Country Tip for Celebrity Lips
So it is officially dry skin weather and I’m gonna let you in on my little secret weapon. But first let me give you a riddle and see if you can guess what my little secret is.
What do new mommas, sheep, and celebrity lips have in common?…..
This is where we play the gameshow music right:)
The answer is lanolin. As in the stuff that nursing Mommas sometimes use when they breastfeed. Sounds crazy at first I know. But I’m here to tell ya that it works.
If there ever was someone that was prone to chapped lips and dry skin especially in the winter, it would be me. I have been using some kind of product or another on my lips since I could say the words chap stick. It was so common during the winter for me to all of a sudden smile or start laughing and be abruptly shocked with a lip split open. After the shock of the pain and what just happened AGAIN…I’d position my lips different and not talk unless necessary for a few days while they healed enough not to bleed. All while coating them with more product to keep them covered from more damage. Heaven forbid if you smile and undo all the healing that’s taken days to accomplish, starting all over again. And then dealing with all looks from folks doing double takes of my busted lookin’ lip. Ugh. Seriously, am I the only one that’s had this happen to them?
Now, I am a country girl. I do have sheep. I love my sheep. I love their wool. I love how yarn smells from their wool. And I absolutely love to make things with fiber. But this ain’t one of the things I plan on making in the near future or ever. I’ve looked into the process of making my own lanolin from our own wool and it stinks. No really, it stinks. As in the Grinch, Stink, Stank, Stunk stinks. It takes a lot of wool processing to get a little bit of lanolin. Then clarifying the lanolin to clean it up more. Yeah, I’m not exactly feeling up to that challenge.
So I did the next best thing. I went and grabbed my little old purple tube of lanolin from when I used it about a quarter of a century ago as a new Momma. A tube will last you a very very long time. I started using it on my lips without anyone knowing;) And it worked! Once I used it, tested it, and I knew it worked…I didn’t care that the family knew what I was using anymore. I’d take it with me wherever I went and the family got to see first hand what I was using. And ohh did some of them ever notice what it was and made sure to tell me what they thought about it. But that’s ok. I’m the one that can smile without those dry cracked lips now and forever.
I do agree that keeping your body hydrated is the first layer of defense. That’s just the basics though. There are elements that we live in that effect our skin hydration and moisture from the outside too.
I used to use all the common lip balms and sticks for chapped lips. They always seemed to make the problem worse. I’d put the product on my lips and get temporary relief but in 30 min it was worse than when I first put it on. Which meant I was always putting more on. For crying out loud how is that solving the problem?
Since I started using lanolin I’ve noticed how long it lasts. Not just how long the tube lasts. I’m talking about how long one application lasts during the day. I apply my lanolin in the morning. And five hours later I still don’t need another application. Those five hours are full of coffee drinking, talking, smiles, and laughs. That is amazing!
If you want to give lanolin a try and experiment on your own, here are some tips from my experience:
General:
The tube will last a very long time. So you don’t need a large amount if you are shopping for a brand new tube.
Use a dry cloth. If you apply lanolin with your fingers don’t bother thinking water will wash it off them. It won’t. That’s the benefit of lanolin. It is a protective barrier that lets the water slide right off like water off a ducks back…or rain off a sheep’s wool as the case may be:) If you use a dry cloth you can rub it off your fingers easily.
For Lips:
Apply a very tiny amount to keep your lips moisturized without looking like a gloss.
Apply a very tiny amount on your lips and it will help your liner and/or lipstick go on smoother.
You can also apply a tiny amount to your lips, then lip liner, smudge to fill in the color, then a small amount more of lanolin.
The more glossy look you want the more lanolin. But even a high gloss look only takes a very small amount of lanolin.
There is a point of too much and you’ll know it when it happens. Instead of it looking like a clear gloss look, it will look more like a cream, usually at the place where the lips touch each other. If this happens just take a dry cloth and dab the inside part of your lips and you’ll be good to go.
Other Uses:
Add a tiny bit of lanolin to your pump of lotion or body oil and experiment to see if you like the combination. Just make sure you mix them together well before applying it to your skin.
Use as a diaper cream. If you haven’t read by now, a little goes a long way. So I’d combine a diaper cream and a little bit of lanolin together before applying to baby. You’ll get the benefit of the lanolin while letting the diaper cream help thin it out for more surface coverage.
Use on objects that need greasing. Hinges, drawers that don’t slide anymore, rusted screws that need tightening or loosening, etc
That’s my Country Tip for Celebrity Lips.
Let me know if you give lanolin a try and what you think about it.
It sure has made my winters more enjoyable.
