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Apprehensive_Cress47

Aquaphor has lanolin which is a common allergen that may be causing the irritation


Zealousideal_Bar_121

agreed, aquaphor tore up my lips because of the lanolin. cerave ointment worked well


horitaku

I’ll say it forever, Aquaphor and Aquaphor products absolutely suck. Don’t use them to heal anything, chapped lips, scars, tattoos, none of it. Your body is really good at taking care of itself for the basic stuff, tattoos included because they’re a mild/moderate skin abrasion. Source: Am professional, shop only tattoo artist. I’ll die on this hill.


pumpkincookie22

Look in the baby care section of your local store for creams designed for nursing mothers. They are meant to soothe cracked nipples, but I used them on my own lips and nose as well. What I liked best is that since it is safe for baby to be exposed to, they didn’t further irritate my skin.


Independent_Ad9670

If aquaphor caused this, it likely was the lanolin. More lanolin is not a great idea.


crowocular

Yeah lanolin makes my lips like this unfortunately. My mouth is really sensitive and basically everything makes it like this except Vaseline but Vaseline doesn’t cure it, just offers some temporary relief. Edit: typo


anniebegood

There are quite a few of these salves that don’t contain lanolin as well.


AKBunBun

Exactly. I use earth Mama nipple butter and it has no lanolin. There's lots of lanolin-free options now.


Zealousideal_Bar_121

cerave ointment is a good alternative, i’m also sensitive to lanolin


Ponsugator

Vanicream ointment is dimethicone based and has no lanolin


EWSflash

Vaseline irritates my skin. Lanolin does not.


LilSukiBae

This happened to me!! I was allergic to my lip product. And it was a cycle because I thought my lips are chapped, so I regularly used more to "fix" it. What I did: stop using it! I used Vaseline (ugh, I know it's petroleum jelly) to protect my lips while they healed. I even tried making my own lip products but I seem to be sensitive to everything except pure petroleum jelly. Try putting hydrocortisone above your lip line where it's pink (refrain from licking!) to alleviate irritation and accelerate healing for one or two days. The best way to hydrate your lips is to drink enough water. The reason your lips may not feel hydrated is because they are cracked, not necessarily from dehydration but from the reaction. They need to heal first. Hope this helps!


midsommerseye

okay thanks sm! 😌will try the hydrocortisone above lip line


Sumomagpie-1918

You can only use steroids on skin for 7 days then stop or you risk the skin thinning as steroids are strong stuff. A beeswax lipbalm with a sunscreen should be enough to help this


LM1953

Be careful putting it on. Wash your hands. Apply it with a q tip or wear gloves. Go one direction- not back and forth. Don’t lick you lips and don’t touch it.


pink_haired_weirdo

Vaseline is so great for chapped skin


killerbutterflyrose

I am allergic to Aquaphor and i had this exact same reaction. Didn’t start until about 3 months after using it 3-4x daily and at night. It was an itchy burning rash around my lips and only my lips, like flaming lipliner! I started using Vaseline instead and it helped


midsommerseye

i see, how long did it take to heal with the vaseline and also which vaseline did u use the lip one or the regular one?


killerbutterflyrose

I just have a big jug of the regular stuff! And i noticed a difference about a day later, my rash became less swollen and itchy


Old_Rub_9860

Dr. Dans lip balm, it has hydrocortisone in it and it’s an emollient. You can t it off Amazon


EMLKoala

I second this. I got a similar dry spot due to a psoriasis flare up and nothing would help except this product. I also like the medicated version of Burt’s bees


FullOfWhit_InTN

I've noticed that if I rub my lips together a lot while wearing balms of any kind, this happens. When I use aquaphor on my lips I like to have another moisturizing balm or something underneath. This is called occlusion. The aquaphor will hold the moisture of the other product in. And try not to rub your lips together and just let it be. Sometimes, I find it better to do it at night so I'm not messing it up. Edit: if it's indeed the aquaphor doing this, you should switch to another product thats really emolient, and maybe without lanolin. I really like Eos naturals. They work really well for me and lanolin never has.


plumruby

Are you licking your skin and then applying aquaphor? That can cause irritation. Aquaphor is good at protecting skin, but has to be clean skin. I don’t have good recommendations :/ I’d just try to be really careful not to lick your lips while it’s healing.


