Chapped Bottom Lip?

I have had a chapped bottom lip for about a year. It is always the bottom lip, not the top. It's not just in winter though, it was happening in summer, and I live in a warm climate so it seems odd. I of course have tried (medicated) lip balm as well as staying hydrated (water)

I believe it was before I got a lot of my severe TMS symptoms (back neck etc pains). I tried doing a search on this here but didn't find a lot. Does anyone think there could be a medical condition for this particular issue or know what it could be?

 

Well... if you have doubts, see your GP to rule out anything serious.
I do believe that people who constantly apply lip balm are the ones that will have difficulty to get rid of chapped lips. So, yes, I do believe there's a strong TMS factor at play here.
Did you know that the best lip balm out there is...... (drum roll)...... ear wax!!! Yes, sounds gross, but it really is, don't tell your partner though....

 

Freedom....... I have to agree with Gigalos here. People that constantly apply balm struggle more with chapped lips. I'll have periods, even in the summer, where I'll have to use balm for a few weeks. Shoot, my wife has been using lip balm everyday, at least twice a day, since she was a teen.

If you're constantly licking your bottom lip, it's going to get chapped. I suck on my bottom lips a little too much sometimes, and that's it.....I'm balming for the next day or two.

 

I used to have a problem with extremely chapped lips too, but it was not TMS-related. I found that I was allergic to titanium dioxide -- it's practically in everything, including most lip balms since it protects from the sun. I stumbled across it because I was searching for how to treat my severe hand eczema. My dermatologist called it "eczema," but I now believe it was an allergic reaction that only looked like eczema. When I eliminated all products with titanium dioxide, my hands cleared up within a few weeks. Plus, my lips healed, which was a complete surprise to me since I wasn't even focused on looking how to treat that. Instead of a crack on the bottom lip, I had cracks on the corners of my mouth and my lips were dry all over (through all seasons). My dermatologist called it "Angular Cheilitis" and I think she prescribed an antifungal cream for it. I never ended up getting the cream since I was focused on the product elimination first. Now, all I do is put some pure, raw shea butter on it. In the winter, I find I have the normal type of winter dryness. I still use the shea butter and sometimes put Aquafor on top of the shea butter, if it's particularly dry and I'll be outdoors or want something heavy-duty before going to bed.

Titanium dioxide is also in most toothpastes that you can find at a grocery store or pharmacy, so I had to find a special one online. Many people have reactions to the SLS in toothpastes (sodium lauryl sulfate), but I found that for me, it was the titanium dioxide. I've been using Jason toothpaste, which has been fine.

There is one Tom's of Maine toothpaste that I could find at my grocery store that doesn't have titanium dioxide, but it would still make my skin problem act up. It is made on the same factory line as all their other toothpastes that DO have titanium dioxide. Back when I was going through all this, I actually contacted the company to find out more, and they replied that "between batches all equipment is steam cleaned and flushed out and then tested to insure there is no residue left from any previous material. It is a very thorough and supervised process.” That sounds pretty thorough. However, if you've ever used sunscreens with titanium dioxide or zinc oxide, you know how sticky and hard they are to get off your hands. I used a sunscreen spray on my daughter from Goddess Garden that had both titanium dioxide and zinc oxide. The spray left an outline of her footprints on our front steps, and it lasted through an entire New England winter! The next summer, it could still be seen. We thought it was funny to have her stand by it to see how much her feet had grown in a year. So, I don't believe that steam cleaning really gets rid of ALL the residue... (Of course, in terms of sun protection, it worked fine, and my daughter has no problems with titanium dioxide -- I only wanted to bring it up because it was interesting to me how long the imprints lasted on slate!)

Finally, I also had a few makeup items that note on the labels that they are made in a facility that uses titanium dioxide. This sounds like the way food packaging has labels that read "made in a facility that processes nuts". Based on everything I've been through, I suspect that allergies to titanium dioxide might be a lot more common that is believed.

