Do lip balms dry out your lips?

Have you noticed your lips becoming dry after applying lip balm? It feels as if the very thing that is supposed to add moisture is doing the opposite. To get to the bottom of this, we turned to two board-certified dermatologists to find out if lip balm can make chapped lips worse. Their answer? It can. 

Our experts helped us discover why this happens and how to ensure the balm you choose moisturizes your dry skin. We even found a few recommendations that won’t cause more dryness.

SKIP AHEAD Does lip balm make dry lips worse? | What to look for in a lip balm | 5 lip balms that won’t dry out your lips | What causes dry lips? | What else can you do to treat dry lips?

Selected.Our top picks

Many lip balms on the market do what they say and moisturize chapped lips. But others can make dry lips feel worse. “It comes down to the formulation. If a lip balm only has humectants in it — ingredients that pull water in from the air — the moisturizing impact will be instant, but short-lived,” says Dr. Rhonda Q. Klein, a board-certified dermatologist and partner and co-owner of Modern Dermatology. The moisture will evaporate and leave the lips dry and dehydrated again. This is why many feel they are in a cycle of seemingly non-stop application.” Common humectants used in lip balms include glycerin, hyaluronic acid and aloe vera. When a lip balm only contains humectants, you may notice short-term relief, but your lips will feel dry again shortly after.

There are also a few other ingredients that can irritate dry lips, making them worse. Those ingredients include fragrances and parabens. “You should also avoid balms that claim to be plumping,” says Klein. “The actives in these — like cinnamon and peppermint — cause intentional irritation to create a fuller lip and often lead to sensitivity and dryness.” 

Humectants in lip balm aren’t bad since they attract moisture to your lips. You just don’t want your lip balm only to be made of humectants. If it is, you’ll notice short-term relief, but your lips will remain dry. The key is to look for a balm that combines humectants and occlusives. In many skin care types, occlusives are moisturizing ingredients that create a physical barrier to prevent water loss and lock in hydration. In tandem, the humectant brings moisture to your lips and the occlusive keeps it there. Good occlusives to look for in lip balms include squalene, shea butter and petroleum. 

In addition to a formula that contains both humectants and occlusives, Klein recommends looking for something with SPF. The sun can dry lips out further, so protecting against that is important. Most lip products contain a low SPF, but if you can, look for SPF 30 or above, says Klein. 

Using dermatologists’ advice, we rounded up a handful of lip balms that will not worsen chapped lips. Each option below contains both a humectant and an occlusive. We also prioritized formulas containing SPF. Finally, every lip balm we chose has at least a 4.0-star average rating from over 1,000 reviews. 

EltaMD UV Lip Balm Sunscreen

EltaMD makes one of our favorite sunscreens and its lip balm provides sun protection, too. It has SPF 36 and contains beeswax, an occlusive, and one of the most common humectants, glycerin. The formula is water-resistant and free of parabens and fragrance, which our experts said can irritate dry skin. It has a 4.4-star average rating from over 3,900 reviews on Amazon. 

Jane Iredale LipDrink

This lip balm, which has a 4.3-star average rating from over 1,550 reviews on Amazon, combines aloe leaf extract to draw moisture in, avocado oil to lock that hydration in place and SPF 15 for sun protection, according to the brand. 

Coola Organic Liplux Lip Balm 

This has been my go-to lip balm for years. It keeps my lips hydrated, protects them from the sun thanks to it containing SPF 30 and doesn’t leave my mouth feeling sticky or goopy. It’s made with carnauba wax, an occlusive, and aloe vera (a humectant) and water-resistant, according to the brand. 

Weleda Skin Food Lip Butter

The glycerin in Weleda’s Skin Food Lip Butter draws moisture to your mouth, while beeswax works to seal lips so that hydration doesn’t escape. According to the brand, all of Weleda’s products are free of synthetic fragrances and preservatives, making them good for sensitive skin and dry, chapped lips that are easily irritated. This balm has a 4.3-star average from over 5,790 reviews on Amazon. 

​​La Roche-Posay Nutritic Lip Balm

We’ve included products from La Roche-Posay on our list of top products for dry skin. Its lip balm has a 4.4-star average rating from over 2,300 reviews on Amazon and is made with shea butter to soothe, glycerin to draw in moisture and ceramides to strengthen the skin barrier, according to the brand. 

“The combination of cold weather and low humidity is the reason most people struggle with dry lips — particularly in the winter,” says Dr. Devina Mehta, board-certified dermatologist at Schweiger Dermatology Group​ in Hoboken, New Jersey. But other things can also cause your lips to feel dry. “Sun damage, dehydration, licking or biting at your lips, mouth breathing while sleeping or irritation from lipsticks can also lead to dry lips,” says Mehta. 

Non-drying lip balm can be a great way to help heal dry lips, but the dermatologists we spoke with also said making certain lifestyle changes can help. Here are some of the things they recommend: 

• Put a humidifier in your bedroom to help keep moisture in the air so your lips and skin don’t dry out — this is especially important if you live in a dry climate, says Mehta. 
• Drink plenty of water to keep your skin (and lips) hydrated. The National Institute of Health suggests that women drink at least 9 cups of water daily and men drink at least 13 cups.
• Consider an overnight lip mask for added hydration. Klein suggests Laneige’s Lip Sleeping Mask, which combines antioxidants and shea butter for moisturizing benefits.

At NBC Select, we work with experts with specialized knowledge and authority based on relevant training and/or experience. We also ensure all expert advice and recommendations are made independently and without undisclosed financial conflicts of interest.

Bethany Heitman is a contributor at NBC Select and a journalist who regularly covers beauty, home and lifestyle. For this story, she interviewed two board-certified dermatologists about chapped lips and lip balm.  

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