Lip balms generally contain wax-based components like camphor, lanolin, beeswax, paraffin, or carnauba wax. Depending on the type and purpose of the balm, it may also include sun protection formulas, essential oils, medications, and flavorings. You may have found that after a while of applying certain products, your lips start craving more balm in order to feel soft and moisturized; it’s almost as if the balm is drying your lips out. And trust us, you aren’t imagining it.
Although certain products are soft and smooth on your lips, they can actually cause them to dry out. So, how do you choose the right balm for your needs and ensure the ingredients are high quality, nourishing, and deeply moisturizing? In this guide, you’ll find out everything you need to consider when making lip care a priority.
How to Choose the Perfect Lip Balm
Check the ingredients
Lip balm ingredients may serve different functions, but generally, the product is designed to form a layer on the outer skin to keep moisture from escaping and protect your lips from chapping, drying, and cracking. Ingredients vary greatly from high-quality natural substances to low-quality mineral oils. Some substances may seal the skin to prevent moisture from going out, but they don’t allow moisture in and don’t offer nourishment.
Another point to consider is that ingesting some of your lip balm is unavoidable, as you may naturally lick your lips. Although this is in minute quantities, it is another reason you can’t just put anything on your lips.
Here are some of the ingredients to look out for, when to use them, when to avoid them, and the effects they may have.
What to look for
- Lanolin: Lanolin is obtained from sheep wool extractions and prevents dry skin, irritation, and itching. It is not only used for lips but is also often sold to treat other dry skin conditions. A word of caution, however: if you have any wool allergies, you should avoid this otherwise beneficial ingredient.
- Beeswax: Beeswax holds moisture and has antibacterial properties. Opt for sustainable beeswax products.
- Shea and Cocoa Butter: These natural butters boost skin moisture and are superb options for lip and skin care. They soften, hydrate, and improve the skin's natural barrier due to the fatty acids present. Plus, shea butter protects lips from everyday environmental damage caused by factors such as pollutants.
Other natural ingredients that are a good choice in lip care products are apricot kernel oils, sweet almond oil, and silk proteins, which also offer a silky gloss.
What to avoid
- Salicylic Acid: This ingredient serves well as an exfoliation mechanism and decreases skin inflammation. Although this is a good thing, it does nothing to moisturize your lips and instead dries them out. It may be a good option for intentional short-term use to exfoliate dead skin cells, but it is best to avoid putting it on your lips long term.
- Camphor and Menthol: Both these cooling ingredients create a slight tingly and fresh sensation on your lips. This sensation is, however, the stripping of defensive layers which can leave your lips more sensitive to environmental factors such as the sun, pollutants, and dry air.
- Phenol: Phenol is not bad when used only for a short period of time, as it can successfully treat cracked lips from bacterial infections. It will, however, exacerbate dryness if used continuously for extended periods.
- Parabens: Parabens are used as preservatives in a wide range of hair and skin care products as well as cosmetics. More recently, however, their harmful effects have hit the spotlight. These include a range of symptoms including brittle and sensitive skin, inflammation, aging, and hormone disruptions. Parabens are best avoided in all products used on your body, whether it be shampoo, makeup, or lip balm.
Tube or tub
Lip balms are available in retractable sticks, small squeeze tubes, and mini pots or tubs with a screw-on or flip lid. The option you choose is really up to personal preference. However, if you choose a tub that requires application with your fingers, always make sure your fingers are completely clean before dipping them in the pot and applying them to your lips. If someone else’s fingers are also going in the pot, this can be a bacterial disaster.
Flavored balms
If you prefer a flavored, fragranced, or slightly tinted balm, opt for brands that use natural ingredients for flavorings, such as fruit and seed oils and butters.
Benefits and treatments
The lip balm you choose will largely depend on the purpose it needs to serve. Lip balm packaging will state any specific qualities and purposes, such as intensive moisturizing for cracked lips, tinted glow, sun protection, or medicinal products for specific infections or cold sores.
Minty balms can act almost as a breath freshener. For a day on the beach, a high SPF lip balm application is necessary in addition to your sunscreen, as regular sunscreen for your skin will rub off much more easily on your lips than products designed specifically to stick to your pucker when swimming, eating, and drinking.
Regardless of the fragrance, flavor, or sun protection factor, high-quality oils such as sweet almond, vitamin E, and sage are never a bad choice since they nourish, soften, and moisturize.
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