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"Carmex is bad for you!"
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Over on Fashionista there's an "Ode To Carmex" - and of course one of the comments is "CARMEX IS BAD FOR YOU!" - well, not in all caps but you get what I mean.
Anyway, I was sure that was addressed over here somewhere but I can't find it. So incase I was wrong about it already being posted could someone please explain why Carmex is not bad for you and if it is and someone is better with the search engine could they find me the posts? Pretty please? -
Bummer! I love that stuff!
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Like I said, it's likely NOT bad for you, but some people want to believe it is. I want to clear it up.
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Maybe the folks who say it is 'bad' for you are pointing to the menthol and camphor which are two of the active ingredients? I do know that lip products containing peppermint oils tend to be irritating to a lot of people. The menthol is derived from peppermint. The camphor can cause skin irritation and dermatitis with repeated use.
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Hi, Jami! I found a BB post that discusses Carmex: http://thebeautybrains.com/2008/12/17/what-lip-balm-should-you-use/ The post praises Carmex, and several of the commenters have different opinions about it.
Wow, Carmex. This post brought back some great memories. Years ago, I used Carmex all the time, for about 2 years. I love the smell, the taste, and the way it feels. I even loved how it felt dipping my finger into the cute little pot. But I found that I continuously had chapped lips. The chapping would look and feel better right after using Carmex, so I thought of course I had to use it more. Then I read an article about how the camphor and menthol can be irritating in some people, and switched to a different lip balm. The chapping went away. So I think that Carmex is "bad" for some people, who are sensitive to the ingredients. But I wouldn't think it is bad as in toxic or permanently damaging, or irritating to every single person who uses it.
Oh, and the Fashionista article mentions that Carmex uses salicylic acid as an exfoliant. That might have been irritating my lips as well. I know my skin would be majorly irritated if I applied SA several times a day.
Lip balms that don't cause flakiness on me are Chapstick Naturals and Lipsyl. -
I have tried the Lipsyl too with some degree of success. I like Blistex Silk and Shine a lot. Even though it has no sunblock in it my favorite (I use it at night) is my old standby Bonne Bell Dr. Pepper Lip Smacker!
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That could be it. Someone though was claiming that Carmex is toxic.
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Not sure which carmex product they are referencing (wow, there are a lot). I think the first comment, from KS6187, may have just been about her own personal experience with the product (maybe it irritated her lips). Or maybe she really is suggesting toxicity. The other comment in the fashionista article you reference (the comment from goddess.huntress) clearly suggests it's toxic and links to the EWG cosmetics database...which has this to say about Carmex cherry lip moisturizer with sunscreen: http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/product/175891/Carmex_Lip_Moisturizer_with_Sunscreen%2C_Cherry/
EWG references concerns with phenol, oxybenzone, and salicylic acid. I suspect the concerns are all bogus, but I don't have a good rebuttal at hand (too many ingredients they claim are toxic to chase down the research on every one). -
That's why I came here. I could've sworn the Brains addressed this issue but I could be wrong. However, I sincerely doubt it's actually toxic. Seems to me something a maker of another lip balm product might claim.
Now admittedly I use Vasiline - because it was cheaper then the Carmex, not for any other reason. I just didn't see paying 50 cents more just to have softer lips. -
Wouldn't you think that if Carmex was toxic it would not have been on the market for so long?
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That's what I think. However you know how psycho some people can be over products.
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Either that or we'd have a lot of dead carmex users and ex-carmex users...Just like entire generations would have been wiped out by their "toxic" mineral oil, vaseline and FDA approved preservatives...Psycho is right, the scary thing is that these people may actually succeed in changing the way products are formulated for the rest of us who are perfectly comfortable with how they're formulated now. I'm afraid psycho, unscientific types are going to change healthcare and our everyday lives, too. It starts with Carmex, then they build up from there lol.
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Yes, it's bad for those with dry lip conditions, but definitely not toxic, lol.
I am one of those who really suffers from chronically dry lips, so Carmex doesn't do it for me. I guess it's good if one has normal lips but experiences dryness from time to time. The stuff is soothing and can provide temporary relief, but it's definitely not good for daily use. It really is good in harsh cold because it protects the lips from the air, but because of the camphor and menthol, I stick to good old Vaseline when I need protection because it's just pure petroleum jelly. Again, for people with relatively normal lips, Carmex is great, but, for me, it makes my lips worse. -
I hear that the soliders over fighting in Afganistan and such always want Carmex.
Anyway, my main point was to prove it wasn't toxic. I just hate that kind of paranoia, you know? Like the people who claim that Pantene is bad for your hair or that antipersperent causes breast cancer.
Please forgive the misspellings. I'm a rotten speller and for some reason IE's spell check does not work in the BB forums. -
I love Carmex myself.
No, it is not toxic.
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