I can honestly tell you I never thought that much about lip balm. Other than the fact that I needed it in my possession at all times. Or if it wasn't that I needed to stop and buy some. The reality was that over the years it had become really the one true item that I had to have with me or I wouldn't make it very long. Sure there were days I probably didn't use it much, but even just the thought of it not being available made my lips start to feel chapped. The thing is, when you get to that level of need in any product you become a slave to it.
I wanted to be free but honestly couldn't find much information to help me. I had tried half heartedly many times before to stop using the stuff, but in the end I would reach a point of uncomfortableness or pain that just didn't seem worth giving up the luscious amazing feeling of well balmed lips. I did find a handful of blogs and posts here and there about how others have quit and I took what I could out of them since resources on this topic seemed to be scarse. The take away from these blogs that rang true in my experience can be summed up by these few bullet points:
- It's going to suck, like try to keep you head up and positive as your goal is nobel but you are about to be uncomfortable and in some minor pain for some time.
- The entire process could take up to a year. The hard part passed for me around 6 months.
- It's a cyclical process. This means that your lips are going to chap up, peel, regenerate and chap up, peel and regenerate several times for months. Think of it under the scope of building back up your lips ability to self lubricate. Using balm all of those years of any kind reduces the necessity for our lips to produce their own oils and protection. They now have to relearn how to do this. So for me at least it was a full cycle of peel and regenerate somewhere around 6 times which took about 6 months.
- The first time was the worst. Just do it, make this work. It is worth it. If you need a brief repreave then use it once in a week but know that every time you go back you have to relive that week again. It took me some time to realize this. It would help for a night or that day but it would set me back to the start almost every time.
- After that first round know that you're in it for the long haul but that it's far from over.
And in the end the best lesson was that even after this process you're going to have days and weeks where your lips are a little chapped. This is now your life. You have lips that produce protection and regenerate as they get damaged. Some say that on a bad sunburn or dry spell it's fine to go back and use once or twice to get through it. I do use a grape seed and olive oil face application every morning and that usually gets my lips a little bit too some on some level I am probably still soothing them some on the daily. But I have never gone back to actual application when needed. I push through those times and they are so small and easy in comparison to how they were that I recognize the life value I have gained in being free of lip balm. Never having that moment again where you're in the middle of nowhere and realize that you don't have that little stick or container and you know you're in for a painful few days until you can find some again.
Some folks think it depends if you're using natural or chemical balms. I used many types of both over the years and none really ever helped me to ween myself off. So in the end cold turkey was the best option for me if I was going to succeed.
I certainly miss having the soft and amazing lip feel I did when I was using it forever. Know that you will not have that any longer. They will be normal people lips. Yeah, it's like a real thing... who knew.
I wish you the best and I hope this little info session helps anyone out there if they are looking to stop using lip balm.
I wanted to be free but honestly couldn't find much information to help me. I had tried half heartedly many times before to stop using the stuff, but in the end I would reach a point of uncomfortableness or pain that just didn't seem worth giving up the luscious amazing feeling of well balmed lips. I did find a handful of blogs and posts here and there about how others have quit and I took what I could out of them since resources on this topic seemed to be scarse. The take away from these blogs that rang true in my experience can be summed up by these few bullet points:
- It's going to suck, like try to keep you head up and positive as your goal is nobel but you are about to be uncomfortable and in some minor pain for some time.
- The entire process could take up to a year. The hard part passed for me around 6 months.
- It's a cyclical process. This means that your lips are going to chap up, peel, regenerate and chap up, peel and regenerate several times for months. Think of it under the scope of building back up your lips ability to self lubricate. Using balm all of those years of any kind reduces the necessity for our lips to produce their own oils and protection. They now have to relearn how to do this. So for me at least it was a full cycle of peel and regenerate somewhere around 6 times which took about 6 months.
- The first time was the worst. Just do it, make this work. It is worth it. If you need a brief repreave then use it once in a week but know that every time you go back you have to relive that week again. It took me some time to realize this. It would help for a night or that day but it would set me back to the start almost every time.
- After that first round know that you're in it for the long haul but that it's far from over.
And in the end the best lesson was that even after this process you're going to have days and weeks where your lips are a little chapped. This is now your life. You have lips that produce protection and regenerate as they get damaged. Some say that on a bad sunburn or dry spell it's fine to go back and use once or twice to get through it. I do use a grape seed and olive oil face application every morning and that usually gets my lips a little bit too some on some level I am probably still soothing them some on the daily. But I have never gone back to actual application when needed. I push through those times and they are so small and easy in comparison to how they were that I recognize the life value I have gained in being free of lip balm. Never having that moment again where you're in the middle of nowhere and realize that you don't have that little stick or container and you know you're in for a painful few days until you can find some again.
Some folks think it depends if you're using natural or chemical balms. I used many types of both over the years and none really ever helped me to ween myself off. So in the end cold turkey was the best option for me if I was going to succeed.
I certainly miss having the soft and amazing lip feel I did when I was using it forever. Know that you will not have that any longer. They will be normal people lips. Yeah, it's like a real thing... who knew.
I wish you the best and I hope this little info session helps anyone out there if they are looking to stop using lip balm.
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