It's not just lip service, It's lip therapy! (Vaseline Lip Therapy)

Member Name: jodiestokes

Product:	Vaseline Lip Therapy
Date:	06/11/09 (108 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: ~

Disadvantages: ~

~~ Introduction ~~

Did you know that unlike the skin on our body, the skin on our lips does not naturally create its own moisture layer, leaving it more susceptible to dryness and chapping? I have to confess I didn't know this surprising fact until recently........................

October time and we're two months away from "the season to be jolly", only we're not quite there yet and unfortunately it appears that this October time is the more the season to be full of flu, cold or riddled with cough. As much as I had endeavored to avoid the miserable October viruses flying around this year, unfortunately I failed and ended up with a big bout of flu. Now I don't usually suffer from dry lips (which is probably why I don't tend to look after them as much as I should) but a week in to my unfortunate coughing, spluttering and nonstop sneezing my lips became dryer than I could have ever imagined, so dry in fact, they had become super tight and had visibly shrunk with a kind of 90 year old, 50 a day smoker appeal about them. My lips were incredibly sore and had big chunks of skin flapping around and flaking away (a hideous image I know). Cue Rob, (my fiancé) my very own personal super hero disguised in ordinary men's clothing, galloping towards me on his imaginary white horse, clasping a pocket sized pot of Vaseline Lip Therapy to rescue and tend my poorly chapped chops. Who was I to refuse such a gallant gesture? So on with the Vaseline lip therapy.

~~ Ingredients and Origins ~~

In 1859 a 21 year old chemist called Robert A. Chesebrough discovered Petroleum Jelly the active ingredient in Vaseline's Lip Therapy. The American born New Yorker made his discovery after he went to Pennsylvania to investigate an oil well. In 1859 the oil industry was still in its infancy and Chesebrough rather astutely recognised the money making potential in the relm of the oil fields. He soon found himself observing the oil workers and quickly noted that they appeared to be rubbing a greasy substance called Rod Wax into their skin as it appeared to help heal sores, cuts and wounds. The Rod Wax gathered around the oil workers drills as they worked and caused havoc to their equitment but Chesebrough was enchanted. After many tests, he managed to extract the first ever amount of Petroleum from his newly found Rod Wax. I doubt very much if Chesebrough could have imagined his fortune was to lay in the muck and grime of the grease that gathered around the oil workers drills but never the less he pretty much devoted his life to marketing and selling the product. He soon turned his business into a global affair and by the late 1880s, Chesebrough was selling Vaseline petroleum jelly nationwide at the rate of one jar per minute and most medical professionals recognised Vaseline petroleum jelly as the standard remedy for skin complaints. Today Vaseline is still going strong with its petroleum based products as well as a number other skin care products.

Vaseline Petroleum Jelly is the main ingredient of Lip Therapy and is basically a mixture of mineral oils, paraffin and microcrystalline waxes Blended together they create a smooth jelly that has a melting point just above body temperature. The mixture therefore literally melts into skin, flowing into the spaces between cells and the gaps in our lipid barrier. Once there, it re-solidifies, locking itself in place.

Vaseline Petroleum Jelly serves two functions: First it helps keep the outside world out - it protects skin from the effects of weather, exposure and the effects of everyday pollution. Secondly, it acts like a sealant to help keep the inside world in - it forms an occlusive barrier to the natural water loss of our skin. So skin that is dry and chapped is protected from drying elements, enabling skin-softening moisture to build up naturally from within the skin.

~~ Product, packaging, cost and availability ~~

Vaseline has four products in the Lip Therapy range:
*Original - (the subject of this review) has long been a firm favourite in handbags and pockets
*Aloe Vera - adds an extra soothing touch of hydration
*Sun protection - with SPF15 helps to protect you from the sun's harmful rays
*Rosy Lips - brings out the natural rosy tones in your lips by soothing and gently tinting

All the Vaseline Lip Therapy products come in a pocket sized 20g tin pot, depending on which one you chose will depend on the colour of your pot. The original Lip therapy comes in a blue and white one.

You should expect to pay between £1 and £1.50 (98p from amazon.com) for the Original Lip Therapy pot from Superdrug, Boots, most supermarkets as well as selected online stores.

~~ Opinion ~~

The first thing I really liked about this product is the packaging. The 20g tin pot is nice and small making it an ideal size for a pocket or handbag. This is far more practical than carrying around the larger pot of Vaseline like my mum used too do many years ago. Because the tub is made of tin this also makes it really robust so if it ends up at the bottom of your bag covered in junk it isn't likely to break open and cause a handbag full of slime.

The Original Lip Therapy isn't scented and even if it was I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have been able to smell it with my poorly blocked nose. This makes it great as a unisex product though and certainly one that my fiancé and I will have a rumble over i'm sure.

Using the product is simple but because it isn't the usual stick that you'd expect from a product like this, it does mean you have to use your fingers. Ypur fingers do become a little bit greasy but rub them together, the grease is gone and your hands get a little bit of a pamper in the process.

As I have already mentioned my lips were incredibly dry and sore so I applied a fairly generous amount to begin with. I was really surprised to see just how effective the product was. My lips felt instantly moisturised and the dry flappy skin almost completely disappeared. My lips were also immensely sore and after applying the Lip Therapy the soreness was instantly relieved as well as the redness being significantly reduced.

The fact that Vaseline's Lip Therapy's main ingredient is petroleum jelly means that the product can be used on other areas of the body and not just the lips even though the product doesn't state this. Because I had the flu, my nose was also really dry and sore from all the sneezing and blowing. I decided that I would use a small amount of the Lip Therapy to see if it would help and yet again this turned out to be an instant relief. Within 24 hours the dryness and soreness of both my lips and nose had completely gone which is exceptionally fast in my opinion. Because the petroleum jelly helps to keep the outside world out, this meant that I had created a nice little barrier around my lips and nose. Creating a barrier was especailly useful for my nose as it meant that blowing my nose no longer affected my sore skin and my nose remained soft and moisturised locking out all the pollution from the constant blowing.

I never realised that the skin on our lips didn't create its own moisture layer and ever since I learned this fact, I have been using the Lip Therapy like it's going out of fashion. My lips have remained really smooth and plump since I have started using this product and I have noticed that if you use generous enough amount you can create the appearance of a nice shiny lip gloss which is an added bonus in my mind. I have to say I've since swapped my daily application of lip stick in favour of my Vaseline lip therapy, it really is that good.

All in all this product is a marvelous buy and at just under a pound for the original it's a jolly good bargain as well. In fact the only down side to this product is that my poor heroic fiancé has had his stolen from him by my greedy Vaseline Lip Therapy loving self but what's a girl to do aye? Forget lipstick, I'm a total convert since trying this product and my lips have gone from zero moisture to 100% moisturised.

~~ Additional Information ~~

For more information on this product or any of Vaseline's other products you can visit the offical website at the following address:

www.vaseline.co.uk

Thank you for reading!

Summary: A must have