Why You Should Switch To Natural Lip Care

Lip balm rocks... but what is in it & what is it actually doing to our lips? & what about it supposedly being addicting?

There are plenty of different brands of lip creations for you to choose from to soothe dry chapped lips, get some colour, protection from the sun, a glimmer. As a kid I was a sparkly smacker Bonnebell type of girl, as a teen I loved Carmex & DuWop's Lip Venom, and now... well I'm becoming a naturally-based product fanatic, so my old faves are out, and my new ones only need being borrowed by a friend once to make them a fanatic, too.

Lip moisturizers are centuries old - back in the day gals used to mix up concoctions including good-for-your-lips ingredients like beeswax, jojoba oil, shea butter, and the juice of aloe vera plants. However in more recent days commercially developed lip balms have flown the natural coop and delved deep into toxic make-a-company-tons-of-money-by-sabotaging-your-lips trench.

Natural ingredients work with your body promoting good lip health (taking care of the delicate & extremely thin skin on your lips) and protecting your lips from environmental factors such as wind & pollution. Toxic balms containing carcinogenic petrolatum and mineral oil -both derived from petroleum-,  synthetic fragrances and flavours, propylene glycol, and human nervous system toxicant dyes (eg FD&C __), amongst other nasty ingredients can have the opposite effect: temporarily relieving your chapped lips & over the long haul in fact drying them out more - making you reach back for that balm again, and again, and again. Keep in mind that the pores on your lips are greater in size than those on your body and that you swallow & ingest pounds (that's right, pounds!) of lip stuff every year; it makes sense to be conscientious of what you are putting on (and therefor in) your mouth. + why would you expose yourself to those toxic concoctions when there are awesome alternatives?

Switching to a natural lip moisturizer is easy, and really won't cost you - there are tons of natural lip balms out there that are the same price as their non-natural counterpart. AND you get more effective, better-for-you care for your pout! Look for ones with ingredients like beeswax, almond oil, hempseed oil, jojoba oil, cocoa butter, shea butter, sunflower seed oil. Beeswax seals in moisture as well as attracts it out of the air to your lips. Pure oils are excellent excellent moisturizers and can give your lips shine. Organic is best since the use of pesticides is obnoxious, and not good for you.

I've heard good things about Burt's Bees, however since they were bought out by Clorox and have started making less-than-natural switches to their ingredient lists, I've steered clear. Saltspring Soapworks has a great lip balm, as does Rocky Mountain Soap Company (in 5 yummy flavours). Cheeky Cosmetics has some nice tinted ones with a natural peppermint flavour. Pangea Organics has some that I've heard rave reviews about but have never tried myself. I'd love to hear if you have any reviews/favourites:).