Thursday 8 March 2012

( Part 2 ) Treating My Dry & Chapped Lips: Shea Butter

L'Occitane Pure Shea Butter 8ml MYR 60
( Comes in two )

Continuing from my previous post, you may have read that my lips were somewhat, in a bad state. It was peeling and bleeding, and I was feeling a bit uncomfortable especially if I were to drink hot soupy things..and what more, if I were to eat spicy foods and citrus fruits, it will really sting my sensitive lips!

Though my doctor could not diagnose what is causing this, I have a very strong feeling that it is the Hada Labo Super Hyaluronic Acid Moisturising Lotion, which I have been consistently using it every morning since November. I did remember that when I do the lotion mask with this, in a weeks time, I would develop some mild irritation on my upper lips. So the culprit could be this fella.

Anyway, because I was so desperate to soothe my lips area, I went and bought two lip balms. The first was the Eucerin Lip Active and the second one, pure Shea Butter from L'Occitane. The main reason I went for this Shea Butter from L'Occitane because I wanted something which is pure and moisturising for my sensitive lips area. 

Product Description

Travel-size tin of 100% Shea Butter hydrates and protects lips, face, cuticles and hands. This powerful moisturiser is retrieved from the fruit of African Shea trees, and celebrated world-wide for encouraging cellular renewal and repairing the hydrolipidic film, thereby softening, soothing and comforting skin. Non-irritating; suitable for men, women and children.

Ingredients: 100% Butyrospermum Parkii ( Shea Butter )



My Experience

This shea butter comes in a nice round aluminium tin ( about the size of our Malaysian 50 cent coin ) and the balm is waxy and rather thick. The balm is rather hard to get it out and that is why I use the edge of my clean nails  ( thumb ) to slowly scrape a small amount and apply it to my lips. Now, I would say many would dislike the method of picking up the balm from the pot with fingers or nails due to hygiene reasons. For me, I don't find that as an issue because I would always make sure my fingers are clean before using it.  Below is a picture of how the waxy shea butter looked like.


I used this balm mostly at night and I must say that it is very moisturising indeed! A little of it goes a long way. My lips love that it is unscented and it does not give any tingling sensations when applied. Because shea butter has a wound healing capacity in nature, my dry chapped lips and flaky upper lips were healed within 3 days with consistent use! Hooray!

I also found out that this is a multi purpose balm too. It can be use on dry areas like elbows, cuticles, feet and even hair! I have heard that some even apply some of this balm on their eye area too. ( Err...haven't tried that one though )

I also like that the size of this pot makes it easy to carry around and I think this is excellent for travelling. Because of it's multi purpose use on dry prone areas, you can carry less body lotion or even hand cream when you travel. That means, more space for future hauls!

Overall

I think this product is pretty good, seeing that it moisturises and healed my poor chapped and dry lips rather speedily. I like that it is pure shea butter and it gives me a peace of mind that whenever I use it on my lips,  any digestion of this product is safe. May I add that this balm will also last you quite a long time. I have been using it consistently for 2 1/2 months and I am left with half a pot now. Probably it will be a good time to test it out on other dry prone areas.

Additional note: If you want me to gripe about this product, well...I have to say that sadly, they only sell in pairs in Malaysia. And from the way they wrapped it, there is no way that one can check the manufacturing date. When I got home, I found out that my balm have 2 different manufacturing dates. One was dated November 2010 and the other was April 2011. ( Bear in mind that I purchase these balms in Dec 2011 ). That means one of the balms has been sitting on the shelf for more than a year! Tsk...this is not good. I personally felt cheated because I bought an 'aged' product. 

This item was purchased by me for my personal purposes. This review is based on my honest and personal experience with this product and is not influenced by any parties.

8 comments:

  1. Good to know you found a good balm for your lips. Sore lips are so darn irritating.

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  2. Ya man! Having sore lips is annoying and it takes a long time to heal as well.

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  3. Hmm I do think that one of the reasons they sell in bundle is to clear their older stocks.. I dislike it when I couldn't be sure of the expiry / mfg dates :)

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  4. Hi Foxy! Yeah, just as you said, it was their whole intention and that, to me, is unfair to the customers. They don't even allow customers to open the package for inspection.

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  5. Hi,

    I'm facing the same situation as yours now. Can you advise or introduce which doctor is good to treat me? I'm living in PJ.

    Thanks

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    Replies
    1. Hi Shiro! My diagnosis is eczema and unfortunately, western medication did not help me at all. Just last week, I went to see a TCM ( Traditional Chinese Medication ) doctor, specialises in skin problems. She is based in Tung Shin Hospital. I must say, my affected area did certainly improved tremendously.

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    2. Hi,

      Thanks for the fast reply. I found your blog by searching eucerin. As per now, all my lips area is peeled off and the skin in mouth area started to turn dry and peeling off.
      From your experience, will it be better if I straight away find the TCM doctor or should I find western doctor first?

      Thanks

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    3. Hi Shiro! Your peeling around your mouth area is very similar to mine. If you go to your normal practitioner, the most they will prescribe antihistamine, which cannot cure it.
      Where else TCM looks into healing internally and externally, which is better..but will be slightly more expensive and you need to visit the doc once a week for a month or so. So it all depends on you.

      FYI, my advice is to visit a "reliable" TCM practioner, which in my case, I only go for the doctors in Tung Shin Hospital. Please note: I can't say that you can achieve the same result as I do should you visit any TCM practitioners outside of a hospital vicinity.

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