Best and Worst Dry Lip Solutions

I think the most common annoyance for me are dehydrated lips. It’s not just the lips, it’s also the immediate surrounding area.

When my lips are dry, my whole face feels gross. My whole me feels gross. Everything feels uncomfortable and tight as a result.

I’ve tried lip balms, petroleum-based stuff, oils…everything.

Least favorite solutions

Most lip balms: They provide a temporary, thin glaze of smoothness at best, and just emphasize the dry skin at worst. Sucks more when they’re slippery. When I think of a “balm”, I think of a nice, thick, moisturizing substance. Yet, “lip balm” doesn’t ever give me that satisfying imagery.

Now, I’m not saying I hate all lip balms…just that more often than not, they suck. There are some I actually like such as the Tarte Quench Lip Rescue. It doesn’t have give that superficial, thin, slippery feel, and it actually is moisturizing. A notable mention is the Sephora collection lip balms; they feel great on the lips, but I don’t find them particularly helpful when my lips are super rough and dry.

What it comes down is ingredients and composition. Look for healing and hydrating components like Vitamin E.

Petroleum-based stuff like rose salves: Petroleum jelly (like vaseline) doesn’t moisturize; it retains moisture and keeps it from escaping. So, applying Vaseline alone or rose salves (even if there’s that little bit of squalane or something in there) doesn’t help me. I also find it feels gross and slippery. I think this is definitely the most overrated kind of product. If using it, I definitely need a layer of a moisturizing product underneath first.

Best solutions

Here are some of my favorite and most reliable solutions to help my lips at their worst:

Vitamin E Oil: Vitamin E has healing and conditioning properties. Applying a little dab of the oil feels instantly comforting, and it takes a few hours to a day for it to significantly smooth and moisturize my lips. It’s quite thick so think of it like a lip balm or mask as it won’t all instantly absorb.

Squalane Oil: Using squalane consistently produces clear results for my lips over time: they’re softer and less prone to chapping or developing a rough, bumpy texture. See my review of The Ordinary’s squalane oil here.

Bite Beauty Agave Lip Mask: This is my favorite thing to use as a lip balm. Instant comfort and nourishment. See my full review here.

What are your favorites for helping moisturize and heal your lips? Let me know what I missed. And can someone please recommend me a great lip balm? I don’t want to be a lip balm-pessimist.

Thanks for reading ❤

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