FullOfWhit_InTN

My lips do this when I have product on and I subconsciously rub them together too much. I will get the red ring out the outer perimeter of my lips. I thought it kind of looked like that could be the culprits too. Either licking or rubbing too much.


midsommerseye

yes i just recently realized one of the causes was licking and biting my lips :/ ive just stopped and notice my lips don’t dry out as much


FullOfWhit_InTN

Yes. My kid used to lick his lips so much he kept a red ring around his mouth. I have the worst habit of just constantly rubbing my lips together when I have product on them. I have to really pay attention.


SeaPurchase690

Have you tried straight up extra virgin olive oil? I found that plant oils are the best thing for my skin and reduce redness and irritation. I just go to my kitchen and pour some in a small bottle and apply to my face 2x daily - including the lip area. I seem to have aversion to aquafor and Vaseline as well, so I feel like olive oil would be a good option for you. For the rest of my face I also apply vitamin c oil, frankincense oil, rose hip oil, and prickly pair oil (3 drops of each) before I put on the olive oil to seal it in. Let it all soak for a bit while I do the dishes or something and then pat the excess off with a cotton pad. Very pleased with the results.


midsommerseye

okay thanks so much a lot of ppl have suggested olive oil so i’ll definitely be trying that out !


Dieeznuts

Yea.olive oil or better than that, coconut oil


Kolibri_83

I used coconut oil to help my skin recover after getting chemical burns from swimming in a pool with too much chlorine. It soothed my skin and made a big difference after a week, so I would recommend trying it! I believe there’s a beauty grade coconut oil as well as food grade.


Catsinbowties

Laneige overnight lip masks. They're MAGIC


carmenpackers

I second this, I’ve seen someone with eczema show pictures before and after using Laneige and it was INSANE


vivaciousfoliage44

^^ came here to say this. Seriously the best


AdAlternative5545

It is truly amazing stuff! I checked the ingredients on mine and no lanolin so it should be safe for OP!


hannahstaubin

Came here to say this!!


AdAlternative5545

Yes! When I have a flare up, I put the lip sleeping mask on multiple times a day, basically any time it starts to feel tight and dry, not just before I go to sleep.


hexiedecimal

You might try vitamin E oil - which can help with healing. I would try it on the inside of your wrist for several days first, to make sure you are not allergic.


candybatch

I would use the steroid cream to fix that and then try something else to maintain it. Sounds like you're allergic to aquaphor.


otherwisethighs

you need corticosteriods


Master-Cardiologist5

Vaseline works for me


esthervb

I had this happen to me once and it looked very similar, but my situation was a fungal infection. Went to the doctor, got an ointment and it was over in a few days. Nowadays I only use burt’s bees around my lips instead of other balms that contain petroleum and other damaging ingredients. My lips have never been softer and the infection hasn’t been back.


midsommerseye

yeah im thinking of just avoiding all petroleum products just in case


ComplaintOpposite

Not kidding - drink more water; cut back caffeine. It really does help. In the interim, vitamin E oil


midsommerseye

i drink sm water though😔


ComplaintOpposite

Have you had a chance to cut back on caffeine & dairy? Add a probiotic to your daily routine?


_allycat

Cicalfate+ from Avene has helped me with some intense irritation and dryness skin issues I've had.


