Is Vaseline really that bad?

[berri]

2 separate people have moaned at me this week for using Vaseline on my lips - is it really that bad?

If the answer is yes, please give me some suggestions for something else I can use!!

really? i always use vaseline

That's 2 people you need to tell to get a life.

What on EARTH is so bad about vaseline that they would be moved to moan at you about it? How bizarre.

Lansinoh is far and away the best thing I've found for lips. It's a fantastic lip gloss as well. (I find coloured lip gloss really drying so I put on a bit of lipstick then a smear of lansinoh.)

They both said it's addictive and full of chemicals which makes your lips need more and more....rather alarmist I thought!! Mind you I do put it on about 100 times a day, but nothing else seems to do the job....

Haven't people been putting it on their lips for donkeys years without any ill-effects?

Yes, they have.

Honestly, Lansinoh is better, but vaseline is cheaper. Lansinoh sticks for ages.

hmm odd because i started using it after i got "addicted" to carmex!!!

vaseline is just vaseline isn't it? well, i realise it's petroleum jelly which in itself is a chemical i suppose? but that's the only ingredient

What? Surely not, I lurve vaseline

hmm i have been googling. from what i can tell it's actually pretty much harmless

it isn't absorbed into the skin anyway, so even if it was full of harmful chemicals (which it isn't) then unless you were actually eating it, it wouldn't really matter!

Vaseline feels so heavy and thick and tacky. I was also told that on really dry lips it starts to have the opposite effect and dry them out more
I LOVE Neutrogena healing lip balm, it comes in a little pot and is just brilliant for dry lips and sore winter noses. Instantly makes them feel better :)

You can eat it with no ill effects except diarrhoea, I think. And you have to eat a tubful. Loads of babies have had a go. DS got a tub once and probably ate a bit. I called a dr in our family and he said - meh, happens a lot.

Maybe it's being absorbed through my lips and onto my arse....would explain a lot.

Ok will tell them to get a life and carry on slathering it on!

i think like anything tho, if you start putting other stuff on then it can interfere with your body's natural way of lubricating/healing itself

in which case yes, it would make lips drier

i dunno, i only use it once a day now, whereas before i had to take lipbalm with me everywhere and constantly re-apply.

unprune... yes, 2 out of my 3 have done the same

I 2nd lansinoh, it's fab, I suffer from very dry skin and only need to put it on twice a day.

I have heard that it can dry lips out more too. I prefer kiehls lip balm it is worth the extra money & it was the only thing that worked for me when I had severely chapped skin & lips due to medication.

I take Vaseline everywhere for my lips. Maybe it is addictive, because I can't do without it. I have a pot in every bag. I still used to like eating it too.

I'm an ex-vaseline addict - I would start to panic if I didn't have a tin to hand! It took some doing to break the addiction too, as my lips felt painfully dry without it. I also read somewhere that vaseline starts to have to opposite effect on lips and causes them to dry out (which could explain why I used to re-apply it every 10 mins!). Just use a bit of lip gloss when going out these days.

I've been reading a thread on another forum about vaseline being drying on the lips, something to do with the mineral oil. I've been other trying various lip seals but interested about the lansinoh thats the nipple cream right? my poor little boy has terribly sore lips, the nurse said for him to stop licking them, not very helpful, its painful for him to eat, my elizabeth arden 8hr cream has helped a little i think.

Not keen on vaseline, it leaves a minging taste when you try to drink your cuppa.

Burt's Bees do a lovely balm, I'm a convert. Only need to put it on once a day and you're sorted.

Sadly I am a complete looser, and am in love with the new flip top pots.

Have one in my coat, my hand bag, by my bed, make up bag... love it

and DD has started asking for it too when its cold to stop her lips getting "crashed"

DD's paed said that petroleum jelly is not good for you and is suspected of being a carcinogen, hence she didn't recommemd Bepanthen except for when it was really necesary.

Vaseline is fine - there is no evidence of it causing any harm and actually studies on mineral oils have demonstrated them to be good for skin. Lips have no oil-producing mechanism anyway!

Kiehls is good but is mostly vaseline with a small amount of added vitamin E and aloe.

Burt's Bees tend to put menthol, lemon oil and other plant extracts in their products which can be irritating to skin.

The most important thing about what you put on your lips is that it contains SPF ideally 15+, even in the winter, to prevent sun damage causing depletion of collagen.

Carcinogen?? Jeeysus, really?! Wouldn't that be on the news or something seeing as everyone and their mother seem to use it?!