The Battle of the Lip Balms – Roaccutane Edition

Heya Lovelies,

I’ve battled with acne for about 5 years and after what seems like a lifetime of failed treatments I was finally prescribed on the Holy Grail of acne medications- Roaccutane (isotretinoin). I don’t want to go into too much detail on my experience with it in this post (because I’ll be posting a separate article on this in the future) but I’ve been on it for about four months now and luckily for me it’s done an incredible job clearing up my skin. The only symptom I experienced was severe, Sahara-desert dry lips. It probably sounds funny but it can be pretty gross, my lips get white and just start peeling and shedding whenever they feel like, but for anyone that knows about this drug’s side effects, I got off lucky!

As with any other beauty product, finding one that works for you is a case of trial and error. But here are my opinions on some of the most popular brands I tried and hopefully this helps you with your dry lips, Roaccutane-caused or not.

 Burt’s Bees Beeswax Lip Balm: I was so excited to try this because it’s one of the Roaccutane Community Favourites (RCF). And being 100% natural I just expected it to be awesome. It has a strong minty flavour and a cooling effect that I guess is supposed to be soothing but for my lips, did absolutely nothing. It actually left them feeling drier and the tingling sensation was just weird. Plus its really hard and doesn’t slide on easily. It was also super expensive- about N2000 from Health Plus for 0.3oz. All in all I’d have to give this bad boy a 4/10 and that’s only because its an all natural products.

Blistex Daily Lip Conditioner: This was about N850 for 7ml from a random pharmacy. It was actually one of the first lip ballms I bought once I started my treatment. It has a minty flavour but is no where near as strong as Burt’s Bees. It’s pretty decent moisture-wise but I found the consistency to be a bit thick and not very easy to apply. In terms of lasting power, it’s pretty good, you don’t need to top it up more than once an hour. All in all it’s a nice product with cute packaging, I’d give is a 6/10.

Vaseline Lip Therapy: I’ve always been a fan of all the Vaseline Lip Therapy varieties even before I started on Roaccutane. It slides on easily, moisturises and gives me the best shine. It’s pretty addictive in the sense that you miss it when it’s not on so you’ll find yourself reaching for it religiously and that can be annoying but it’s been one of my favourite lip balms regardless. If you have a choice try the Aloe Vera one I’ve found it to be especially soothing and it has a very pleasant light smell. And it’s cheap! At about N400 for 20g it’s the cheapest lip balm I’ve tried. I’ve also got a huge tube of the normal Vaseline and I slather that on at night right before I go to bed and its great, it seriously lasts all night. I’d give this product an 9/10 and it’s only losing a point because I wish it came in a tube form so you didn’t have to use your fingers to put it on.

 Carmex with SPF 30: This is another RCF but it just made everything worse for me! I’ve only ever used this a few times because I found the mint in this lip balm extremely overpowering and it actually stung my lips. I think in general I don’t respond well to lip balms with mint or menthol in it. Having a look at the active ingredients did very little to comfort me either –  Oxitinoxate, Oxybenzone and Octocrylene * blank stare * It’s also got Salicylic Acid which I recognise from all the money I’ve thrown away on skincare products lol. It cost me about N800. All in all I can’t give this product more than a 5/10 which is a shame because I’m always on the hunt for products with SPF.

Chap-Ex Lip Balm: Chapstick is such an old school treat. It reminds me of back in the day when it was the only “lipstick” I was allowed to wear. It was an impulse buy at supermarket till and I have to tell you, it was pretty awesome. I love that it’s in a stick form, gives you a subtle shine and most importantly glides on easily. I got the cherry flavour and it smells great. The only con is you need to re-apply this pretty often and my stick broke after using it for a few weeks but it did the job while it lasted. I got it for about N400 for 4.25g and I’d give this an 8/10 as well.

So there you have it! My top contenders turned out to be the good old-fashioned Vaseline and Chapstick. A classic never dies:)

Hope you find this useful! Have a great weekend.

Love,

Ifeyinwa