Carmex Lip Balm

Make Your Lips Feel Extra Good 

Suffering from chapped lips or have a cold sore? You mean you haven’t found Carmex yet? This lip balm is one of the greatest little creations for chapped lips, cold sores and blisters on your lips. I first discovered it when I was in Vegas several years ago and I was suffering from very dry and chapped lips (chalk it up to a Vermont guy being suddenly stuck in the middle of the desert and hiking for a week). We stopped at a convenience store and I picked up some Carmex and it was instant gratification for my lips.

The Basics

The balm comes in a ¼ ounce tin (7 ½ grams), which is available in most stores. This is a twist open plastic tin, which comes in quite handy. It’s small enough to pack into your pack, your jacket or to just put in your pocket. The tin stays tight enough that even in high heat (like the inside of your car) it will not leak.

If you do let it sit out and get out (or leave it in your car), I would let it cool down before you use it. As it heats up, it becomes much more runny and is almost a liquid in extreme heat. Just place it in the shade and let it cool down and it will quickly gel back up before you use it again. I haven’t noticed any sort of degradation of the quality when it melts like this – just seems like it’s something that happens when it gets hot and when it cools back down, it’s fine.

While Carmex may liquefy in the car, I’ve never noticed it happening while it’s on your lips – so no balm running down your chin when you least expect it (wouldn’t that be funny?).

How Do I Use It?

Do we really need directions for lip balm?

When you twist open the tin and look inside you’ll see a fairly yellow gel (just like the yellow lid) that is easily scooped up with your fingertip. Once it’s on your finger, just rub it on the area that you want protected.

It has a slight taste to it that is hard to place. It is not a mediciny flavor like Blistex or the waxy taste like Chapstick. It is sort of sweet, but in reality, there’s not much of a taste.

I’ve never had a cold sore, so I cannot vouch for the usefulness of Carmex with those, but with chapped lips, it is a lifesaver. Almost immediately you can feel a cool soothing feeling on your lips and after a few uses, your lips will be healing right up.

So…

Now, when I’m out west (or here in the east too) and I’m suffering from chapped lips, I pull out my tin of Carmex and enjoy the sooth feeling.

For the convenience of such a small container, you are going to pay a premium. On average I have been paying about $2.000 a tin. Generally, each tin lasts, with normal use, for quite some time, I’ve yet to run out of any yet and I use it fairly regularly.

Thus if you’ve got chapped lips or a cold sore, grab some Carmex and start feeling the relief.

Just be aware that if you are using this as lip balm, it offers no protection against UV rays and with worries about skin cancer and UV rays, it is a good idea for everyone to be wearing some sort of sunblock whenever you will be in the sun for any extended period of time. Pick up some Dermatone to protect your lips from the sun.

Originally published on Epinions

Anti Monkey Butt Powder

Hate that sweaty butt feeling when you're riding a bike, sitting for a long time or otherwise just hot and sweaty?

Well, Anti-Monkey Butt Powder claims to have the solution and while I'm still not sure it works a lot better than traditional baby powder, it does help you keep you dry at times.

Anti-Monkey Butt Powder is advertised to help keep you dry and helps prevent and soothe skin irritation with the calamine that is included in the powder. Is that a big difference from a traditional bottle of baby powder? Not in my experiences, especially if you will be exercising heavily or otherwise really sweating, but for activities where you are sitting on your butt for a while, Anti-Monkey Butt Powder does have some positives.


Read my full review of Anti Monkey Butt Powder on Epinions

BurnAid Burn Gel Packets

Having worked on and off in a restaurant and now working in an office that supplies lots of first aid items to restaurants, I've used BurnAid's Burn Gel many times and have also heard from others who have used it.  Burn Gel isn't a miracle worker, if you have a serious burn, this will do nothing, but for minor burns, using the Burn Gel tends to sooth and relieves the pain and discomfort you may be experiencing.

