Shop the 10 best lip balms for dry lips

Aug 25, 2023

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In the realm of skincare essentials, few products hold as much importance as lip balms.

With the ability to transform dry, chapped lips into soft, supple ones, lip balms have become an indispensable companion for beauty enthusiasts and health-conscious individuals alike.

Join us as we delve into the world of lip care, unveiling a curated list of the best products available. From high-end formulas infused with natural ingredients to intensive options designed for cold weather conditions, our exploration covers options to suit a range of wants and needs.

Whether you’re seeking extreme hydration, a hint of colour or even sun protection, our comprehensive guide is here to help you discover the ultimate lip balm for you.

Read more: Check out these effective vitamin C serums

Key ingredients: Lavender honey, beeswax and shea butter.

Made from 100% natural ingredients, this Nuxe lip balm is an incomparable pick.

When gently massaged into the skin, it repairs dryness and damage to reveal a soft, luscious pout.

The cruelty-free clear formula melts into the lips easily and has a refreshing hint of both grapefruit and lemon scents.

Its thick — not at all sticky feeling — texture ensures hours of hydration meaning you don’t have to apply this constantly throughout the day.

Key ingredients: Castor jelly, synthetic beeswax and vitamin E.

A cult-favourite Glossier goodie, this vegan balm is bursting with antioxidants and natural emollients.

Its silky formula conditions and smoothes lips bringing moisture to any dry patches. The product has a beautiful high-shine finish that appears glossy and never greasy.

Available in an impressive nine different sheer shades (including pinks, purples and corals) as well as dreamy scents, Balm Dotcom comes with a no-touch doe-foot applicator, making it perfect for on-the-go touch-ups.

Key ingredients: Cherry oil, sunflower seed oil and shea butter.

With the perfect wash of colour, this Dior offering comes in 12 different rich shades.

Its sheer yet buildable colour has been designed with colour reviver technology which adjusts to the unique ph of each wearer’s lips. It's perfect for enhancing your natural lip hue and adding a satin finish.

Expect total hydration with this pick as it simultaneously softens and strengthens your lips to make them feel comfortable and nourished at all times.

Key ingredients: Coconut oil, cupuaçu butter and açaí oil.

Lip butters tend to have creamier, thicker formulas than balms and can be more nourishing thanks to their deeply hydrating formulas.

A true multitasking hero, this Sol de Janeiro tube can be used as a lip balm, a treatment for damaged skin, as a base for lipsticks (particularly matte ones that can be drying) and even as a sheer highlighter on the cheekbones.

Key ingredients: Vitamin C, coconut oil and berry extracts.

From Korean beauty brand Lanegie, this mask is all about creating healthy, moisturised lips.

Simply apply it before bedtime and let the formula work its magic. As you sleep, it will slough away dead skin cells to heal chapped skin and reveal softer, plumper lips thanks to its formula’s potent blend of antioxidants and vitamins.

You can also use this as a regular lip balm if you like to maintain a soft and smooth pout throughout the day.

It comes in a variety of shades and scents including vanilla, mango, grapefruit and more.

Key ingredients: Avène thermal spring water, sucralfate and zinc oxide.

Cold winter weather combined with the heated indoors can lead to dry, chapped, damaged lips. That’s why it’s best to invest in an intensive yet soothing formula when buying a lip balm during the colder months.

This Avene pick claims to deliver six hours of hydration while protecting from external irritants. Its gentle ingredients also make it perfect for sensitive skin that needs some relief from discomfort.

Key ingredients: Beeswax, vitamin E and peppermint oil.

With a simplistic, completely natural formula, this product is free of parabens, phthalates and petrolatum.

It’s a nourishing and soothing balm which moisturises and refreshes — largely thanks to ingredients like vitamin E and peppermint oil.

The product’s matte finish will suit those who prefer a natural look that isn’t overly glossy.

Its purse-friendly price tag is a welcome bonus.

Key ingredients: Golden jojoba oil, squalane and shea butter.

Ideal for healing dry, cracked lips, this treatment infuses the skin with hydration to leave you feeling moisturised long-term. It simultaneously provides relief while protecting the skin from further damage.

The thick, buttery formula —bursting with sustainably sourced concentrated plant extracts — can be applied daily like a regular balm, however, seriously chapped skin will benefit most from using this as an overnight mask.

Key ingredients: Lanolin, shea butter and cacao seed butter

Yes, your lips can suffer from sun damage, too.

That’s why Ultra Violette created this lip balm with SPF50 to keep your lips protected from harmful UV rays all year round.

The silky formula comes in a range of shimmery shades that are equal parts hydrating and pretty.

Packing essentials for your next holiday? Once you’ve added this to your basket, don’t forget to pick up some other of our favourite vacay makeup picks.

Key ingredients: Beeswax, cocoa butter and menthol.

One of the most popular picks available, Carmex lip balms have been around since the 1930s and are beloved by many.

The product’s cheap and cheerful, no-frills formula provides moisture, SPF15 protection and a bright cherry scent for added fun.

It offers long-lasting relief from chapped lips and slightly tingles when applied on account of the menthol in the ingredients list.

Almost all skincare and makeup brands offer a range of lip care products. The overwhelming amount available can make it tricky to know which is the best. Our favourites include:

Nuxe: The brand offers eco-friendly, natural formulas that soothe skin.

Glossier: The perfect place to shop inclusive ranges and skin-friendly formulas.

Laneige: A Korean brand all about infusing the skin with hydration to keep it healthy.

From this list, the products we recommend most are the Avene Cicalfate Lip Cream, Esho Coat Lip Treatment and Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask.

We love these for their intensively nourishing formulas which lock in long-lasting moisture. They’re the best things for cracked lips thanks to their healing and repairing properties.

Dry lips are a pretty common problem. And there are a variety of potential causes out there. Some could be:

Cold weather

Sun damage

Constantly licking your lips.

The NHS website has a more in-depth look into the causes of chapped skin and offers some useful dos and don’ts.

Pick up either the Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask or Esho Coat Lip Treatment and apply liberally for bed. A few thick coats should soak into the skin as you sleep, leaving you with baby-soft lips come morning.

If you don’t want to invest in a mask or overnight treatment, you can try using any of the other lip balms on this list in the same way. It’s best to avoid tinted formulas to ensure your pillows don’t get stained during the night.

Sure! There’s no reason not to apply your lip balm daily. Putting some on at bedtime is a great way to keep maintain hydration throughout the night — which is ideal during winter when the evenings are colder.

The Nuxe Rêve De Miel Lip Balm is our ultimate pick. It’s bursting with hydrating honey to maintain moisturise and repair dryness.

Other honourable mentions include Glossier Balm Dotcom for its sheer wash of colour, vegan formula and no-touch applicator as well as the Dior Addict Lip Glow for its wide shade range and highly nourishing properties.

Prices updated on 30/08/2023. We are not responsible for any changes to the prices mentioned above.

Lover of bargains, dupes and deals, Ava Patel obsessively researches and tests the products she writes about so you can be sure you’re spending your money wisely. She’s a trustworthy and reliable go-to when it comes to fashion, beauty and homeware trends.