In the cold winter months one thing is inevitable – chapped lips! They can be an absolute nightmare especially when you like to wear lipstick because there is nothing worse than cracked lips and lipstick. There are a ton of products on the market for lip care; from chapsticks to glosses, to balms and salves. After having used Accutane years ago I became an expert on which lip care items really work the best and which are a complete waste of your money.  *One major side effect of taking accutane is chapped lips, and by chapped I mean some people’s actually crack and bleed. You learn quickly which chap sticks and lip products to use to help keep the moisture in and combat the effects of dry lips. Accutane is a high dose of Vitamin A to help make your body stop producing excess oil, which in turn dries out your skin and lips beyond belief. 

Let’s first talk about what shouldn’t be in your lip balms or chapstick!

Ingredients to avoid:

1. Fragrances and artificial colors can cause lip irritation

2. Menthol, camphor and phenol cool and anesthetize the lips, but can also dry your lips and/or produce redness and swelling

3. Alcohol is also a drying ingredient

4. Salicylic acid exfoliates and relieves pain but don’t use if you’re allergic to aspirin

5. Aloe butter moisturizes, heals and soothes, but can irritate lips

6. Vitamin E is an antioxidant and anti-aging, but can irritate lips

7. aluminum – why would you want that on your lips?

Here are some brands that include one or some of these ingredients. Many people buy this at the cash wrap of their local Target, Walmart or drug store thinking they are helping their lips stay moisturized and chap-free, when actually you are perpetuating a cycle of dryness and addiction to applying it over and over again. Have you ever stopped to think about how many times you are reapplying your chapstick in the winter time? You shouldn’t have to do it two dozen times a day. The goal of chapstick and lip balm is to seal in your own oils and moisture, not deplete them so that you become reliant on chapstick. Many of the ones you see in the drug store conveniently placed by the register are big no-nos.

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Products that I love for chapped lips:

 

Aquaphor Lip Repair Healing Ointment – click here

This product doesn’t come in a cute, girly tube with lots of color and fragrence. It has no fruity taste that will tempt you to lick it off. It is a clear gel, ointment that has been my best friend for years. You will find this product in the skin care aisle or next to the body lotions. It is made by Eucerin and it is the best thing under the sun for chapped lips. I use this before lipstick and also at night time so that it can soak into my lips overnight. It does not feel sticky or gooey and it doesn’t sting or feel tingly. It is great year round to keep your lips soft and supple.  You can usually get these tubes in a two pack for under $6 and I keep one in my makeup bag with me on the go and one right by my bed on my nightstand.

Ingredients
Active Ingredients: Petrolatum. Inactive Ingredients: Mineral Oil, Ceresin, Lanolin Alcohol, Panthenol, Glycerin, Bisabolol.

While it does have alcohol listed as an ingredient it is in such a small amount and causes no dry out of the lips.

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EOS Organic Smooth Sphere Lip Balms – click here

First things first, these little EOS balms are absolutely adorable and whoever came up with this packaging needs a big high five and a hug. They have the greatest colors and flavors around so they get points just for that. I also love that these are organic and have delicious flavors like Summer Fruit, Sweet Mint, Strawberry Sorbet, Passion Fruit and Honeysuckle Honeydew. You can pick your colors/flavor to match your nails or handbag or anything for that matter. These I have with me all the time and they are great to just screw open, rub on your lips and be done. I do find myself reapplying these a bit more than some of my other favorite picks but I think its because I like using it so much.

Ingredients & facts:

 •Long-lasting moisture •Shea butter & vitamin E •Smoothes on clear •New smooth sphere precisely glides on to lips •Twist-off top •Gluten-free •Paraben-free •Petrolatum-free •Phthalate-free eos lip balm is 95% organic, 100% natural, and paraben and petrolatum free. Packed with antioxidant-rich vitamin E, soothing shea butter and jojoba oil, eos keeps your lips moist, soft and sensationally smooth. Directions Twist off top. Pucker up. Smooth on. Smile.

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Burt’s Bees Replenishing Pomegranate Lip Balm – click here

First I love almost everything made by Burt’s Bees in general because they are all natural and also cruelty free, but there is something about their pomegranate lip balm / chapstick that really works on my lips. It gives a tiny tint to your lips as well which is a nice bonus but its not meant to be a lip color. It always calms my lips and makes them feel soft and ready to apply lipstick. It is a thicker feeling on my lips that say the EOS balms, but sometimes I want that on a very cold day. I usually pick mine up on Amazon or at CVS in the natural beauty care section. It is packed with the power of pomegranate oil and has a sweet flavor of pomegranate. It is 100% natural and helps to put back moisture into the lips to restore their texture.

Ingredients
helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed oil, cera alba (beeswax, cire d’abeille), cocos nucifera (coconut) oil, ricinus communis (castor) seed oil, lanolin, aroma (flavor)*, punica granatum (pomegranate) seed oil, tocopherol, rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf extract, glycine soja (soybean) oil, canola oil (huile de colza), carmine, benzyl salicylate, cinnamal, citral, eugenol, geraniol, hydroxycitronellal, limonene, linalool. *natural flavor

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Rosebud Perfume Company Lip Balm Salves – click here

These became popular years and years ago when the Olson twins talked about these all the time in the tabloids. They were always seen with these and for some reason that’s how I remembered them. I picked up some this year from Anthropologie online when buying some holiday gifts for friends and family. Ever since then I am hooked on these little tins of goodness for my mouth. (learn more about their company here). It can be used for other things besides moisturizing your lips: Rosebud Salve is perfect for travel as an eye make-up remover, cuticle softener, sunburn easer, dry skin healer, and frizzy fighter. Use Rosebud Salve around the eyes and on the throat for severely parched, dry, or wrinkled skin.  Rosebud Salve is perfect for travel as an eye make-up remover, cuticle softener, sunburn easer, dry skin healer, and frizzy fighter. Use Rosebud Salve around the eyes and on the throat for severely parched, dry, or wrinkled skin. I especially love the strawberry lip balm and use it under lipstick all the time. It is soft and light and feels amazing.

Cruelty Free/No Animal Testing
Smith’s Rosebud Salve, Minted Rose Lip Balm, Menthol Eucalyptus Balm are vegan friendly.
Smith’s Brambleberry Rose, Strawberry Lip Balm and Mocha Rose Lip Balm contain natural beeswax/cera alba.
All products are gluten free!

Products mentioned in this post:

 

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