What I like about this form of Burn Gel is that it comes in 1/8 ounce packets.  This is the perfect amount for a single small burn.  They are easy to store and to disseminate and you don't have to worry about much waste when you are using these Burn Gel packets.  I also like that when I buy supplies for the store or even for my home, I get a box with 25 of these packets in it.  For home, that lasts for years, for a store, it goes quickly, but at least it is easy to restock.

Read my full review of BurnAid's Burn Gel on Epinions

Suave for Men Anti-Dandruff 2 in 1 Shampoo and Conditioner

We all get flakes from time to time, whether its dry scalp or full blown dandruff. I try to head this off by mixing in an anti-dandruff shampoo to wash my hair with at least a few times a week. My latest ant-dandruff shampoo has been Suave For Men's Anti-Dandruff 2 In 1 Shampoo and Conditioner.

Summer is usually my roughest time with dry scalp and dandruff and so far this shampoo and conditioner has been doing a decent job at keeping my scalp moisturized and stopping the flakes from falling everywhere.

Read my full review of Suave for Men Anti-Dandruff 2 in 1 Shampoo and Conditioner on Epinions

Sundown Naturals Niacin 500 mg Time Release Caplets

Pros: Well priced compared to other Niacin brands
Cons: Really big pills, Pills are dusty and hard to swallow without gagging from it

After switching to over-the-counter Niacin, I have been on a search to find a decent option that is not expensive and does not have any other issues.  That is how I found the 500mg time release niacin caplets from Sundown Naturals.  In the end though, I cannot say that these are the Niacin pills that I want to be taking for a long time.  They are less expensive than other options, but they have their issues and just have not won me over.

My biggest issue overall with Niacin in general is that I take 2000mg of Niacin a day on my doctor's orders, so for almost all of the OTC options, I have to take 4 pills to get my dosage.  I don't mind with small pills, but with larger pills this can be a real pain.

Sundown Naturals Time Release 500Mg Niacin Caplets Basics

The Niacin pills from Sundown come in a 500Mg form.  Unlike some other Niacin brands of the same dosage though, these pills are almost horse-pill size.  You do get more pills than other comparable Niacin brands that I have come across though.  So even though the pills are bigger, you are getting more pills for the money you spend.

The Time-Release Niacin Caplets from Sundown seem to be on average, cheaper than other Niacin brands that are available in my local CVS and Walmart pharmacy area.

The other thing I have noticed with these pills is that they seem to be dusty.  I don't know if they are grinding against one another in transit, or if they are just made this way.  When you handle them, your hands get covered in what seems to be ground up pill dust.

These are time-release caplets, not flush free Niacin.

Niacin interacts with a lot of drugs and also shouldn't be taken if you have certain medical conditions.  It's best to only take it if it has been recommended to you by your doctor.  In my case, it's being used in combination with other medications to manage my cholesterol.

Experiences

I honestly could live with the larger pill size if only because the Sundown Naturals are cheaper than other Niacin options, but I cannot live with the dusty nature of the pills.  Having taken a number of pills through the years, I can swallow a handful of pills without any trouble, but taking these, more times than not, the dustiness of the pills make me want to cough and/or gag when I am taking them.  Coming from someone taking as many pills as I have had over the years, that is saying something.

In all honesty when I go through the two bottles of the Sundown Niacin that I have (it was a buy one get one free sale at CVS),  I will probably switch back to the Slo-Niacin that I was taking.  The pills were smaller, they did not have the dust issue, and I could swallow them without any problem, even though they are more expensive than Sundown's pills.

They have worked just as well as other Niacin pills that I have taken and the side effects (hot flashes) seem to be about the same as with other OTC Niacin pills.  I have found that you should make sure you are taking the Niacin pills either while you are eating, or right before you eat and you need to have some fatty food that you are eating, otherwise the hot flash is almost unavoidable.  Also, taking asprin helps reduce the side effects and since I take a small daily aspirin, I make sure I take it before the Niacin.  Between the aspirin and making sure to eat, the hot flashes are reduced. The only time I get the hot flashes is when I take the pills and don't eat right away.

