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?

[ladyhannahcake]

I have suffered with this problem for about a year. Exactly the same symptoms; itchy lips, swelling, oozing clear liquid, dryness, and the only thing I've found that helps it go away/can be used on a daily basis as a lipbalm is a product called Aquaphor. You can get it from Boots in the UK and quite a lot of Chemists in the US and it is like a magic treatment! My problems last for about a week when using other lip products, but having the Aquaphor made it slightly more bearable than when using standard chapstick/Vaseline.

I regularly used to use red lipsticks from all brands, that didn't react with my lips, until I used a lipstick from Avon that just sent them crazy. Now Aquaphor is the only thing I can wear.

I really miss wearing my lipsticks, but weirdly I've found that if I mix eyeshadow with the Aquaphor moisturiser, it turns into a lipstick-style paste than can be used as a temporary lipstick solution.

I have recently got one of the Clinique Chubby sticks as a present and I am a bit apprehensive to try it, as although I know it is anti-allergy, I haven't yet been able to determine what it is that reacts with my lips, and can't face having to have the horrible swollen lip symptoms again.

At least it's good to know that I'm not alone! I should probably go to a doctor to check it out, but when the symptoms first started happening I found lots of blogs which said others had approached the doctors and had been turned away, with the doctor saying they didn't know the cause and it was 'just something they were going to have to live with', which is why I've carried on like this for a year without any medical interventions. Have others suffered such a reaction when they've approached the docs?

[SSid]

About 3 months ago I ended up with similar symptoms to all many of you...super irritated lips that felt chapped all the time, tiny bumps on them, etc.  It drove me crazy for over 2 months before I finally went to my dermatologist.  She immediately identified an allergy/sensitivity to several lip balm/lip stick ingredients.  She recommended avoiding the following:
- lanolin
- beeswax
- sunscreen of any kind
- fragrance and flavoring
- carmine (a type of dye)

She also prescribed me Triamcinolone Acetonide Ointment (0.025%) to be applied at night to my lips for about a month.  This stuff is amazing!  All my symptoms were gone within 2 days!

For the first month, she recommends only using Vaseline on my lips and she said to use a q-tip rather than my finger to apply it.  After a month she said I can try lip products again, but the only brands she suggested using are Origins and Clinique because they are made for sensitive skin.

Hope that helps!

[katie0825]

Let us know how the Origins and Clinique worked out for you. I'm currently trying the line "100% Pure" which is made completely of fruit and natural ingredients. One of the glosses that has a blushy red color to it had been fine so far. But I'm scared it's just a matter of time.

[Ilandry]

I'm 45 and recall having trouble with lipstick from the 1st time I tried it as a kid until I stopped in my late teens after much peeling and itching and fluid. Even now, just smelling lipstick puts me off. There's that certain waxy smell as someone mention earlier. Just makes me feel dry and itchy all over thinking about the smell.

I can't wear anything else on my lips either - all creams I've tried and balms and waxes bother me (Vaseline is ok once in a while but doesn't feel great) plus a dairy sensitivity makes my lips peel and on occasion another food sensitivity combination that I haven't figured out yet burns them and forms large, dark scabs that are particularly unlovely, let me tell you.

Anyway to answer your open question, I don't get enough vitamin D (live in Canada) and have never taken supplements. I think I'll start just to see, thank you for the suggestion.

As for food I think my diet is pretty great for someone who can't eat local, in-season produce year round. Mostly organic, alkaline, juiced, blended, minimal sugar, no wheat, no dairy (bc skin sensitivity), healthy fats, minimal boxed stuff, good quality meat and mostly home cooked.

Switching to this diet some years back really helped some issues (plus I just don't get colds and flus anymore - it's amazing) but the lip problem has stayed throughout, unchanged. In my case I would rule out diet as that has changed over the course of my life but with no change in the lip issue. I'd say my lips might be the weakest part of my body or reflect whatever larger problem there is, the most.

At least I had a few good years with cherished lip gloss in my teens but to wear lipstick again, that would be pretty nice.

[F_T]

Hi!
I have the same problem as you, it started this year during summer. I would apply a lipstick and the next day my lips would get swollen and very itchy with those tiny annoying bumps and then get very dry and start peeling.
The only thing that works for me right now is Vaseline, but I fear I can develop sensitization for that too.
I've been trying to sort out which ingredients I was allergic to, but it seems I have more than a few, and I could not identify which.
Then I decided a different approach, and tried to search for relations between vitamin deficiencies. I found some articles relating vitamin C and D deficiency with allergies. Nothing conclusive. I'm still searching for more info on this.
I know for a fact that I do have some D deficiency, as I don't sunbathe much, and D is difficult to get through food. I will try supplement and see how that goes, but probably I lack other nutrients too.
I don't know about C deficiency.
Since so many of us suffer with this problem, I became curious, and wanted to know, maybe we all share something in common and that could be a vitamin deficiency.
So here are some questions that I would like to share:
1 - Do you have enough exposure to sun (without sunscreen)? Here is a link to have an idea of how much exposure is ideal: http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/about-vitamin-d/how-do-i-get-the-vitamin-d-my-body-needs/
- I don't

2 - Do you have a 'healthy' diet? Lots of fruits and raw vegetables (over-cooked vegetables loses much of their value in nutrients due to heat)
- I eat my share of fruits everyday, but used to overcook veggies. Will try to change that.

This is a long shot, but maybe we can find something! Thanks for sharing your experience!

[chrisy99]

I have had eczema for most of my life and have extremely sensitive skin.  I cannot wear many products and don't wear lipstick.  The only thing I can wear on my lips is AQUAPHOR!  It's the best!  

Here are some products that have saved my life:
-aveeno body lotion (fragrance free)
-aquaphor/eucerin products:  i love all eucerin/aquaphor products.

Hope that helps!

[Shenaenae]

Thank you all for posting, I've had the same allergy for the last 20+ years and never knew there were so many with the same issue: allergy to Chapstick, soft lips, burts bees, most revlon, department store lipsticks, etc and even Almay hypoallergenic lip color. I've successfully used Vaseline for most of the time, and on days I want a little color, a lip liner with the Vaseline. I hope we find a solution for this annoying issue, but in the meantime, I hope this helps you guys!! (Also I noticed that I have a worse reaction when it has this crayony/ plastic smell)