Lip Balm For Stretch Marks?
In a day and age where someone is always on the lookout for the latest cure and gimmick, it is not surprising to once in a while hear about the application of a perfectly useful cosmetics product in a way that has you thinking twice. This is the case with those who are purchasing lip balm wholesale, repackaging it, and then selling it as a surefire way of effecting some form or stretch mark relief.
Lip balm is of course well known to protect the sensitive skin of the lips from the sun, wind, and harsh environmental pollutants that contribute to the appearance of chapped lips, the formation of deep furrows, and the overall almost rampant development of cold sores. Yet could it be true that the humble lip balm actually contains the key to making stretch marks disappear?
Those in the know are highly skeptical, and with good reason! Granted, lip balm is considered an occlusive agent, which simply means that is serves to seal moisture into the skin. Thus, the substances most commonly used are petroleum jelly and beeswax, although many lip balms also contain flavoring agents, coloring, and also sunscreens. By and large it is the wax component that reduces the loss of moisture through the lips and thus enables the skin to heal to such an extent that – with repeated use and avoidance of unsavory habits such as lip biting – lips within a few short days will once again appeal supple, soft, and any ridges that might have formed on them are noticeably decreased.
Several skin care products manufactured for the use on stretch mark affected skin will also contain substances sought out for their ability to seal in moisture, but by and large they will also contain other compounds that will actually add the moisture back into the skin. Lip balm by itself will not provide your skin with the moisturizer or the emollient it needs to adequately increase its ability to form a healthier surface appearance, thus permitting fading stretch marks to further fade into the background. In addition to the foregoing, keep in mind that even though beeswax and petroleum jelly are renowned for their skin healing properties, the concentration needed for the use on lips is entirely different than that for the comparatively tougher skin of thighs and buttocks.
The skin of the lips is very thin, and you know how easy it is to absentmindedly bite your slightly chapped lip and suddenly draw blood. This would not be possible with the much tougher skin on other parts of the body where stretch marks occur. Similarly, even though savvy resellers may try to sell you on the idea that just like the lip balm will reduce the visibility of the lips deep ridges it could work wonders on your stretch marks, remember that the formation of the lips’ ridges are different in their entirety from the ridging that is associated with stretch marks. The former are much like slight wrinkles while the latter are actual scar tissue that is formed when the dermis is torn. Eliminating the slightly wrinkly appearance of a lower lip is completely different from causing scar tissue to disappear or change its appearance. Overall, the notion that lip balm for stretch marks might be useful is interesting, but unfortunately unworkable.
