Chapstick - History of Chapstick

In the winter, lips often get chapped. This means that they get dry and cracked because of the cold, dry weather. Luckily, we can use chap stick on our lips. Chap stick is a tube of wax moisturizer for lips. It's hard to imagine, but it has not always been so easy to keep lips from chapping.

Chapstick was invented by Dr. C.D. Fleet in the 1880's. The original "chap stick" looked a little like a candle with no wick, and the idea did not really take off. There was no "tube" to hold the wax stick. In 1912, Fleet sold his recipe for chapstick to John Morton for $5.00. Morton and his wife developed the idea into something different-adding pink coloring and putting the "wax" into tubes made of brass.

In 1963, H Robbins took over the company. The company began adding a variety of different colors, which attracted more customers to the business. They also included different flavors. In the 1980's, the company decided to add sunblock to the lip balm. This was an added advantage for those folk who were in the sun for long periods of time.

Today, there are many different brands of "chap stick," and the number of colors or flavors is endless. There are medicated versions of chap stick, and even chap stick that is made for children to use. While lips can always become chapped, chap stick is an easy way to help lips feel better! Isn't it amazing that Fleet's recipe only made him $5.00? Today, millions of tubes of chap stick are sold every year!