Lip balm
Lip balm or lip salve is a wax-like substance applied topically to the lips to moisturize and relieve chapped or dry lips, angular cheilitis, stomatitis, or cold sores. Lip balm often contains beeswax or carnauba wax, camphor, cetyl alcohol, lanolin, paraffin, and petrolatum, among other ingredients. Some varieties contain dyes, flavor, fragrance, phenol, salicylic acid, and sunscreen. Overview. The primary purpose of lip balm is to provide an occlusive layer on the lip surface to seal moisture in lips and protect them from external exposure. Dry air, cold temperatures, and wind all have a drying effect on  skin by drawing moisture away from the body. Lips are particularly vulnerable because the skin is so thin, and thus they are often the first to present signs of dryness. Occlusive materials like waxes and petroleum jelly prevent moisture loss and maintain lip comfort while flavorings, colorants, sunscreens, and various medicaments can provide additional, specific benefits. Lip balms are produced from bee wax and natural candelilla and carnauba waxes. Lip balm can be applied where a finger is used to apply it to the lips, or in a lipstick-style tube from which it can be applied directly. Lip balm  was first marketed in the 1880s by Charles Browne Fleet, though its origins may be traced to earwax. More than 40 years prior to the commercial introduction of lip balm by Fleet, Lydia Maria Child recommended earwax as a treatment for cracked lips in her highly-popular book, Child observed that, "Those who are troubled with cracked lips have found this earwax remedy successful when others have failed. It is one of those sorts of cures, which are very likely to be laughed at; but I know of its having produced very beneficial results." In 2019, the global lip balm  market was valued at US$660 mln. The market is predicted to grow at a rate of 7.3% within the next five years and is likely to reach US$1010 mln by 2024. Types of lip balms. The lip balms are divided into different types by their ingredients: Production Technology. Production technology for lip balms includes the following stages: Dependency. Some physicians have suggested that certain types of lip balm can be addictive or contain ingredients that actually cause drying. Lip balm manufacturers sometimes state in their FAQs that there is nothing addictive in their products or that all ingredients  are listed and approved by the FDA. Snopes found the claim that there are substances in Carmex that are irritants necessitating reapplication, such as ground glass, to be false. Mineral oil. In 2015, German consumer watchdog Stiftung Warentest analyzed cosmetics containing mineral oils. After developing a new detection method they found high concentrations of Mineral Oil Aromatic Hydrocarbons (MOAH) and even polyaromatics in products containing mineral oils with Vaseline products containing the most MOAH of all tested cosmetics (up to 9%). The European Food Safety Authority sees MOAH and polyaromatics as possibly carcinogenic. Based on the results, Stiftung Warentest warns  not to use Vaseline or any product that is based on mineral oils for lip care.