Some other good things for lips: coconut oil and a product called Egyptian Magic (it's mostly olive oil, beeswax, honey and royal jelly). These are all ingredients that can be beneficial if it's actually a fungal issue instead, but are also just gentle and soothing in general. Raw shea butter is my favorite though.

I hope this info helps you! Good luck!!

 

Hi! I just wanted to share my own experience - I had really bad chapped lips for a while. The more lip balm I applied the worse they got. Turns out I was allergic to the lip balm!!! I switched to the EOS balms but can only use the "mint" flavor without problems.

 

Was it your Top AND Bottom lip? I find it strange that it's only my bottom lip.

It's continuing to happen and now it starts to bleed at times .
It's a bit frustrating as I imagine it might appear to some people like I am unhealthy, even though I watch what I eat, take vitamins, drink water, take care of hygiene, etc.

 

Why did you choose shea butter over other products? Can this be found at walmart, etc? [https://www.amazon.com/African-Shea-Butter-Cream-100/dp/B0009MHJE4/ref=sr_1_9_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1489781338&sr=8-9&keywords=raw+shea+butter (Amazon.com : African Shea Butter Cream (100% Pure & Raw, Gold) 8 Oz. : Body Butters : Beauty)]
This looks like the egyptian cream (not cheap lol)? https://www.amazon.com/Egyptian-Purpose-Personal-Healthcare-Health/dp/B00EXPS4UG/ref=sr_1_3_s_it?s=beauty&ie=UTF8&qid=1489781345&sr=1-3&keywords=egyptian+magic (Amazon.com : Egyptian Magic All Purpose Skin Cream 2oz / 59ml Personal Healthcare / Health Care : Beauty)

Would it be overkill to use both shea butter and the egyptian cream?
Also, at that point you would not use regular chapstick?

Is this the toothpaste?
https://www.amazon.com/Jason-Fresh-Toothpaste-Spearmint-Ounce/dp/B000FGDIRQ/ref=sr_1_2_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1489781189&sr=8-2&keywords=jASON%2Btoothpaste&th=1 (Amazon.com: Jason Sea Fresh Toothpaste, Deep Sea Spearmint, 6 Ounce: Beauty)

Thanks!

 

I use natural lip balm all day long. Probably over 20 times a day for the last 8 years and I've never had a problem. Maybe switch to all natural ingredients? I don't like EOS or Chapstick brand. They taste fake.

 

Using the natural toothpaste and shea butter now. Lips are still chapping unfortunately . I got an appointment with a doctor, and they said I will need a dermatologist so I am waiting on getting an appointment with one (will take a few weeks).

 

I used to use chapstick everyday for a long time. Once started tms healing it completely went away, even in the dry cold winter months

 

Thanks, could you share details on the name of the lip balm you use more? As well as which ingredients we're the problem from the previous balm?

 

Freedom – I’m not sure why I didn’t receive your questions before (I’m terrible at techy stuff, but I don’t know why I didn’t get notified in my inbox until now that you had posted a question to my reply in 2017?!). I’m so sorry that you’re going through this still and that the shea butter, natural toothpaste and TMS work hasn’t help. (And, yes, that’s the pricey Egyptian Magic, but it lasts a REALLY long time! I’m not encouraging you to buy it though if the shea butter didn’t work.) I did find that switching to natural ingredients was better for me and still follow the same routine.

Not to throw more stuff out there, but… I found that a big factor with my hand eczema was also nickel. As another metal, I’m not surprised that it was connected for me. With metal allergies, sometimes it takes only a little touch and then it takes a day or so to get really full blown and spread. (For me, it was using my house keys, which I switched to the coated/decorative ones – problem gone.) There are studies out there showing that metal allergies are on the rise with so many of the past couple generations getting more piercings and tattoos. Are you a musician? I wonder if your lips are touching anything that might cause a reaction.

I hope that you can find an answer and relief soon.