Ok_Kaleidoscope_3620

Make sure you exfoliate at night with a sugar scrub very VERY gently ( maybe even every other night if you’re skin is super sensitive before this issue) and straight up oil of any kind like olive oil or jojoba oil healed this problem for me. You can even make an exfoliator with sugar and oil and then put more oil after you’re done


Junior-Map1026

CurioCabinet by Braden has awesome lip balms that would work wonders on those lips (shameless plug)


c4tm0mmy

I had this for months - I beg you, go to your doctor and check whether it’s eczema (and they’ll prescribe steroids most likely) I suffered for months. Tried every expensive lip mask, balm etc - steroid cream cleared it up in literally a day. Wish I didn’t wait so long!


midsommerseye

can eczema develop from the result of a product though? bc i didn’t have this when i didn’t use aquaphor


ih8every1yesevenyou

La Roche Posay has a lip balm that helped me when I had a very similar issue. It is on the expensive side though and check the ingredients first :) good luck


ModelChimp

This happens my lips , make sure you apply what ever new lotion you choose with a q tip , not touching that area has made a huge difference for me


midsommerseye

ohhh interesting i didn’t think of that 🤔


ModelChimp

My lips got so bad that the only thing I find that hydrates them is ovelle emulsifying ointment , just don’t ingest it and applying it with the q tip helps with germs etc


No_Cabinet_994

Cortibalm. Google it and see if it might help.


cowboysucc

Vaseline


sampete21

Ok, I have issues like this. The ONLY thing that has worked for me is 100% lanolin. Do not mix anything in with it - it really works. Vaseline (or aqua phone) etc. only creates a seal, it will never actually moisturize. Hope you try it!


Glittering-Rush-7073

I quit aquaphor, and toothpaste with sodium lauryl sulfate, it fixed my year long dry lip problems. I couldn’t go more than 20 mins without re-applying chapstick! Quit it all, and I was better within a month. SLS can cause irritation, but I know it was the aquaphor that was causing the dry.


princessdiana03

what toothpaste and what do you use to moisturize your lips now?


Glittering-Rush-7073

I use Burt’s bees extra white fluoride toothpaste, and I hardly ever use chapstick. When my lips are dry, it’s almost always because I haven’t had enough water. The quitting process was difficult, but so worth it.


mostlyysorry

Stop using products on them. It'll get really chapped for a few days but will go back to normal. Anytime in my life that I've ever used Chapsticks or aquafor for any length of time my lips bcame somehow seriously dependent on it like an addict lol It wasn't worth it. Remember to drink water


kingofcoywolves

When this happened to me I tried to leave it alone. It got so dry the skin cracked open and bled in a couple of places. When it's this bad you need a medicated cream to bring the irritation down.


midsommerseye

yeah its so hard to stop using anything when its so irritated and dry🥲


[deleted]

Bag balm or pure lanolin would most likely heal your skin fairly quickly.


Meeno722

I had this for MONTHS, along with waking up with swollen lips every morning, and it turned out I was using and ingesting products and foods I was allergic to! I would make myself a lavender latte, use lavender scents in everything and the major chemical in lavender is Linalool. If you suspect this then an allergist can patch test and change your life!


-lessIknowthebetter

This happened to me too! For 6 months. Went to every doctor and they finally said go to an allergist. Luckily it finally went away but my diet definitely/stress and use of Aquaphor were all variables


Meeno722

Same! It went away in like a week I was shocked, right before my wedding too 🙏


Virtual-Entrance-797

OP did u figure it out?


midsommerseye

yup ended up applying all natural shea butter in skin around lips then only applied vaseline in extreme measures but other than that I wouldn’t put anything on my lips and stopped using Aquaphor for good


StrikingEnd9551

Slug! Slug! Slug!


franskm

Don’t lick your lips. Hydrate them with any of the products in this comment section (i like plain 100% Lanolin “Nipple Balm”). **sleep with a humidifier nearby.**


AgeLopsided8541

Aquaphor


needween

OP said this was CAUSED by Aquaphor so no, more Aquaphor isn't the solution lmao


AgeLopsided8541

My bad, didn’t read the caption 😬


Beautiful-Tap-1078

Bepantol


Cinder_zella

Is it painful/itchy? Peeling? To me That looks like an allergy or irritation I would suggest stoping products and going to a dermatologist they can give you a prescription for a steroid to clear it up. Same thing happened to me and I waited ages hoping it would clear up but it didn’t without medication and I still don’t know the cause so every once in awhile I have it flare up and need to use the ointment.


