If you’ve ever dealt with dry, painful, cracked lips, you know they’re the worst - and you probably have an arsenal of chapsticks and lip balms to stop them from ever coming back.
But here’s the thing: not all lip products were created equal, and many actually contain ingredients that will actually make your chapping worse (yikes!). After all, some companies just want to keep you coming back, which is good for business but bad for you.
Here’s what you should know about common lip balm ingredients and which ones you should actually incorporate to soothe those wind-cracked lips.
To understand how to solve this concern, it’s important to first understand the root cause and what’s really going on.
Unlike other parts of the face, lips don’t actually have any oil glands. This can make them more sensitive overall and more susceptible to drying out. Ultimately, people can get chapped lips for many day-to-day reasons, including:
The key to fixing this? A combination of humectants, emollients, and occlusives to deeply hydrate and seal that moisture in.
Unfortunately, many products out there actually contain ingredients that can make chapped lips worse - and some are even toxic and full of allergens. Why? To get you addicted to lip balm so you keep coming back for more.
Luckily, the more you know about this trick, the more you can avoid ingredients that can actually be making your discomfort worse. These include:
Remember, in particular, that even seemingly harmless essential oils can cause concerns. Peppermint oil, in particular, is a popular but volatile oil that can cause acute contact dermatitis (ie: major redness and irritation). So if you apply a seemingly “natural” lip balm and notice any redness, itching, or tingling, this may be the culprit.
On the other hand, there are many humectant, emollient, and occlusive ingredients that can lock in moisture, soothe, and even plump lips. Look for:
Find a vanilla-flavored lip mask with all of these ingredients here.
And remember - if you don’t see results or you have other things going on, go see a doctor.
Check out Lip Trick Vanilla Lip Mask.