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New (to me at least) lip balm. I got some of this today at Academy Sports. It seems OK. Better than petrolatum based stuff. Might be some competition for Dr. Bronners which has been my favorite thus far.
http://www.smallflower.com/simone-chick ... -balm.html

right or wrong, my drum corps heritage has engrained in me...

NOTHING, but if you must use something, ONLY use DCT.

bloke wrote:As a lifetime observer of some of those who use it, is seems (to the lips - as is cocaine/heroin to the mind, etc.) to be quite addictive.

Chapstick addictive? Possibly. But to use the analogy that Chapstick is to the lips as cocaine/heroin is to the mind is ludicrous. That said, leaving my house without a tube of Chapstick requires either a turnaround--if I'm close enough--or a stop by a convenience store. (Chapstick has been one of my "don't leave home without it" items since October 1991.) While this kind of behavior reminds me of my actions when I was a smoker, my Chapstick "addiction" is shameless, harmless, and a hell of a lot cheaper.

Though I've tried other lib-balms, I keep coming back to plain Chapstick.

Steven

bloke wrote:I'm a believer that the best lip balm is NO lip balm.

That's why you don't have the entourage of nubile groupies like I have eager for my luscious lips.

bloke wrote:' seems as though you completely agree with my assertion.

Negative. You suggested the analogy that Chapstick is to lips as cocaine/heroin is to the mind. How Chapstick affects lips in no way compares to how cocaine, heroin, or even nicotine affect the mind.

I admit that Chapstick is likely habit forming but is also harmless. My usage of Chapstick does not affect my ability to play, personal relationships, or overall health.

Steven

the elephant wrote:... limit caffeine and alcohol consumption,

Sick. Just sick. Really.

Check out the ingredients on Dr. Bronner's "Sun Dog" stuff (green tube).
Avacado oil, beeswax, jojoba oil, hemp oil (can you smoke this stuff?), lemon and lime oils.

The brown tube (i.e. "Naked") is a simpler mix which I suppose is intended to appeal to the "organic" purist (although axle grease is technically organic):
Jojoba, avacado, beeswax, and hemp.

The Bronner's stuff is more moist than the petrolatum based stuff I have tried, but holds up just as long. It's a winter necessity for me, or if I have been out working in the sun and salted the bejeezus out my lips from sweat.

For the extreme purist, there is olive oil which the basis of most vitamin E oils (the E contributes nothing to lip care). Quick to relieve dry leather lips, but doesn't last long.

Then, of course, there is Crisco.

Yeah. But I can't play horn while Milla Jovovich's skin is pressed against mine.

Try living in near-zero humidity in all temperatures and you might change your mind about the use of lip goo. I don't need it all the time but I do need it some of the time. I use Burt's Bees and like it the best. I've also heard, but not tried, that Preparation H is one of the best things out there for severely needy lips. But don't share it.

However, as much as I like it for brass playing, I find that it has a negative impact for double reed playing, so I put up with very dry lips prior to playing oboe.

MA