Every winter my daughter gets severe chapped lips. She is 6 years old and uses the lip balms that are usually flavored in kids friendly flavors,etc. She is pretty good about using the chapstick every morning before leaving for school, she has some at school as well as in her backpack and also she uses it before bed each night. But still her lips will crack and bleed (especially overnight). Is there another really good kind of lip balm or something else I should be doing for her? I also get chapped lips but not nearly as bad as she and my grandmother (who is a worrier anyway) hates that I let her use lip balm because she saw a special report or something about how you can become addicted to the stuff. Not sure if that is really true or if it is a harmful thing anyway. But is there something that would be good for her severe dry chapped, cracking bleeding little lips? She doesn't like blistex (like the medicated kind) and doesn't like the minty or menthol kinds either.(Can't say I blame her for that)
Anyone else go through this with their kids? Any helpful suggestions would be great. Thanks moms!
hey girls - my hubby and my 5 yr old are the same way - their lips get awful in the winter - we actually use the medicated blistex - that works best for us.
good luck & sending hugs!
~T.
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Try the Satin Lips set from Mary Kay. It is safe for any age. The problem with putting a balm like Chapsick on chapped lips is that you are just coating dry, dead skin with wax. Her lips need to be exfoliated and then have a balm applied to them. Her lips will be soft and smooth in no time. You can have her exfoliate them once or twice a week as needed. She can apply the balm multiple times a day if she chooses. I am a Mary Kay Consultant and offer free shipping. The cost for the set with tax is $19.26. Please contact me if I can help you. You will want to try it, too! It's an awesome product! Good luck!
crisco or olive oil. She may not like the taste, but that might be a good thing--she won't lick her lips as often!lol
K. Z.
The ones you want to stay away from are those such as Carmex which is intended to dry out a cold sore. They will make chapped lips worse (but will help as intended).
Our pediatrician recommended Aquaphor for our son's severely chapped thumb from sucking it. Because it is used for infants, he said it was safe for a thumb that is being sucked, thus I'd recommend it also for chapped lips. I've been known to use good hand lotion on my own lips when I couldn't find anything for my lips.
If money isn't a concern, there are some really good ones from Kiehls and Bath and Body works as well, but they can be $7-$15/tube. My husband swears by the Kiehl's for men, and I have to agree it's pretty good.
The other that seems to work really well for us is Nivea's new one (light blue tube). It's really thick and stays on for a long time.
Good luck.
Updated
The ones you want to stay away from are those such as Carmex which is intended to dry out a cold sore. They will make chapped lips worse (but will help as intended).
Our pediatrician recommended Aquaphor for our son's severely chapped thumb from sucking it. Because it is used for infants, he said it was safe for a thumb that is being sucked, thus I'd recommend it also for chapped lips. I've been known to use good hand lotion on my own lips when I couldn't find anything for my lips.
If money isn't a concern, there are some really good ones from Kiehls and Bath and Body works as well, but they can be $7-$15/tube. My husband swears by the Kiehl's for men, and I have to agree it's pretty good.
The other that seems to work really well for us is Nivea's new one (light blue tube). It's really thick and stays on for a long time.
Good luck.
Hi J.,
My son's pediatrician recommended Carmex lip blam. It's OTC and available everywhere. It all boils down to diligence. As long as you are applying it regularly throughout the day and before bed, things will improve. My son is a mouth breather at night so that is especially drying. Another important factor is adequate hydration. Make certain you child is getting enough liquid throughout the day. As always, check with your child's doctor before beging any new OTC medication or regimen to prevent any health complication or allergic reaction.
Get a small tube of PurLan or Lasinoh (or store brand if they make it). They are 100% natural lanolin and will create a moisture barrier while moisturizing. You'll find it in the breastfeeding supplies, it's used as a nipple ointment (and so totally safe when ingested).
I also like Burt's Bees, but the PurLan works better.
We like carmax lib balm, burts bees, or plain vaseline petroleum jelly! The flavored chapsticks actually encourage kids to lick their lips! causing more severe chapping. My kids do not like the feel of lip balm on their lips. They use it occasionally..........if their lips are really dry, or cracking I put vaseline on their lips (generously) after they have fallen asleep. By morning their lips aren't so sore.
I second the more water intake!! I have to remind myself to do the same!
Hi J.
I would HIGHLY recommend the lip therapy by Shaklee...No wax...no dye...no artificial flavor..just made to do what you need it to do...with fps 15 for the sun! Good luck
____@____.com
S.
I'd just use good ol Vaseline!!!
Burt's Bees is the best...
You could find a Mary Kay consultant in your area and order Satin Lips. It comes in a set; first you use a mask that is kind of gritty but it gets rid of all the dead skin. The second tube is the balm that you can put on as much as you like. The set is $18 but will last you several months. I sell Mary Kay and my whole family, including my 19 yr old son who is away at college, and my friends use it and we all LOVE it.
