A good lip balm may be your go-to for keeping chapped and dry lips at bay, but there is so much more that the humble beauty product can do.
Find the best lip balm and it’ll be one of your beauty kit staples. For makeup artists, lip balm is an essential part of every look they create, be it for a magazine cover or a runway show. And regardless of whether or not they wear makeup, every person uses a lip balm at one time or another. These products are as important as our cleansers and moisturizers—and we’re much likelier to take them on the go with us.
The main use of a lip balm is one you’re probably familiar with: to prevent dry, chapped lips. But there are other benefits of lip balm worth considering as you’re picking your next one out.
What is lip balm?
The most essential element of a lip balm is an emollient substance that is thick, waxy, and able to provide a seal of moisture over delicate lip skin. Lip balms aren’t always balms, and can come in textures from creamy butters to slick jellies, but are always solid and spreadable. (Lip oils, stains, and glosses exist in another category entirely.)
Humans have been moisturizing their lips for centuries, probably longer. According to beauty product lore, some of the earliest incidents of lip moisturization took place in ancient Egypt, with a mixture of beeswax and plant oils. But the idea of lip balm as we know it was born just before the turn of the century in Virginia, with a product called “ChapStick.” It wasn’t a stick, but a shallow tin caked with a mixture of oils and waxes—not unlike their Egyptian forebears—and petrolatum.
A century and change later, lip balms abound. Advancements in skincare technology, like more sophisticated ingredients, and changes in greater cosmetic culture, like the realization that we should wear sunscreen everyday, have led to all sorts of different formulas, textures, and other ways to moisturize one’s lips. There are enough options out there to guarantee one suited to your preferences, as if tailor made for you. All you have to do is find it.
Why do I need a lip balm?
A lip balm is likely to be found in a makeup kit, or a medicine cabinet. But they’re commonly found in handbags and pants pockets, too. If you keep your lip balm on you, you know why: Lips get dry fast.
The skin on our lips is unique, delicate, and almost constantly in use. Lip skin is as prone to exposure, contact, and general wear and tear as the skin on our palms, but is a fraction of the thickness. It also acts as a barrier between our outer skin and the mucous membrane that lines our mouths. The lips are the threshold of speech, respiration, and nourishment, and they need our help to stay healthy and functional.
Another feature of the skin on our lips is the absence of oil glands, which help other parts of skin moisturize themselves. This is the main benefit of lip balm: Applying this moisture directly to the lips, and sealing the area against additional water loss, keeping lip skin hydrated for longer. Dermatologists have long advised balms for chapped lips, but there are other benefits lip balms can provide, too.
The benefits of lip balm
Knowing how the skin on our lips differs from the skin elsewhere on our body gives some clues as to the benefits of lip balm. Few other places on the body necessitate such specific skincare. Lip balms offer three chief benefits: Protecting, preserving, and priming the skin on the lips.
Protecting. By forming a moisture seal, lip balm helps to protect lips from transepidermal water loss—and from becoming chapped. But newer lip balms take this protection to the next level, with ingredients like lip-safe sunscreen and reparative botanical extracts, for additional benefits.
Preserving. It's no secret that skin loses moisture as it ages, making regular moisturization crucial for mature skin. The same is true of lips, which are faster to age, owing to their unique structure. Regular applications of lip balm helps lips preserve their vitality, natural color, and shape. Some newer lip balms also carry more sophisticated anti-aging benefits.
Priming. Makeup artists always have it on hand for a reason: Lip balm is one of the first steps used to prime lips for the application of lipstick. Not only does it help protect and preserve the skin underneath, but it provides a smooth base for lip color, paving the way for better color payoff and longer wear.
Try one of these superpowered lip balms
Maybe you need a lip balm, maybe you already have a lip balm, or maybe you’d be inclined to try a lip balm plus—something that takes the benefits of regular lip balm to the next level.
Lip balm plus tint: The Kissu Lip Tint SPF 25
Not all lip tints are lip balms. The best lip tints are lightly-shaded products that also carry the beneficial moisturizing power of a lip balm. The Kissu Lip Tint imparts buildable color to lips and also hydrates them and seals in moisture while protecting from sun damage. The main ingredients include the skin-like silk protein and botanical lanolin, and the tint comes in a wardrobe of wearable shades, from pink to jam to berry.
Lip balm plus mask: The Kissu Jelly Lip Mask
Just as face masks amplify the benefits of serums and moisturizers, so do lip masks amplify the benefits of lip balm. The Kissu Jelly Lip Mask is an overnight leave-on treatment that supercharges lips with moisture, thanks to a combination of time-tested Japanese botanicals (like juicy peach extract) and natural squalane (one of the most effective emollients used in skincare).
Lip balm plus gold: Camellia Gold Spun Lip Balm
An actual pot of gold, for your lips. This decadent lip treatment is based in camellia oil, a centuries-old Asian beauty ingredient prized for its superb ability to help seal in moisture. But its most distinctive feature is the addition of 23-karat gold flakes, which shimmer suspended in the pot, but applied to lips simply add a soft glow. Luxurious but versatile, it can be applied in the day or at night to keep lips hydrated, happy, and good as gold.