You take out your favourite lipbalm, hoping, praying for some relief. Your lips are cracked, sore, and all you want right now is for them to stop stinging. Ahhhhh – solace at last!

Until one hour later.

What if I told you that your little trusty tubes of lip balm were actually making your lips worse? For years now, this conspiracy has been whispered around, fast becoming word of mouth around pharmacies and cosmetic stores alike. There’s been rumours circulating about tiny shards of glass being planted in the formulas, and it’s also been said that some ingredients in certain lip balms contain multiple irritants, therefore creating a painful cycle of dependency that leaves you constantly reapplying. Let’s break down the process:

1. The cause – your lips are dry and painful. You need a cure. Fast.
2. The fix – you apply your fave reliable lip product to gain some temporary relief, leaving your lips feeling moisturised and soothed.
3. The problem – some lip formulas contain irritants, such as menthol, phenol or camphor, which are drying when used repeatedly.
4. The cycle – this short-term relief creates a vicious cycle where users begin to experience drier lips more often, leading to more frequent application of products.

Now, it’s no secret that using dry and irritating products on any part of your skin will inevitably damage it, however, the juicy twist is that some have even argued that some skincare brands do this on purpose, to intentionally boost profit and keep customers hooked on their brands.

What we do know – there are definitely lip products that do contain menthol, phenol or camphor, but these are usually medicated lip balms such as treatments for cold sores. If the user has sensitive skin, overuse of these products can strip away our lips’ natural oils and lead to blistering, redness and swelling. For the average user, this would simply just lead to chapped and dry lips, prompting constant re-application of the product causing the damage.

Ironically, menthol feels cooling, soothing and refreshing on our lips, but can actually cause way more damage than good. Overuse of the product can lead to dryness, adding more fuel to the rumour that lip balm companies are trying to keep us addicted to that minty fresh feeling. Despite not being intentionally used to cause irritation, the fact that companies are still using drying products in lip care formulas contributes to the endless cycle of dependency of constantly needing more lip treatment.

According to dermatologists, the best and most effective way to avoid chapped lips, is simply to drink more water. Our lips are extremely delicate, and are distinguishable by their thin layers of skin and reduced number of oil glands compared to the rest of our bodies. This thin skin therefore makes our lips particularly sensitive to dryness and irritation, leaving them exposed to UV radiation and harsh weather. So when we’re applying products that literally contain irritants, it’s no wonder that they feel so damaged and sore.

Flavoured or fragranced lip products are also responsible for drying out your lips, so it could be said that the companies producing them are trying to trap us in the repeated use cycle too. These products are often made with artificial or essential-oil based flavours, tempting you to lick your lips more, and saliva draws moisture away from your lips which leaves them even drier. Whilst fruity-flavoured products might seem innocent, they are actually among the main culprits boosting speculation that dermatology companies with ill intent are making us addicted to lip balms.

The bottom line? It’s no lie that lip products contain irritating products, as we’ve debunked here, however, it’s the question of whether they are intentionally used to keep the public buying them frequently. While the argument that lip products secretly have shards of glass in them might be just an urban myth, we are still struggling to break free from this cycle. Maybe the secret to smooth, moisturised lips lies further away than the shop shelves.