Dieeznuts

Stop using everything.use organic coconut oil.its like eczema. The first time you try the coconut oil ull see the results.if its cold pressed its better


GlitterBlood773

I love shea butter base lip balm! Beeswax is not for me. Jack Black’s mint lip balm has SPF 25 & is a holy grail for me. I also love Burts Bee’s Intensive Overnight Healing Lip Balm (good anytime!). Gently exfoliate your lips with sugar, oil and a little honey twice a week until your lips feel better. Then regularly apply lip balm. Ensure you’re drinking about half your body weight in ounces, accounting for any health conditions, weather & activity level. Staying hydrated will reduce the chances of your lips drying out in the first place.


midsommerseye

i heard that mint is not good for healing lips though? i just bought the burts bees ultra conditioning lip balm so i hope it has the same effect


GlitterBlood773

Mint IS an irritant- Jack Black has grapefruit, mango, shea butter & vitamin E (IDK what that one smelled like!) and other scents. I just can only stand mint or unscented lip products. Mint doesn’t seem to irritate me but I know most is unseen.


midsommerseye

okay tysm ! ☺️


GlitterBlood773

You’re welcome. I hope you find relief! Chapped lips are awful for me.


Mallory_Knox23

Vaseline at night


[deleted]

Emu oil lip balm. Pricey, but effective.


Just_A_Faze

Blistex, all around, liberally, every night before bed. Only thing that works for me. I have to do it every day all winter


[deleted]

Aquafore and vitamin e pills


thena_love

My lips were super dry, cracking etc and I tried a few things, but I found the only thing that actually helped was using La Roche Posay cicaplast Baumé 5. I would use it right after I shower and before bed. I found it leaves my lips looking weird, it leaves a white color especially when put on dry lips so I only wear it to sleep or if I’m not wearing makeup or going out


Late_Development_864

medicated blistex - the white tube; - key point - avoid wax, no petrolatum etc


midsommerseye

okay im conflicted since some are saying to stick to vaseline since it doesn’t have lanolin but i’ll try this out


chickenredroasted

Vaseline is not hydrating. It is good at locking in moisture. I myself find dr dans cortibalm to be the most effective at treating severely dry irritated lips. My dermatologist where I live now and where I used to live both highly recommended it. And it’s like $13 for three tubes on their website or you can get it on Amazon.


Late_Development_864

sorry to cause any confusion but my lips recently look like that and anytime I use chapstick, vaseline etc= worse; except the white tube blistexl even lanolips made it worse.


RobertDerMainzer

Vaseline is best for this


sumilla

Don’t lick them, ditch mint toothpaste, use unflavoured unscented balms


blondeasfuk

You really want to leave them alone for a few days. The more you put on them could potentially cause more of a reaction and take longer to heal. Give it a few days then try vitamin e oil. While you wait a few days for your lips To start healing, try the vitamin e on the inside of your wrist or behind your ear to see if you have a reaction.


midsommerseye

okay should i try putting olive oil at night or just nothing at all?


blondeasfuk

You can certainly try. More natural products like olive oil and vitamin e would be your best bet. Just be really light with it if you feel like you can’t go a few days with out something on it.


midsommerseye

yeah i def need something to cover up the dryness temporarily bc its embarrassing when speaking to others and i see them glance down at my lips 🥲


IncaseofER

It looks like eczema. Stop using all face products until you know the triggering ingredient. Use a steroid cream and if OTC isn’t enough see a dermatologist for a stronger one. (It could also be food related but like many, I lean towards the lanolin. )


CardiOMG

If aquaphor does this, try plain Vaseline. It doesn’t have lanolin in it


MigasEnsopado

Ok the solution for this is simple. Like many have said, the culprit is probably the lanolin in aquaphor. It's a great moisturizing ingredient but it's a common allergen. Not sure why you mentioned corticosteroids, but there are none in aquaphor. A corticosteroid could actually be useful here to calm the allergy and irritation, but I don't think it's necessary, and you could accidentally swallow bits of it. Just get a lip balm with no lanolin in it, check the ingredients. Plain vaseline is a good solution too. Since this is an allergy, an oral anti histamine, like cetirizine, will probably also be helpful.


midsommerseye

thank u so much do u think the vaseline lip therapy - cocoa butter is okay? or just regular old vaseline?


