Chapped lips. Dry, cracked lips. Sunburned, wind-burned, winter-chilled lips. We need year round care for one of the most sensitive areas of our face. With all the products available how do you choose which will moisturize and protect your lips without caking on all the muck that so many lip balms produce. Look for the following ingredients to help you find the perfect treatment for smooth lips.

The worst ingredient we found is petrolatum. It leaves a greasy film on your lips and it’d be no wonder, it’s sometimes used to slow corrosion on car batteries. No thanks! Petrolatum is also a non-renewable hydrocarbon that comes from crude oil. There’s really no need to use a lip balm that contains petrolatum when there are lots of other choices that include great natural ingredients like these.

The bases of many great lip balms start with beeswax which comes naturally from bees of course, and carnauba wax which comes from the leaves of a palm tree that is referred to as “the tree of life” – you can’t go wrong with a name like that. Both are known to keep lips moist and create a hydrating barrier that holds moisture on the lips.

Next comes the butter. You’ll find a wide variety of butters that help heal and maintain smooth lips including cocoa, olive, raspberry, avocado and shea. Another amazing butter you’ll find in super moisturizing and healing lip balms is mango butter. It is a natural emollient that has the ability to aid in the process of healing small skin wounds like extremely cracked lips.  Mango Butter is widely used for its skin softening, soothing, moisturizing and protective properties and to restore flexibility and reduce degeneration of skin cells. It also protects against the effects of sunburn and prevents frost bite amking it a great year round choice for lip care.

Oils are another key ingredient for smooth lips. Again the choices are vast and the results are naturally smooth lips. Clove Oil comes from the buds of a tropical evergreen and has soothing, warming pain relief properties. It also serves as an antiseptic and disinfectant to keep lips healthy.

Vitamin E is found in vegetable oils, including soy, and is a natural antioxidant. Vitamin E has many soothing, regenerating properties. It is one of the most commonly used oils in lip care.

Pomegranate oil made from the fruit extract of pomegranates is highly antioxidant and protects your lips while keeping them smooth and supple. It replenishes moisture and restores texture to reveal smooth, healthy lips, and coats them for a smooth, even-toned appearance. Also look for sunflower seed oil, coconut oil and avocado oil.

Be sure to include sunscreen protection in your lip wear. Oxybenzone 5% is a common sunscreen ingredient.

Tip: Camphor and menthol are both useful to treat chapped, hurting lips.

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