best chapstick I've found (not too oily and last forever...really moisturizes and not covers.) is Neutrogena lip moisturizer with spf 15, (I didn't like carmex, vasiline, chapstick, or any of the others.) I think Softlips is good too.

[NusGal]

Wow....I'm glad I found this site, I sometimes felt like I was alone with my lip picking problem. I'm in my early 20s and I've been picking my lips for as long as I can remember. There have been times when I went months without doing it because my desire for attractive lips was stronger than my desire to pick till my lips became raw. I typed "lip peeling habit" into the google search engine because I have always wanted to know what drives me to want to pick and peel (besides chapped lips).
When I was a young child I suffered from OCD and still do now as an adult but it is not as severe and I am now able to control it. I currently began to develop social anxiety (around the same age as you Mo). The whole point of my message is, I'm wondering if any of you know (or have any theories) if there is a correlation between OCD/lip picking/social anxiety.


Mo,
I use to take Paxil, and it does wonders for social anxiety......but it takes able 2-3 months after taking it everyday before it starts to kick in.

[kada]

so what should I do? when my lips get dry I start picking......but when they're soft and growing now layers of skin I pick aswell. it doesn't matter whether my lips are dry or not....I always find a reason to pick.
I used all kinds of things on my lips but they only seem to work well if you pick only dry lips.

xxx
karin