Allergic to Lip Products?

[Karoru]

I am 18 years old, and I have never been allergic to anything in my life. As part of my nightly routine, I've always put on lip balm before bed. However, late last year, my lips started to get more dry and chapped than usual, even itchy. They felt like sand paper and often developed tiny bumps. If rubbed hard enough, the bumps would produce a clear liquid. The edges of my lips also sometimes felt very raw and red. These symptoms would last around a week.
At the time, I had been using just plain Burt's Bees Lip Balm for many weeks. When I got the symptoms, I used a bit more of the balm than I usually did, thinking it would help the dryness. When nothing seemed to be working, I stopped using it altogether. In time, my lips healed, and I switched to Softlips lipbalm in both vanilla and peppermint flavors. I showed no reaction from their usage for about a month. Then, I started getting the same reaction that I got from the Burt's Bees Lip Balm. That was when I figured I was developing an allergy to lip balm. Over time, I also realized I was getting the same reaction even faster from lipstick and lipgloss. That meant I was allergic to all lip products across the board.
I began researching into the symptoms and the ingredients in lip products, especially ones that commonly produced allergic reactions. With that knowledge in mind, I've tried many other balms these past months, including ones by Blistex and Kiss my Face. I'm even allergic to plain Chapstick. At first, I would not show any symptoms at all, but they would eventually show up within a few weeks, sometimes days. I even tried alternating the balms every night, which helped slightly but I would eventually get the reaction again. Nowadays, I only wear lip balm every few nights because I can't stand having chapped lips, but never multiple nights in a row. Even then, there's always a chance of my reacting to it.
I haven't been able to pinpoint the exact ingredient that I'm allergic to, and I'm hesitant to spend any more money to try more products. I haven't changed anything about my diet, makeup, facewash, mouthwash, or toothpaste, so I am very certain that it's the lip products. After my research I've also found that other people have had the same problem.

Has any product been found that works but doesn't trigger a reaction from people with my allergies?

I've heard that Vaseline is possibly the only solution, but because of my research I've been staying away from products with petroleum and petrolatum in them. Should I try it out anyway?

[FurballsMom]

I'm having a similar issue.  Some products have even burned my lips.  My lips are always peeling.  Now, the dry flaking skin is above the upper lip where a man would have a mustache.  I'm starting to really worry, because I've always had to be concerned about dry lips.  Now, it's getting to the point where I'm not able to use much of anything on my lips without some kind of reaction.  I'm starting to think my allergies are just getting worse and worse and this may be because of my Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS).  This is really getting frustrating.

I tried Sun, made by Alba Botanicals, but I can't use it, because it definitely burns my skin.  I try to be careful about reading the ingredients before purchasing to ensure the product doesn't have something in it that I know I'm allergic to.  So, I don't know what it is that I'm allergic to in this particular product.  I know I can't use any commercial brands, and I can't use anything with calendula oil in it, because I'm definitely allergic to calendula oil.  I found that out the hard way.

Yet, if I have skin scratch allergy tests, the tests all show negative, except for a couple of things, like birch and dust mites.  My allergist recognizes, though, that this doesn't mean that someone doesn't have a reaction to a certain item.  I will throw up now if I eat lettuce or spinach.  Yet, the allergy tests show negative for an allergy.  Obviously, though, I'm still having a bad reaction to the produce.  I discovered in researching cross reactions that lettuce and spinach are in the same botanical family as sunflowers, marigolds and calendulas.  This means dandelions, too.  This is a really broad botanical group.

I haven't had a whole lot of success trying vaseline or petroleum jelly for my lips either.  I'm kind of turned off by the idea of petroleum products myself, so I know what you mean.  I tried it anyway and I was still having problems with my lips.  Not as much as with some things, but they still peeled and still turned a darker red from being irritated.  

I'm really at a loss myself, because of having similar issues.  I don't know what's wrong.  I'm really frustrated, because I peel like a lizard everyday, so I don't have the normal amount of skin on my lips any more either.  It's more than a little uncomfortable.

I sure hope someone else knows what the answer is to what is going on for both of us.

[dpanda]

Hi you guys!
I came across this post and I thought I would share what I was able to find.  I have the same problem too!

If you look at most of the ingredients in your lip glosses/chapsticks/or any other lip product that you are allergic to, you can almost pinpoint what is causing your bad reactions.  It's different for everyone, so I can't provide an answer for you guys, but I can tell you that I am allergic to Chapstick, Carmex, MAC lipglasses/glosses soft lips, and other random free chapsticks that I had gotten as gifts, ie rosebud's.  I found out that I am allergic to petroleum, and anything that has to do with SPF.   I would try and see if that is the case, and avoid Vaseline, because petroleum jelly is Vaseline.  and for me at least, I can use Vaseline anywhere else, except on my lips.  On wiki there is a list of other things you can use, like coconut oil/butter to soothe chapped lips, or even honey.  
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapped_lips
I would also try and cut back on the usage of chapstick just because, just from my own personal experience, when I use my chapstick too often i end up with more of a chapped lip if i forget my chapstick at home or i just don't have it with me.  As for an allergic reaction to burt's bees, some people have very sensitive skin/lips and are irritated (not allergic) to the peppermint in the chapstick.  I would also try and exfoliate the lips every so often with a sugar and olive oil mixture, as seen on youtube, or just with your toothbrush (VERY gently scrubbing) to keep your lips soft and smooth :] .  

I hope this helps!

[FurballsMom]

I've been using shea butter lately.  And, I've been using coconut oil from time to time--same stuff you buy at the health store that you cook with.  

I think part of my problem might be a vitamin B deficiency.  One of the doctors here told me that vitamin B2 and B12 should be supplemented more.  Well, I must need to get a better form of B12 then, because that's the one that it matters which form you use or your body doesn't even take it in and it will go right through you.  These are water soluble vitamins, just so you know.  And, I know it's safe to take high doses of vitamin B2, because that's what my neurologist has me doing as a migraine preventative.  I thought I would mention this, because this could be someone else's source of the problem--on top of being allergic to various lip products.

[FurballsMom]

I've been using shea butter lately.  And, I've been using coconut oil from time to time--same stuff you buy at the health store that you cook with.  

I think part of my problem might be a vitamin B deficiency.  One of the doctors here told me that vitamin B2 and B12 should be supplemented more.  Well, I must need to get a better form of B12 then, because that's the one that it matters which form you use or your body doesn't even take it in and it will go right through you.  These are water soluble vitamins, just so you know.  And, I know it's safe to take high doses of vitamin B2, because that's what my neurologist has me doing as a migraine preventative.  I thought I would mention this, because this could be someone else's source of the problem--on top of being allergic to various lip products.