What to do if Your Find Your Lip Balm Regularly Gives You Perioral Dermatitis
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Jordan Samuel Pacitti is an aesthetician, skincare founder and regular Live That Glow columnist. He is a go-to source of beauty advice for skincare fans across the world. Here, he advises a reader on why lip balm can sometimes cause perioral dermatitis.
I find most lip balms always give me perioral dermatitis. What ingredients are causing this and how do I pick a lip balm that doesn’t give me the condition?
Jordan says:
While the underlying cause behind a flare up of any skin condition, including perioral dermatitis (PD), can vary from person to person, there are a few main culprits that will often act as common exacerbators…
For one, certain fragrances, essential oils and flavours in lip balms can absolutely be a reason your PD is acting up. Essential oils like peppermint or cinnamon can really cause issues, which is extremely frustrating since they happen to be some of the most used scents/flavours in lip products.
Also, those prone to perioral dermatitis will want to avoid the use of heavier ointments and occlusive ingredients, as they can trap heat, moisture and bacteria in the skin; however, this can prove to be tricky as most lip balms purposefully feature those types of ingredients.
For example, ingredients like mineral oil, petrolatum, shea butter, coconut oil and beeswax could all possibly cause concerns with your PD. Again, it’s important to note that it will not be one size fits all scenario where certain ingredients are always good and other ingredients are always bad for those who experience PD. Individual skins will have differing responses concerning which ingredients are fine and which ingredients will cause an issue.
Finally, it’s important to keep application within your lip line. This simple trick can help the balm from going onto your skin and causing issues.
Taking all of this into consideration, your safest bet will be to start with something that is flavor, fragrance and essential oil-free when choosing a lip product. You may also want to seek products with less occlusive ingredients.
As I mentioned above, this won’t be a perfect science, so it might be touch and go for you while figuring out what works and what doesn’t. Initially, I would suggest looking at lip oils, lip milks and lip balms that aren’t chock full of occlusives.
Jordan Samuel Pacitti
Founder & CEO, Jordan Samuel Skin
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