Does Blistex Last Longer Than Carmex or Vaseline?

Most people's go to is Blistex, well at least that was my favorite go to. I've recently discovered that Blistex was getting more expensive. I wanted to figure out why I was spending more money on Blistex,when there are other products that do the same job, and maybe an even better job. So, I went to Vaseline, which is only a dollar at Walmart. (That's more like my budget :)) I also noticed that people use Carmex,and I just really want to get to the bottom of this to see which one is worth spending my money on.

Chemistry/ Safety Concerns

I wanted to know what I was actually putting on my lips, so I decided to look at the ingredients on the little paper on the back of the Blistex. I came across an ingredient called Camphor (C10H160). Camphor was first found in the wood of the Camphor Laurel (Large Evergreen Tree) located in Asia. It is said to relieve pain and itching . It was even used to treat fungal infections within the nails, warts, cold sores, hemorrhoids, and arthritis. This specific ingredient seems to have dangers as far as being absorbed through the skin, reaching toxic levels. It was also found that these trees go at a very rapid pace, so when birds feed off of these trees, they consume too much of it. This can cause respiratory problems within the birds that feed off of it. 

Next, I decided to look into the ingredient called Menthol, the only reason this popped out at me was because it's the same ingredient in cigarettes, and I was just confused. Menthol (C10H20O) is an organic compound made synthetically or taken from the oils of corn mint, peppermint, and many other mints. It is known to give a cooling sensation, which you immediately feel when you apply the Blistex. It is also said to be used to calm minor pain and irritation. As far as I researched, this product is safe, and made no danger to the environment so far, except for consuming too much of it, which is similar to many other products and ingredients. 

Lastly, I decided to look into an ingredient by the name of petrolatum, yes petroleum jelly (Vaseline). It is made to moisturize and heal the skin, lips, etc. From researching, I found no dangers to humans or the environment.

Experiment and Results

For my experiment, I wanted to figure out what lasted longer than Blistex, when applied to the lips, and what causes you to have to re-apply every so often. To find that out, I decided to compare the products that I am some what familiar (Carmex and Vaseline).

Procedure- 

1)Purchase or find some Blistex, Carmex, and Vaseline.

2)Make sure to have clean, dry lips.

3)Apply one of the three products on the lips and time how long it takes before you need to re-apply.

4)Repeat previous steps for the remaining products.

Results- It is clear that Vaseline is the better product because it is more petroleum based. 

Product	Blistex	Carmex	Vaseline
Time	10  mins	10 mins	25 mins

These results can be justified by the fact that the petroleum is the main ingredient in Vaseline, and only have a minor part in Carmex and Blistex. Petroleum is made to heal and moisturize the lips, acting as how a band-aid would act, while the others are just applied for temporary relief. 

I am definitely happy with my results because I found the product worth spending my money on. Blistex and Carmex should make their products worth it, and maybe I'll continue using them, but for now, I'm sticking with Vaseline!