The skin on my lips will not regrow.

[ljdvech]

Welllll, here's the problem. A little more than a year ago I literally rubbed almost all of the skin on my lips off. I know that sounds pretty odd, but for about a week I had this inexplicable urge to rub my lips together (almost like they were itchy) and the only thing that stopped me from doing that was putting chapstick on. well I lost my chapstick for 2 days and in that time I managed to rub my lips together so much that the skin just came right off. I started using chapstick again, hoping that would help, but the skin wouldn't regrow properly. My mom gave me alot of bacitracin packets which I used for about two months, but they made things a lot worse, my lips got inflamed and I realized about six months later that I was allergic to bacitracin. I visited a few different physicians and my dermatologist a few times. The first one I saw wrote me a prescription for some antibiotics and that didn't help at all. My dermatologist gave me steroid creams (can't remember the names) and they actually made my skin grow back pretty fast, but the skin would dry out really fast and became crusty and I'd get so annoyed that I would just tear it off! She recommended aquaphor to me and I used that for a few months, but it did absolutely nothing. Then she insisted it must be allergies and wanted me to get a back patch test but I said no. A few months ago I switched doctors and THIS one told me she thought it might be eczema confined to my lips, but I have none of the symptoms, and I've seen photos of if and that is definitely not what I have. The skin does try to regrow but it never gets far, it's very thin and comes off whenever I get in the shower or brush my teeth! :( I apply chapstick about every 15 minutes and I'm not exaggerating. If I don't put something on my lips then I get the urge to bite them and rub them together, lately though even when I put chapstick on I still want to bite my lips. I got this when I was 17 almost 18, and now I'm almost 19 and I still don't know what is going on! This is a really stupid problem to have. Does anyone know what this could be?? Isn't skin tissue supposed to grow back pretty rapidly? What is going on here!

[Moonlightbae2001]

I feel like i over exfoliated my lips to the extent that most of the skin of my lips completely came off. In my case, my lip is very raw red and can't smile or stretch my lips plus it's also uncomfortable. I've also visited dermatologist thrice but none of them  really helped. They recommend me steroid cream and it didn't work. They just told me to put vaseline and just never peel anything off which i am doing now. But, everytime i take a shower or brush my teeth the thin film of skin would come off and didn't have the chance to grow back completely. :((((((( Pls help meeee guyssss :((((( I don't know what to do. A reply would really mean so much to meeeee.

[Tyyt3467]

All you have to do is leave your lips dry and put no chapstick petroleum or moisturizer on your lip Also face away from the shower so water doesn’t get on your lip. The patches that show up on your lip are trying to form  a scab on your lip to heal and replace your skin underneath this will take a while so your mask will be your best friend because it won’t look pretty. When the scab is trying to grow and heal your lip you won’t be able to chew that well and you want to protect the scab so eat soft foods like yogurt smoothies and chop up any big foods into the smallest bites you can. Also won’t be able to go drink from cups because you don’t want to get your lip wet or food on it so buy a pack of straws to use. Another tip is at night sleep on your back with your head propped up so you don’t mess up the scab in your sleep. Also when your brushing your teeth go slow and when it’s time to spit out put tissue over your lip and then spit out to avoid getting your scar wet. Vitamin C works well to help the scar heal faster and if it feels loose take one and you’ll immediately feel the results I took one every night before bed and a multi vitamin in the morning. Most important tip is leave the scab alone don’t touch it or press it the goal is to keep it on if it comes off it will just start the process again to form to heal the lips.

[Paxiled]

Gee, see what I said about this on your other post.  If you're new to this website, the post you're responding to is 20 years old.  Hope the problem is gone by now.  Peace.

[Tyyt3467]

The post is 20 years old the comment I’m replying to isn’t

[Paxiled]

Yes, but the post you were replying to isn't about dry skin.  It's about someone who burnt their lips by using exfoliant, and like all burns, unless it is so severe it can't heal it will heal.  Your reference to lip balm has nothing to do with a burn.  As an example, if it's not a super bad burn, and if it's from exfoliant it shouldn't be unless way too much was used or the wrong kind was used -- they are often pretty strong acids and many people use them in a way that isn't safe -- a lip balm that is all natural and contains a lot of aloe vera might in fact help heal the burn.  You also mentioned supplements that have no effect at all on that healing.  The nature of your comment, with the mention of moisturizers and lip balm, therefore seemed much more aimed at the original post, not at the comment.  I apparently got that wrong, but my comments stand.

[JeanAlexVA]

After suffering with lip eczema for 5yrs, I saw new dentist from India who said its internal & suggested different juices & teas from India I got at an India market nearby.3 days later, the eczema came off & I got mouthwash to stop mouth bacteria. Using salt water after brushing also working great.Maybe bacterial in your mouth causing slighly itchy lips.

[Moonlightbae2001]

I know this were very old, but I'm literally experiencing this right now. And mine happened last summer and it's gonna be 1 year almost now until i had this problem with my lips. How did u treat this problem??? I'm really frustrated now. Pls help me. :((((((

[Xandria88]

I know I'm late, but try coconut oil, castor oil or olive oil then seal it with Vaseline. Also honey masks. I know it sounds sticky and messy but within seconds it sinks into your lips and stays put.

[phenomenon1757_boom]

Some Chapsticks have a chemical specifically made to eat away at ur skin.
It's a sales tactic to sell more Chapsticks and it clearly works.
Stop using it

[martyccc]

People start putting stuff on their lips just for the heck of it. I googled this because my ex wife gave my five year old daughter some ChapStick to bring home last night... The fact is, my daughter had no problem whatsoever with her lips!!! She is five!! Why introduce her to stuff like that?!... If my lips gets chapped due to season changes, I'd treat it with an overnight therapy. I don't put crap on my lips just to toy around. I bet your problems started because you toyed around with your healthy lips and now you're paying the price for stupid. I'm sorry for being frank about it, but you are still young. I toyed around with ChapSticks to when I was much younger. It is a very bad idea to get into the habit of using it daily.

[ljdvech]

Well, that's not really the problem cause I don't bite the skin off anymore. When I brush my teeth, eat, drink or take a shower the skin will come off!! It just grows back really slowly and doesn't have the chance to grow back fully :(
Yeah I am at a loss so I may just have an allergy test done, even though I'm positive this isn't because of an allergic reaction. It can't hurt to try though.

I'll look into that! thank you for answering.

[CassCore]

More than likely this problem won't stop unless you stop rubbing and biting. It's like people with acne. If they pick at their pimples it's hard to make them go away, or if you keep pulling off a scab it's going to scar and take forever to heal. I'm not sure what it would take for you to stop this habit, but I'm sure it will help. You probably should have an allergy test done. It may be something you're eating that's causing the itching. Also I really love a product from Mary Kay called the Satin Lips Set...it has a lip mask and balm that is really great!