Good Luck
A.
I would try plain Vaseline at night and we've had luck with Carmex.
Bigelow's Rosebud Salve is by far the best. They carry it at Bath & Body Works, so you should be able to find it easily. My kids not only get those chapped bleeding lips, but ugly red rashes around their lips that leave them looking like the joker! It'll handle those rashes easily as well.
So sorry for the little girl! I have always used regular, unflavored chap stick...I just don't like the medicated or flavored kinds. So, the plain kind works great for me. I use it every night before I go to bed (even if my lips are fine), so you could try that. Also, I notice in myself that my lips get chapped when I don't drink enough water. So, try pushing the liquids on her for about a week or so (along with using chap stick at night) and see if the chapping improves. Hope it gets better for her!
A. M.
Aquaphor is the best for this!
Advanced Lip Therapy - looks like chapstick - we've had ours for a LONG time and it tastes like grape
I would only use something natural (no petro chemicals or animal biproducts) for two reasons. 1. she will lick her lips and internalize whatever you use. 2. The natural or botanically based products actually get below the surface of the skin. The molecules in, say, vaseline, sit on top of the skin and don't get under the skin because they are too big. Also, apply right before bed so it stays on her lips while she sleeps. I have this problem my self and this is the only way that they say moist! I feel for the poor thing!!
she needs to drink more water. moistening them from the inside of the body helps heal the cracks and keep them healthy way more than any chap stick....
I use blistex on the lips at night and cortaid around the kids around the lips. Chapstick is a waste of money. I have been trying different kinds for 30 years and I always come back to blistex. There is another one I have started using and it seems good. I have been seeing a lot of people using it. It is called Lypsyl. I don't know if it is helpful when the chapped lips are the most severe or not but it is good for having in the purse or bookbag during the day.
I have a hard time finding it, but I LOVE medicated Chapstick. It's a light blue tube - NOT the moisture one in light blue. It actually says MEDICATED. It's tingly. My 2 yr old wears mine as "lipstick". I think the ONLY place I can find it now is Walmart. Good luck to her!
A lot of those lip balms (including some of the Blistex ones) contain ingredients that actually make your lips need more lip balm over time. It does not heal the skin, simply makes the skin feel better at the moment. Best thing is to get something really simple with few ingredients. My favorite is Vaseline - it comes in a little tube and I think the only ingredient is petroleum jelly. It works extremely well, and does not have any skin-irritating ingredients. This will actually be a barrier to protect and heal the skin. Another one to try is chapstick - I'm not sure what it is called, but it is also very simple and works well healing skin. The label on the tube is blue and it is spf 10 or 15.
Pure lanolin. You can get lansinoh and use that 'cause that's all that is. I use it on my severely chapped lips and knuckles and it works great. A little goes a long way. It truely is my favorite (for loads of things).
My daughter actually has this same issue and HATES the typical lip balms because they burn. My pediatrician told me to try Eucerine Cream. The cream rather than the lotion as it is thicker. We use the Eucerine Cream in the mornings at night and like you I have made up a small thing for her to take to school. It is the only thing that I can find to keep the chapping under control and gone. The cream goes on nice and thick (even when rubbed in) and most importantly does NOT burn. It does not have any perfumes or any of those types of ingredients in it.
You can find it basically anywhere in the same area where the other lotions are sold. It is in a tub rather than a tube. Good luck and I can definitely sympathize as we deal with the same thing.
I 2nd Burt's Bees. Mine were killing me last night, put some on before bed and they feel almost SOFT this morning!
Tastes like peppermint.GL!
Aquaphor works great. I rub it on my kids lips and around their mouth before they go to school, and before bed when they tend to have chapped lips and it works great, and they will not lick it off My kids all have tendencies toward having the ring around their mouth of red skin where they lick around their mouth til it is raw so this really helps with that pretty quickly too.
Avon has a wonderful variety of lip balms. My favorite is the intensive (blue) one. They run around 99 cents and sometimes are on sale for only 69 cents each.
Make sure you use something natural! Children lick their lips a lot, which means she'll ingest whatever you put on there. That's why I would stay away from heavy chemicals in some of the big name brands (stay away from companies like Carmex - it may work well, but is considered a "high hazard" by the EWG). Check out the Environmental Working Group for more options, www.cosmeticsdatabase.com (click on skincare, lip balm, which will take you to the various hazard ratings of different lip balms). I personally like Burt's Bees, but if her lips are so chapped that they're bleeding every night, you might also take her to a dermatologist who might be able to prescribe something.
There has been some research done that has found that people who use chapstick regularly actually need it more than people who don't use it (perhaps this is what Grandma heard about?), but I think it's too late to worry about that. Instead, focus on what is in the lip balm you are giving your daughter, especially since she is using it so regularly. Ingredients in many U.S. lip balms (such as Carmex) have actually been banned due to toxicity in Europe and Japan. Good luck.