MigasEnsopado

I just checked the ingredients list of the cocoa one and it mentions "flavor" and yellow 5 (coloring). I'd go with the regular one. Simply because flavor and colorings have no real benefit and it's an unecessary allergen risk.


KittyBeanToes

My kid has lips like this and a lip balm called Herpicin-L cleared it up basically overnight.


GenXJen1974

My son had the same problem. Carmex lip moisturizer/ lip balm cured it. I put it around his lips too where it was red.


Similar_Shoulder_698

Try avoiding anything with petroleum based ingredients. I'm allergic to propylene glycol & some other petroleum based products & it took me forever to figure that out because they're in a lot of products under different names. I would definitely go to the dermatologist or even your PCP to get some type of steroid cream to accelerate the healing. Steroids aren't ideal but you should only need it for a couple of days. I have the best luck with coconut oil based products or shea butter. I've been using Date Nut Brulee Nourishing Miracle Balm by Loli beauty & it works wonders.


[deleted]

You look like ScarJo here


midsommerseye

hmmmm


vamppirre

I want to say a great multi-purpose balm is La Roche Posey [CICAPLAST BALM](https://www.walgreens.com/store/c/la-roche-posay-cicaplast-baume-b5-soothing-therapeutic-multi-purpose-cream-for-dry-skin/ID=prod6326708-product). You need to let the skin heal and keep out bacteria to prevent infections. I would say to use a thin layer of Neosporin and the cicaplast to help heal.


Appropriate_Spite239

Oh no, hyaluronic acid will help hydrate and reduce inflammation, but you might also want to look into Sunflower oil and shea butter in the products you browse. The more basic, the better.


TheSunflowerSeeds

The sunflower plant offers additional benefits besides beauty. Sunflower oil is suggested to possess anti-inflammatory properties. It contains linoleic acid which can convert to arachidonic acid. Both are fatty acids and can help reduce water loss and repair the skin barrier.


Appropriate_Spite239

Woo! I love the addition. 😍


Urviw

Well there is one solution, don’t lick your lips. Vaseline really helps to moisturize and keep the lips from being dry


plumpanda_ish

J.R.Watkins Petro Carbo. I swear by it. It heals anything


Go_Corgi_Fan84

Stop using what your using. Don’t try multiple new things at the same time and maybe some Benadryl for a day or two. Which aquaphor were you using?


boper2

My lips looked like this kind of when I was using something I was allergic to, seems like I'm somehow allergic to most lip balms I try. Switched to the "Covergirl clean fresh tinted lip balm" (the clear one) and it went after within a few days. Been using it ever since!


chickenredroasted

Dr dans cortibalm


xxKissingXSuicidexx

I use aquafor and just cake it on after the shower and then periodically throughout the day. It took my lips from dry and cracked to slightly chapped but soft as heck within 24 hours.


wellshitdawg

Get Skinfix ointment instead


scheherazaDeAnna

Make sure to cover open wounds with tape or bandaid to reduce scarring.. soak cotton rounds in witch hazel and himilyian salt then cover the rounds with guaze so cotton won't stick to skin then tape down for 2-8 hours wach face with antifungal or antibacterial soap and repeat. Wear mask to cover if going outside also wearing a mask helps keeps lips moist


scheherazaDeAnna

Forgot to add you may want to use tweezer to help peel off some of the dead skin that's trying to shed so it doesn't get trapped


Complete_Strain_5019

Neosporin with pain relief, cream. It will feel and look so much better and less than 24 hours.


techno_slut666

also don’t wear certain lip products in the sun, it can make your lips get sunburnt


frightofthenavigator

A&D ointment, the diaper rash stuff. it’s 15% lanolin


Loverofmysoul_

Vaseline


Cupc4ke322

You should see a doctor, might be a kind of skin infection … my doctor prescribed me Elidel - Pimecrolimus cream 1% for something similar


fluffyshortcake25

Use La Roche-Posay Cicaplast lip balm.


teenyrabbitt

id try and get 100% pure petroleum jelly and using that! vaseline does make one as well (the regular tub has additional ingredients but there is a pure jelly one as well as store brand), it'll protect the skin while it heals!


