Table of contents:
- Constantly licking her lips made them even drier
- Some of the ingredients in lip balm should not be consumed, whether on purpose or not
It is a major beauty principle held by a million people that dry and chapped lips are an unattractive appearance. This may be why some people feel dependent on lip balms and are "hooked", or at least used to, the sensation of smooth, soft lips - meaning you'll tend to apply more of the product every time, again and again.
But, are you curious about what can happen when you frequently lick your lip balm and then swallow it? Can this habit really cause cancer as many believe?
Constantly licking her lips made them even drier
Licking lip balm is tempting because it tastes good. But this instant gratification is really not worth maintaining. The habit of licking your lips will actually make your lips even drier.
Your saliva contains salt and all kinds of other compounds besides water that are meant to help digest food. Lips are usually protected by a thin layer of oil that acts to trap moisture. When you lick your lip balm, the saliva that sticks to the surface of your lips starts to evaporate and brings along some of your natural lip oils, even though the process is slow. The more often you lick your lips, the more natural lip protection oils will be lifted up.
Without the protection of this natural oil, the surface of the lips will easily dry out and crack if exposed to cold temperatures, dryness, wind, or sunlight. The habit of licking your lips is an endless, vicious cycle: you feel your lips dry (plus the temptation of the delicious lip balm taste) so you feel compelled to lick them. Licking your lips makes your lips dry, so you add lip balm, lick them back, and so on.
But the risks of licking lip balm aren't just this, because…
Some of the ingredients in lip balm should not be consumed, whether on purpose or not
The rumor that lip balm contains dangerous cancer-causing agents has proven untrue. But there's one reason you rarely see menthol, bees wax, phenol, lanolin, salicylic acid and para-aminobenzoic acid in your favorite lip balm products. Lip balms containing para-aminobenzoic acid are slightly toxic - within tolerance limits - if ingested in small amounts such as tasting or licking them once or twice.
Ironically, you can get lip balm poisoning from licking your lip balm too much and often - especially if it's on purpose. This poisoning results from an overdose of para-aminobenzoic acid. Para-aminobenzoic acid is a natural substance that can absorb ultraviolet (UV) rays; often found in skin sunscreen products, including in lip balms that contain sunscreen.
Symptoms of lip balm poisoning can include diarrhea, eye irritation (if the product touches the eyes), intestinal obstruction, nausea and vomiting, shortness of breath (at very high doses). If you have an allergy to the dyes or perfumes in lip balm, you may experience tongue and throat swelling, a wheezing sound, and difficulty breathing. Luckily the amount you consume from licking lip balm every now and then isn't going to do much of a downside.
"Until now there have been no cases of extreme lip balm poisoning, apart from the usual complaints of stomach pain," explains Arleen K. Lamba, MD, medical director at the Maryland Blush Med Institute. "However, these ingredients are not meant to be consumed regularly or in large quantities," concluded Lamba.
This information only applies to cases of extreme ingestion. If you swallow more than one fist at a time, show symptoms of a severe allergic reaction, or if you are unsure of the exact substance or amount being ingested, call the emergency department (118/119) for recommendations specific to your situation.
