Chap Stick Is Addictive: A Research Paper

If one applies ChapStick only on occasion (and not relentlessly) then there is no reason to suspect that you are hooked.

Constant application, on the other hand, can easily lead to dependency and ruined lips, as InsidersHealth.com states: "The lower layers of our skin produce fresh new skin cells, which then die and can dry out by the time they reach the top layer. If you put ChapStick on the dry skin it can interfere with the signaling mechanism that gets your lower cells to start producing more moisture. So while that balm might feel great when you slather it on, it will wear off and leave your skin feeling dry again."

This is the "vicious cycle" that Crossman quotes Dr. Phillips as referring to. It is also the message that Dr. Perricone speaks of, when he warns that lip balm can be bad for lips.

The Solution

The solution for lip balm abusers is simple, as Crossman illustrates on Lip Balm Anonymous. In the same manner in which Alcoholics Anonymous turns to a Higher Power in its 12-step program towards a better life, LBA offers a program that can help lip balm abusers gain mastery of their addiction -- and the first step is, just like Maria Montessori recognized, self-discipline.

As Mary Conroy and Kitty Williams note, "the best Montessori teachers or facilitators understand that maintaining the delicate balance [between freedom and structure] is one of the most challenging and rewarding aspects of their job." This challenge is brought into perspective by Montessori's own definition of discipline: "discipline is 'not…a fact but a way'."

Finding that way -- that little breadth of self-renunciation -- is the first step in life free of lip balm.

Yet, it can take more than a few minutes to master: "Discipline presupposes a certain degree of obedience."

Montessori herself states that "obedience appears in the child as a latent instinct as soon as his personality begins to take form."

Obedience, like discipline, is something like a virtue that the child must acquire -- or, in other words, it is a habit that it must attain. Virtues are, after all, merely habits that are good (just as vices are habits that are bad). And while lip balm may seem like a simple solution to dry lips in the beginning, one must keep in mind the wisdom that is inherent in the words "in all things moderation."

Conclusion

While skeptics are hawkers of lip balm like the Carmex million-dollar mogul may argue that there is nothing addictive about lip balm, there are plenty of individual users and dermatologists who beg to differ. The problem is not necessarily in the lip balm itself -- but rather in man. Just as one can over-use anything, whether it is alcohol, drugs, or ChapStick, one needs to remember the simple philosophy of self-control. A habit of self-discipline may be all the stands between you and the next victim of ChapStick addiction.

Bibliography

"Addicted to Lip Balm." YouTube. 2011. Web. 3 Dec 2011.

Associated Press, "Bingeing on balm, or hip lip service?" St. Petersburg Times. 22 Jan

2006. Web. 3 Dec 2011.

Bellis, Mary. "The History of Chapstick -- The History of Carmex." About.com. Web. 3

Dec 2011.

Brinkman, Susan. "Gardasil Researcher Drops a Bombshell." The Bulletin. 2009. Web.

3 Dec 2011.

Case, Wesley. "Twelve steps to beat Chapstick addiction." The Review. 19 July 2009.

Web. 3 Dec 2011.

Crossman, Kevin. "Ask the Addict: Am I Addicted?" Lip Balm Anonymous. Web. 3

Dec 2011.

Conroy, Mary; Williams, Kitty. "The Montessori Approach to Discipline." Tomorrow's

Child. Web. 2 Dec 2011.

Engdahl, Willliam. "F. William Engdahl in the Vatican (Seeds of Destruction) Lecture."

Youtube. 2011. Web. 3 Dec 2011.

Montessori, Maria. The Montessori Method. [trans. Anne E. George]. NY: Frederick

A. Stokes Company, 1912. Print.

"Update: Beware Addictive Chapstick." The Consumerist. 4 Dec 2006. Web. 3 Dec

2011.

Mary Bellis, "The History of Chapstick -- The History of Carmex." About.com. Web. 3 Dec 2011.

"Update: Beware Addictive Chapstick." The Consumerist. 4 Dec 2006. Web. 3 Dec 2011.

"Update: Beware Addictive Chapstick." The Consumerist. 4 Dec 2006. Web. 3 Dec 2011.

Associated Press, "Bingeing on balm, or hip lip service?" St. Petersburg Times. 22 Jan 2006. Web. 3 Dec 2011.

Associated Press, "Bingeing on balm, or hip lip service?" St. Petersburg Times. 22 Jan 2006. Web. 3 Dec 2011.

William Engdahl, "F. William Engdahl in the Vatican (Seeds of Destruction) Lecture." Youtube. 2011. Web. 3 Dec 2011.

Susan Brinkman. "Gardasil Researcher Drops a Bombshell." The Bulletin. 2009. Web. 3 Dec 2011.

Associated Press, "Bingeing on balm, or hip lip service?" St. Petersburg Times. 22 Jan 2006. Web. 3 Dec 2011.

Wesley Case, "Twelve steps to beat Chapstick addiction." The Review. 19 July 2009. Web. 3 Dec 2011.

Wesley Case, "Twelve steps to beat Chapstick addiction." The Review. 19 July 2009. Web. 3 Dec 2011.

Wesley Case, "Twelve steps to beat Chapstick addiction." The Review. 19 July 2009. Web. 3 Dec 2011.

Kevin Crossman, "Is Balm Addictive?"…