No chap, but a ChapStick (Chapstick Lip Salve)

Member Name: scuba_angel

Product:	Chapstick Lip Salve
Date:	02/11/08 (151 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: rehydrates my lips and protects them from the sun

Disadvantages: original has no taste or scent

Well folks its that time of year again, when the leaves are gone, the cars are frosty in the morning and just a few more minutes in bed is what you want to work up the enthusiasm to climb out of your nice warm bed and go to work/school etc. Its also the time of year when wrapping up warm leaves us with dry skin, and the constant changes of temperature between in and outdoors, and that cold wind, causes our lips and faces to dry even faster. This year partly in thanks to my new job I seem to be spending alot of time wandering about outdoors, be it out running to maintain my fitness for the 'green' job, or in and out of the water at my diving job, even so early in the season my skin and lips are feeling rougher than usual.
So abandoning my plan to not bother with moisturisers or similar 'guff' I took myself over to the local CO-OP a couple of days ago to seek a product to help stop/slow the progress of the dry sore skin across my lips. One thing I do like about that little shop is the limited product range they carry so I was given the option of vaseline in metal tins or a tube of chapstick.

Previous experience with vaseline tells me that it works very well but for applying when wearing gloves it is very impractical so the ChapStick it had to be.
In its destinctive blue and white livery ChapStick is probably one of the products which everyone knows of in one guise or another. The tube is smaller than the average lipstick, but is not so small that it cannot be used while wearing thick gloves (I tested this on a divesite when I was wearing 5mm neoprene, it was awkward but do-able). Mine tends to live in my jeans pocket or jacket pocket, in my jeans reasonably obviously it does get rather warm and this softens the stick in its tube, but thankfully it does not get so warm that it simply melts.

Unscented and unmedicated my tube is the classic, so it feels very much like vaseline when applied to the lips, heavy, slightly greasy, tasteless and scentless. But it does begin to sink in to the skin quickly, within a couple of minutes of application it feels lighter and your lips less greasy.
As I am at the moment addicted to cups of tea it is good to note that even when drinking almost scalding hot drinks the chapstick will remain on your lips, admittedly it will feel greasier but it doesnt melt off nor does it flavour your drink.

So how well does it work, well as noted earlier my lips were starting to chap quite badly, but after two or three days of regular application they are starting to smooth out and feel much more moisturised.
Given the regularity of use I suspect my tube will last around a month to a month and a half but that is with it being applied everytime my lips start to feel dry, before I go outdoors be my lips feeling dry or not, and when Im out running or walking my dog if I feel that I need it.

Though not really a consideration at this time of year it is good to know that the ChapStick Original also contains an SPF of 15, so its a product well worth having all year round.
Other varieties avaliable are flavoured, Cherry (as noted in a recent popsong), Spearmint and Strawberry, Grape, Blueberry and Fruit. Medicated which contain menthol and camphor, as well as cold sore therapy, an overnight version (presumable like a night cream for lips?), shimmer varieties and assorted film linkups to encourage children to use them. So it is fair to say there is something for everyone in the range.

My tube cost me £2.95 but I'm sure it is avaliable in all supermarkets and pharmacys for similar prices (or indeed much lower ones).

Summary: Keeping my lips soft and smooth for the next victim, sorry bloke in my life?