Apparently, my daughter has developed an allergy. We believe it may be cocao butter. The doc does not want to put her through a whole slew of tests since we don;t wuite know what she could be allergic to. We think it might be cocao butter. Her lips got really dry and swelled a bit. We have epipens just in case (cannot believe how much they cost). So, does anyone know of a lip balm with NO cocao butter. I tried to do a search and got nothing but things with it in them. She is currently poking a vitamin e tablet and rubbing it on her lips and it has helped a little bit. But she cannot have that at school.
Thanks for all the suggestions. She used to use the Vaseline but it did not help with chapped lips for her, though we have used it at night when our hands got really dry. This is for one of my older girls who is 16. I will look into the yes to Carrots line next time I go to Target. . She tried Aquafor once when I had a sample of it. She did not like it. She thought it was messy. She only recently got puffy and super dry( flaky dry) lips so it is a bit surprising though I know an allergy can develop at any time.
I am lucky that insurance covered most of the cost of the epi-pen but still cannot believe the actual cost. Since she did not break out after eating the doc did not think it was necessary to do an overall allergy test and really not knowing what to test for. She did say to keep taking Benedryl which I had told her to do. My daughter is 16 and likes the shine that some balms can give without the color. We are watching to see if there are any other reactions.
Erica, the Ultra hydrate you mention does have cocao butter and it is not prominent on the package. Her friend found out and told her.
We just use Vaseline. I've found that it works better than any lip balm, and it is very inexpensive. Just a little bit goes a long way.
Our family uses Natural Ice medicated lip balm with SPF 15. We all use some at night when we go to bed and periodically throughout the day. You can get it pretty much everywhere. I use the original mentholatum and the kids use the cherry flavor. I looked at the ingredients and it does not list cocao butter. You can call their 877 number and ask for sure, if you'd like. The number is: 877-636-2677.
I agree Vaseline is good and Aquafor may be even better. I doubt it has cocoa butter.
Vaseline makes a lib balm
Original Chapstick doesn't have cocoa butter.
Why not try making some?! I've used this recipe before, but there are many more on the internet. It seems expensive at first, but the supplies go a long way.
http://www.chicagoparent.com/crafts/make-your-own-lip-balm
Can't she just use Vaseline? Only one thing in their whole line has cocoa butter in it and it's labeled Vaseline Cocoa Butter. Not one other item they have has cocoa butter in it.
I'm pretty sure the Burt's Bees brand doesn't have cocoa butter. I also
think the Yes to Carrots brand (I get it at Target) would be ok. I use an Ultra-rich Hydration by Blistex that I don't think has cocoa butter. Unfortunately all of the ingredient labels are one the packaging but not the tubes.
Blistex is my personal favourite and I am pretty sure there is no cocoa butter in it.
Finding out what it is would be good.
Our son was getting cold after cold when he was a baby and we had him patch tested - he didn't have any allergies.
Just plain Vaseline on her lips over night will go a long way to help chapped lips.
Coconut oil is good too - it absorbs right in through the skin.
My daughter is allergic to chocolate and all things related to that plant, including cocoa butter. Most chapsticks don't have it, just look at the ingredients on the package.
I suggest you try a very small amount of OTC hydrocortisone cream to help relieve her symptoms, it should only take one application. Put a thin film around, not on, her lips, and make sure she doesn't lick it. It should stop the itching immediately and you should see the swelling reduce within a half hour. I had to do this for myself once, when I had a reaction after eating kiwi fruit. Or you can try giving her liquid benedryl. Your doctor didn't suggest these? Anytime my daughter had to be brought in for a bad reaction (eyes swelling, unusually bad rashes, etc... she has eczema and it was an ongoing battle figuring out her allergic reactions, some of which we never pinpointed, we just treated the symptoms) hydrocordisone and benedryl had either already been tried and didn't work, or they were the first thing the doctor suggested administering.
I find it hard to believe your insurance doesn't cover an epipen. Do you not have insurance or medicaid for her?
Vaseline makes a lip balm.
My favorite is the classic chap stick in the black tube but I don't know if it has cocoa butter or not.
You can buy vitamin e oil which is a lot easier to use than breaking a capsule open each time.
Good luck
The brand EOS (Evolution of Smooth) makes lip balms that are almost entirely olive oil, beeswax, coconut oil and jojoba oil, depending on the type. Check the ingredients for each flavor on their web site (www.evolutionofsmooth.com). I really like them for my daughter and for myself. I started using them after I realized that something in the great, free, non-Vaseline lip balm that my dentist provides was making my lips swell a little and feel very tight - I think it was the macadamia nut oil in them, though I'm not allergic to macadamia nuts themselves as far as I know.
Regarding Vaseline products, well, they contain petroleum jelly. Technically, yes, you can put it on your lips and it's considered "safe," adn permitted as an ingredient, but this is what the health site Rodale said about it:
"Petroleum jelly is made from just that—petroleum, a nonrenewable resource that may be contaminated with cancer-causing agents called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Furthermore, ingesting too much of it (which is easy to do when you slather it on your lips in winter) can lead to upset stomachs and diarrhea."
Yep, it does moisturize like crazy, and I used to use it, but I always find myself thinking that it's not exactly a product I want on my mouth where it's going to get ingested. Any lip balm is ingested as you wear it -- it's just the nature of it. I'd rather ingest olive oil etc. than a petroleum product. Do an online search and you'll find a lot of reputable sites and publications laying out concerns about petroleum based skin and lip products. Lots of folks are going to tell you, I've used it for years, probably have ingested gallons of it, and I'm just fine, but I for one don't go by that argument.
There also are are lots of online recipes for make-your-own lip balms that you can make without a petroleum jelly base and with any ingredients you want, leaving out what you don't want, like cocoa butter.
Chapstick.
However, as a medic I found out by accident that the very best lip balm is triple antibiotic ointment (commonly known by the trade name Neosporin or Bacitracin). It lasts a long, long time, heals and moisturizes. Whenever I forget my Chapstick, I reach into my aid bag for the Bacitracin.
My close friend had an allergic reaction after her weekly allergy shots that caused the skin on her lips to become inflamed and fall off. She treated it, on my suggestion, with Bacitracin...and felt better almost immediately. Her mouth was healed in just a few days.
What about using petroleum jelly (vaseline)? They sell very small containers of it for lips.
