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Allergic to Lip Products?

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?
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Avatar universal
Thanks so much for creating this thread! I have been suffering since 11th grade, which it seems is common with everyone here. Later middle school thru high school.
My reaction goes like this: apply offending lip stuff, possible normal wear for a few hours, then dry. Come home and remove and wash thoroughly. Whether I put a moisturizer on or not, the following day I will have a million itty bitty bumps that aren't visible in the mirror, but feel like sandpaper grit on my lips. And it makes them kinda wrinkly. Then it turns into like a lip scap that I cannot peel or else it will leave my lips raw and painful, and if I leave it, my lips are stiff as a board. Then showering, I can slough it off with a washrag after another two days. Finally, they will return to their normal super dry state.
I cannot use lipsticks without vaseline underneath or ANY lip glosses even Juice Beauty or YES, and chapstick, Burts Bees and Carmex are killers. The first time I tried MacGlass my lips were on fire instantly and my lips broke out worse than ever for a week, despite instant removal.
Now, I can only use Vaseline (still trying to find a replacement). Shea Butter is OK but it is too sticky/waxy for long term, so it's best for overnight. Coconut Oil doesn't last more than 5 minutes.  
I just ordered Hurraw! lip balms, so I'm hoping these will work. It is so embarrassing to not be able to have a full face of makeup with lips done unless I'm gonna pay the price. :(
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Well!! it's great to see that I'm not the only one dealing with this craziness! Since forever I knew I couldn't use any chapstick or balsam for longer than a month but, recently I have had the worst experience ever! I'm allergic to everything and if I'm not after a week I will!. I'm also allergic to orange/yellow fruits, If one fruit of that color touch my lips, I'm in hell!....
Did you guys find a natural solution??? is affecting my lips everywhere and my mustache area!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I've been having terrible reaction and my lips would swell up and blister and peel. After dermatologist suggested an SPF allergy I have gone to using only aqua phor for hydration. Any lip balm containing oxybenzone or oxybenzene I stay away from. Titanium and zinc oxide seem ok. I too have a reaction to most lip gloss. Never had this problem until a few years ago. Frustrating!
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Avatar universal
So I'm not alone
It started with Nivea's repair & protection lipbalm. After using it 2-3 times for 4 days my lips became severely dry & then they got swollen, itchy & started burning with red bumps. It took a month of treatment to get my lips back to normal. The doctor adviced me to use Vaseline but that didn't suit me either (even though I've used it before). Coconut oil & butter made my lips itchy too. So use to apply milk cream before going to bed.
And then 2 years later I used Maybelline's Baby lips & the same reaction happened but this time it happened within an hour of application. Another doctor gave me a treatment of steroids & some lotion for a month & adviced me to use Nivea Creme for dry lips.
I'm allergic to a lot of things like Dove soap, a lot of facewash brands, silver, gold, aluminum, tungsten, foundation cream, Lakme sunscreen, compact powder & a lot of other stuff & I was sooo frustrated!
WHAT WORKS FOR ME NOW -
I took my doctor's advice & tried Nivea Creme (the one that comes in a tiny blue container thingy). I apply it daily before bed. That's it, I try not to over-do it as I don't wanna take a risk of getting a reaction again. And I use Coloressence lipstick as they are said to have herbal ingredients. Recently I've used Mentholatum LipIce lipbalm thrice a week & it didn't hurt.
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Avatar universal
Lanolin for breastfeeding moms works great and is edible. It is made from lamb fat.
Helpful - 0
1 Comments
Lanolin might be a cause for the reaction. I'm currently investigating that ingredient as a cause for mine. If you look up allergic lip reactions to lanolin, you'll see the symptoms are exactly what everyone's describing in this thread. Just posting this as a caution because I'm leery of lanolin myself at the moment. Haven't figured out which ingredients are the culprits yet.
Avatar universal
I've had the same problem for 2 years now. I've never been allergic to anything but started developing all kinds of allergic reactions. I found out I'm allergic to certain lip balms and lipsticks. Vaseline helped it when it was trying to heal. I'm definitely allergic to EOS lip balms, but that confuses me because I thought they had natural ingredients. I'm still not sure which ingredients I'm allergic to yet. My friend gave me an extra lip balm that she uses and that helped. It's called Karite Lip Balm. It's the only lip balm I'm using now and you can find it on Amazon. I'm afraid of using anything else.
Helpful - 0
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