Dry, red, sensitive lips

Once upon a time (over a decade ago) my lips started becoming dry & chapped very quickly and I have to moisturize many, many times a day.  The condition eventually became worse that over-the-counter lip balms no longer worked.

Eventually I resorted to Vaseline's petroleum jelly.  It was no cure but it managed to keep my puckers from drying without causing any other reactions.  However the 'condition' eventually spread beyond my lips to the skin around my lips.  This happened when I was working long hours in a highly stressful work environment and I could not slather on my vaseline as frequent as I should have.

Before & After lip balm

There were a few times of desperation (pain!) when I had to rush to the doctor and was prescribed oral paste.  It works but leaves an unsightly crust of the dried paste all over my lips.  The paste was expensive and not easy to find.  I had to go back to the same clinic each time.  Suffice to say, I tried to extend the use of each tube, squeezing the life out of it.

One day I had just run out of the paste while at work and looked very Angelina Jolie (the without-makeup, bad-face day version), my colleague gave me a little bit of her lip balm.  I was skeptical but really had nothing to lose.

Mentholathum's Soft works much better than vaseline, as soothing as the oral paste, much easier to carry around and cheaper!  This particular variant is hypo-allergenic thus very, very gentle and I have been using this ever since.  I have several sticks stashed all over the place.  If I happened to leave home without one, I'd have to buy one from the local pharmacy.  Suffice to say, I cannot survive without it.

My condition did not worsen and eventually I was able to tolerate their non hypoallergenic variants as well. But lipsticks or even tinted lip balms are still a no-no.

A very (late 2012) recent incident of severe skin allergy on my face lead to a prescription of anti-hestamines.  My lip condition actually DISAPPEARED.  I could go on for days without moisturizing and experience no flare-ups.

Sadly the condition eventually returned after I finished my medication.  But, I have self-diagnosed that my condition is a chronic allergy to my environment.  Unless I can find an environment that is allergen free, I'm stuck with this condition for life. 

So now, when my condition gets out-of-control, my contingency is anti-hestamines.  Since they can make a person drowsy, I only take it at night.

I would now like to try natural homemade lip balms.  If I could discover an even cheaper and sustainable way to keep my puckers soft & manageable, why not.  And I would know exactly what kind of ingredients are in it.  And the ingredients will have to be really simple & basic.

My quest begins...