The Healing Lip Balm

I was facing an episode of drying and chappy lips the last few days for no reason. I have been drinking my normal amount of water, and I hardly apply anything on my lips. And then, I remembered my dependable lip balm - Aroma Balm by Make Up Store.

Closeup of Aroma Balm (18g) by Make Up Store

As a matter of fact, I regret almost of all my purchases from Make Up Store. I believe there are good things, but it is the truth that the things I bought does not suit me at all. They made my face breakout in zits. And I had to discard entire jars/bottles of nearly untouched product left. It was a waste of money and products, considering the price.

However, one of the items that I love is actually this - the Aroma Balm. As the name suggests, it has a nice fragrance. And it can be used on any dry parts of your body, but keep it to a small area, as it comes in solid state, so it's not so convenient to keep digging lots of it to spread over your whole hand.

I found out that it heals dry skin very well. Be it the lips, elbows, knees are ankle. And for my latest episode of chapped lips, applying it on for one whole day, made my lips so soft like never before.

The 18g little jar it comes in make this perfect to slip into the handbag for travel. Yet this little amount can last very long. Used only occassionally, this has already followed me for 3 years. =)

About 2 years ago, I brought it on my Taiwan trip as the weather was cold and essentially winter over there (no snow). My friends who borrowed this Aroma Balm gave it the thumbs up too.

However, I hate to keep applying things on my body, so I just leave this aside when my skin doesn't gives me problems.

TIP: To remove dead skin from your lips, apply a very thick layer of lip balm to both your upper and lower lips. Leave on for about 20 minutes. Then use a soft used brush to brush off the balm while rinsing it off your lips. This will remove the dead skin without you tearing or biting your lips, and also leave your puckers soft and smooth.

After singing praises about it, I think it's fair that I list the cons of this item. Especially after I spent the last few days reading up on mineral oils, I find that I'll feel guilty if I recommend this balm to someone and the someone suffers from anything.

Mineral oils are derivatives of petroleum oil, more like a refinement of the by-product in the oil manufacturing and refinery industry. So saying, it sounds really poisonous to be using something from petroleum in skin care and cosmetics. Yet if you do a quick search on the internet, it is obvious that this world is divided over the effects of mineral oils on the body. There are some, who prefer the notion - prevention is better than cure, and go dead against mineral oils. But of course those who debunk myths and maintain that well-processed mineral oils possess minimal, if any harm, to the human body. (You can read basic information here: A Close Look At Health & Beauty Aids.)

In my opinion, I think that a little, non-prolonged usage of it will not do significant damage to the body. So saying, using the Aroma Balm, which contains petrolatum (a mineral oil), to heal dry skin only when it develops, should not be a problem for anyone. It's like taking panadol - take only when you are sick. But after you recover, let your body rest and rejuvenate on its own.

Aroma Balm's ingredients: Jojoba seed oil, Petrolatum, Cera alba, Lanolin oil, Sunflower oil, Shea butter, Hazelnut oil, Carnauba wax, Tocopheryl acetate, Ozokerite propylparaben, Eugenol, Linalool, D-limonene, Benzyl Salicyclate, BHT.