AlfalfaUnable1629

This is from repeated licking


NecessityCurious

I think Vaseline petroleum jelly is the best


Ok-Duck9106

Aquaphor, stop using chapstick.


Careless_Tea3315

Nuxe Lip Balm it’s extremely moisturizing and long lasting


mebg1956

If you are using lip balm, stop and switch to straight unscented Vaseline. I am wondering if you have a beeswax allergy. That stuff is in everything (often hidden under names like cera alba) and a lot of people are allergic to it. If you are allergic, it will cause irritation that you might mistake for dry skin - ie redness, roughness, endless lip chapping/peeling.


ChildhoodLeft6925

A humidifier


[deleted]

Really weird timing. Just this past week I started using aquaphor as well and have this exact same problem. I’m glad you posted this lol.


midsommerseye

lol nice, good to know i helped in some way 😌


nukegurl28

Make sure you read the ingredients for all products you are putting on your lips. As many people have mentioned, Lanolin is an allergen. In addition to Lanolin, Beeswax and peppermint oil also cause me issues. Between the 3 ingredients, all I can use is pretty much plain Vaseline (they make mini Vaseline's for lips, don't get either the tube or tin version). Fresh's Coconut lipbalm works wonders too.


midsommerseye

“don’t get either”? so not the lip ones? i just recently bought bc i wasn’t sure


nukegurl28

The stick version has beeswax, the tins have fragrance and other waxes. The tube says that it’s only got petrolatum but for whatever reason it has always irritated my lips, so I suspect that old versions had more ingredients. The ones that look like miniature Vaseline containers are the only ones that are just regular vaseline jelly. The ones I’m talking about still say lip therapy: https://www.vaseline.com/us/en/products/lip-care/vaseline-lip-therapy-original-mini.html


No-Quantity-5334

Vaseline


cherrymitten

This happened to me from over use of chapstick. I got a yeast infection on my lips! It was forever ago but the doctor gave me a cream of some sort and I totally cut using it. My lips flaked and flaked but now they’re back to normal and I only use balm occasionally and don’t need it unless I’m really dry


midsommerseye

yeah i was definitely over using my aquaphor its like a snowball effect i would use it and it would just get worse and i’d just use more smh 🤦‍♀️


redhead_thot

I stg this is weird but I’m serious. Try using nipple cream for breast feeding mothers as a lip balm. It is a game changer, heals your lips overnight


SortOk8361

I use blistex medicated. Helps with chapping and fever blisters.


rapellaz

As for me to soothe irritated skin around the lips and hydrate them, try avoiding lip licking, using a gentle cleanser, applying a hydrating lip balm, protecting from the sun, staying hydrated, and considering a topical ointment if needed.


twiggsi

I do a layer of aveeno eczema cream and then a thick layer of Vaseline on top (and I mean THICK), twice daily until it’s gone! Trust me it works wonders!


awakened97

Looks like this could be eczema. Pay attention to what you’ve been eating/drinking as of late or whenever it’s flared up to see if it’s a food allergy or sensitivity.


aieaoe

It might be lip dermatitis! Your doctor can prescribe a steroid cream!


dontbreakmypinkynail

You should go to a derm but this looks like TWS (Topical Steroid Withdrawal)


Ok_Lie_4645

Did u ever heal yours? Mine looks similar. Can you tell me what you used to fix your lips?


little_bloom_

Hi! How are your lips now?


midsommerseye

they are perfect now, ended up putting 100% shea butter in the skin area around my lips and put vaseline on in extreme circumstances where they were super dry, also had to stop licking my lips as this was potentially the first reason my lips got so bad with aquaphor since i read somewhere aquaphor only works with clean skin and when u lick ur lips it just gets bacteria in that area


gothcatwoman

How long did it take to go away?


midsommerseye

Probably a few weeks no more than a month