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ChapStick: A Look Back at the World’s First Lip Balm
After 125+ years of innovation, the lip balm remains an everyday staple. (Photo: Jon Paterson)
This old school tin has since been upgraded with a plastic tube that makes application a cinch.
From desert fighters to aviators to new recruits, ChapStick spelled relief for service men claiming it was “on duty with U.S. Forces from Alaska to Africa.”
Priced at just 25 cents, ChapStick was a soothing option for babies and during bad weather, too.
Marketed as a method for sunburn relief, the tubes were packaged with little symbols on the side, so you could tell your “personalized” lip balm apart from those belonging to others in your family.
The former Lakers and Knocks NBA star had two other passions: fishing and hydrated lips.
The lip protector is boy scout approved.
The late Chicago Bears center protected his lips on the field and on the slopes.
ChapStick may even give you the edge you need to take home a gold medal.
This add featuring the Dallas Cowboys player says, “A National Football League players wears a lot of protection you can’t see. Including a lip protector.”
The may not be the colorful flavored tubes we know today, but ChapStick was available in grape and spearmint in the ‘70s.
These ChapStick tubes with hidden microphones were used as evidence in the Watergate trial.
Before her acting career, Russo was a successful model, landing covers of Vogue and Cosmopolitan as well as this ad for Lip Quencher, a lipstick made by ChapStick.
The Olympic skier later became a model known as Suzy ChapStick for her campaigns. Note the cherry, orange, and mint flavors.
With names like pink tempest, coral cyclone, hurricane red, and stormy strawberry, it’s a bummer these Lip Quenchers by ChapStick only exist in vintage advertisements.
This ad for Overnight Lip Treatment marks a shift into more complex skin care.
Candy Cane ChapStick is a seasonal favorite.
“I love ChapStick and am excited to work with the brand since I have been a fan my whole life,” Bilson told Yahoo Beauty. “I love that ChapStick has really stepped up their game and has focused on really taking care of the skin on the lips and making that a priority for women.”
Which one is your favorite?
You’ve likely used — or currently own — a tube of ChapStick. You can likely conjure up the distinctive scent and moisturizing formula loaded with aloe and vitamin E. You may also recall the brand’s ads featuring empowering female athletes like Suzy “ChapStick” Chaffee, Dorothy Hamill, and Misty May-Treanor. And you’ve inevitably encountered pop cultures everywhere from Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl” to Napoleon Dynamite. ChapStick is one of those products with universal appeal, but did you know that it was the very first lip balm ever? It’s over 125 years old! I was lucky enough to get to visit the ChapStick factory in Richmond, Virginia and make my own tube. Here’s what I learned about the iconic beauty brand.
Nowadays you can buy a plethora of ChapStick flavors in essentially any drugstore, mass retailer, and even on its own ecommerce site for $1.50 a tube. The original ChapStick actually came wrapped in tin foil and was created by Charles Browne Fleet in the 1800s. He sold the rights to the recipe for John Morton in 1912 for just $5 — around $120 today with inflation. Poor Charles must not have known how ravenous people would become for lip balm. Frank Wright created the now-famous logo in back in 1930. Since then, ChapStick has maintained a secure spot in the pockets and purses of consumers worldwide while it’s continued to evolve with a focus on skin care (like their most recent Total Hydration 100% Natural formula) as well as limited edition packaging and innovative, tasty flavors like candy cane, chocolate truffle, pumpkin pie, aloha coconut, and watermelon splash.
ChapStick has also enlisted an endless roster of cool spokespeople, the latest being Hart of Dixie star Rachel Bilson. “ChapStick has always been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, my dad would always pull out the black tube from his jeans pocket and I feel that ChapStick is a tradition that he passed down to me and my grandfather passed down to him,” Bilson tells Yahoo Beauty. “ChapStick has always been my go-to and there are definitely days when all I have on is ChapStick – it’s a part of me, especially now that I am a mom and try to keep my routine simple. ChapStick Total Hydration 100% Natural Soothing Vanilla is my current favorite. It really works and protects your lips and I love that it is all-natural.”
Here’s a look back at some of ChapStick’s coolest moments through the years.
Related:
13 Best Lip Balms to Fix (and Prevent) Chapped Lips