Final Thoughts

Considering how well seasoned I am with taking pills, the fact that I have trouble swallowing these pills without coughing or choking makes me unable to recommend them to others.  They are less expensive than other options, but they do have some issues.

Gillette Daily Balance Shampoo

While I've picked up the Gillette Daily Balance Shampoo mostly because it's been on sale at CVS on my last few visits, I have found this to be a decent, daily "men's" shampoo.  It seems to work well on my fairly normal hair, lathering up well, rinsing easily and leaving a light scent, but no other residue or buildup.

Overall, I like this Shampoo and while I probably wouldn't pay full price, when I do see it decently priced during a sale, I pick up a bottle to restock my shower. 

Read my full review of Gillette's Daily Balance Shampoo on Epinions

Suave For Men 2 In 1 Shampoo & Conditioner

I'm not very fussy when it comes to shampoo and conditioner and in my mind, the less work the better. So I tend to lean towards getting 2 in 1 shampoo and conditioner blends. That's what drew me to the Suave for Men's 2 in 1 Shampoo and Conditioner. Since I've started using it, I haven't had any problems and like the convenience of only having to lather up and rinse once instead of shampooing and conditioning.

My partner on the other hand isn't quite as fond of the 2 in 1 combinations, but he has even started to use the Suave for Men 2 in 1, if only because it's so quick and easy. I even got him a bottle to keep in his gym bag so taking a shower and washing his hair there is easier.

Read my full review of Suave for Men 2 in 1 Shampoo and Condition on Epinions

Slo-Niacin Polygel Controlled Release Niacin 500Mg

In my continuing quest to get better cholesterol numbers with my cholesterol specialist doctor, I first started out on prescription Niaspan to find out how I reacted to taking niacin.  Once I got settled on that and after my new insurance company refused to cover the prescription, I switched to the over-the-counter version of the slow release Niacin, which the 500mg tablets of Slo-Niacin Polygel Controlled Release Niacin is one option.  I had originally begun with a daily 500 mg dose, but nowadays I am up to a 2,000 mg dose, which means I take four of these pills at a time.

That means that even though there are 100 pills in the bottle, I'm going through them fairly fast, which is really the only downside for me to use the Slo-Niacin pills.  They were what I originally switched to when I went from the prescription to the OTC Niacin and they have worked fine for me.  They are also readily available in my CVS and at the Walmart pharmacies, so I know even if I run out away from home, I can pick some up.

Read my full review of  500mg Slo-Niacin Polygel Controlled Release Niacin Tablets on Epinions

Nature's Bounty Vitamin D - 2000IU Super-Strength Soft Gels

Now that I take Vitamin D supplements regularly and at a fairly high dose (2000IU), I did not want to have to be bothered by taking multiple pills or very large pills.  That is why I'm glad I find the Nature's Bounty 2000IU Vitamin D Super Strength Soft Gels.  These small pills pack my daily 2000IU intake into a single pill.  They are easy to swallow and more times than not, I can find them on sale at my local CVS and get them at a very reasonable price.

Read my full review of Nature's Bounty Vitamin D - 2000IU Super-Strength Soft Gels on Epinions

Philips Bodygroom BG2020 Electric Shaver

Sometimes you've just got some body hair you want to trim or shave off. That's where the Philips Bodygroom BG2020 Electric Shaver comes in handy. This relatively inexpensive shaver lets you shave close to the skin for a smooth feeling or with its attachments, trim your body hair to various lengths.

I've been using this shaver for a while and while it isn't perfect, it is good for some basic grooming. I also like that it's rechargeable so I don't have to worry about electric cords and even more so, I can use it in the shower or when I'm dry since it works in both places.

Read my full review of the Phillips/Norelco Bodygroom Electric Shaver on Epinions