Lip Balms For Winter: How To Apply And Must-Have Picks

While lip glosses are objectively a summer favourite, lip balms are the skincare heroes we need all year round and most importantly in the winter. Lip balms don’t feel heavy on the lips, add a subtle sheen, and offer the ultimate hydration in all weather.

However, what we consider optional during summer is most definitely a non-negotiable during winter. Lip balms for winter are what sunscreens are for summer, you need them all year long but when the season calls for it, you can’t do without them.

Lip balms are definitely a trendy choice, but we wish to explore the benefits they offer beyond their popularity and why they are such a winter essential. The ingredients in a lip balm are more than an aesthetic choice, they help nourish, repair, and protect your lips when the harsh winter weather strips your lips of moisture.

While there are hundreds of lip balms you can choose from on Nykaa, we have narrowed down the search to 10 picks. They all have unique features and offer different textures and finishes to go beyond the call of duty. Before we get into our top 10 lip balms for winter, let’s see what lip balm actually is, the ingredients to look for, how to apply a lip balm, and some of the side effects you should be aware of.

What Is Lip Balm?

A lip balm is a humectant substance that is worn on the lips to protect it from environmental stressors that cause your lips to crack. Lip balms can be in either a liquid, gel, wax, or cream formula, but essentially they all help retain and lock in moisture. Our lips are thin and delicate and don’t have any oil or hair glands and thus they are more susceptible to dehydration and damage when not supplied with enough moisture. A lip balm protects it from dryness, cold weather, UV rays, and cracking by creating a protective barrier on the lips to seal in the moisture.

Lip Balm Ingredients To Look For

Here are some lip balm ingredients to keep an eye out for while buying a lip balm during the winter.

Natural Oils & Butters:

Natural oils made from jojoba, coconut, almond, and avocado seeds are all great natural and organic moisture boosters for your lips. Cocoa butter and shea butter also offer deep moisturisation and lock-in hydration.

Vitamins:

For that extra protection, vitamins E and C are great additions to your lip balms. Vitamin E hydrates your lips to make them soft and supple while vitamin C lightens your lips and reduces pigmentation.

SPF:

While offering sun protection to our face and body we often forget about our lips. Our lips are softer and more delicate than the rest of the skin, so incorporating an SPF-infused lip balm can really help protect the lips from sun damage and hyperpigmentation.

Benefits Of Lip Balm In The Winter

Our lips get dull, dry, damaged, and severely dehydrated during winter and need an external source of moisture to keep them healthy, hydrated, and healed. As the cold weather makes the skin brittle and causes it to crack, we tend to pick, tug, and pull the skin causing more damage. Hence, a lip balm for winter is extremely crucial to moisturise the lips and stop or reverse the damage. Let’s look at the benefits of lip balm in detail.

1. Intense Hydration:

   This goes without saying, but the most important job a lip balm does is to hydrate the lips. Moisturising ingredients such as coconut oil, almond oil, vitamin E, shea butter, and cocoa butter, are all essential substances that prevent the lips from drying even in the cold when it weather is dry and arid.

2. Prevents Infection:

   If you have cracked lips, minute bacterial particles can enter the lips and populate to cause more infection. When you hydrate your lips, these cracks reduce and so do the entry points for bacteria, reducing the number of vulnerable spots.

3. UV Protection:

   Contrary to popular belief, the UV rays from the sun can affect your skin, especially your lips which are not even protected under the barrier of sunscreen. Lips balms infused with SPF can protect the lips from long-term damage and other sensitivity issues.

4. Healing:

   When dry, chapped, and cracked lips get repaired due to the hydration and moisture lock, your lips automatically repair themselves by reducing irritation, dehydration, and pigmentation for a healthier, plumper pair of lips.

How To Choose The Right Lip Balm

While choosing a good lip balm for winter, there are a few things to keep in mind so you can give your lips the best care possible. Here’s a small guide for you to keep in mind:

1. Ingredient-Focus:

   If your aim is to repair your damaged lips then look for ultra-hydrating ingredients such as squalane, hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and vitamin E that offer intense hydration and nourishment. If you simply want to rehydrate your lips you can choose a natural oil and butter, such as shea butter and coconut oil that hydrates but doesn’t repair.

2. Steer Clear From Harsh Ingredients:

   Keep harsh and toxic ingredients such as alcohol, silicone, menthol, camphor, artificial fragrances, and parabens at bay. These ingredients may be a part of the lip balm to increase the lifespan of the product, but such preservatives can ruin your lips.

3. Look For The Right Texture:

   If you are looking for lightweight hydration, a wax or cream-like texture would suit you more than liquid or gel lip balms which have a slightly heavier texture. If you are okay with constant stimulation and a slight burning sensation, then you can also opt for plumping lip balms that make your puckers appear fuller and bigger.

4. Sustainable Choices:

   If you are environmentally conscious and are looking to create a difference by only investing or indulging in plant-based essentials then avoid animal-based ingredients such as honey, milk, and beeswax when it comes to your lip balms.

10 Best Lip Balms For Winter

1. Cult Favourite

This oldie but goodie lip balm has to be on the top of our list because nothing beats this OG Vaseline lip balm for dry and chapped lips has been trusted for generations. The petroleum jelly combined with vitamin E has a cult following and remains the top choice to achieve a chap-free winter pout. Though this lip tin is available in multiple flavours, the original is still my favourite.

2. SPF-Infused

Made with ceramides, shea butter, avocado oil, and UV filters, this lip balm nourishes, hydrates, and protects with SPF 50. There is very little colour payoff but the protective barrier is strong. It’s lightweight and comfy, perfect for a nighttime application as well.

3. Expert Formualtion

I was eagerly waiting for The Ordinary to drop their lip balm in India to find out what the hype was all about, safe to say I am not disappointed. Enriched with squalane and amino acids, this flavourless, odourless, and colourless lip balm mimics the natural barrier of your lips for ultimate hydration and protection.

4. Popular Choice

Formulated with shea butter for nourishment and murumuru butter for hydration, this cross-border recommendation is definitely worth the price. It can reverse more than 90% of the damage within one week of use and pair it with the sleeping mask at night for baby-soft lips.

5. For Reduced Pigmnetation

Made with 2% kojic acid, avocado oil, pomegranate oil, vitamin C, and 1% vitamin E this lip balm from Hyphen evens out dual-toned lips and helps reduce pigmentation. It also makes the lips very soft and leaves them more nourished than before.

6. Potent Ingredients

With ingredients such as niacinamide, kojic acid, ceramides, and UV filters, this lip balm from Wishcare is an all-rounder when it comes to nourishment, hydration, and protection. It is ultra hydrating and yet non-sticky. It helps retain and lock in moisture with a slight tint.

7. Rooted In Ayurveda

This one is going to be loved by all generations because the formula bio-mimics the benefits of desi ghee. Along with that, it also contains linoleic acid, vitamin E, phospholipids, hyaluronic acid, peptides, shea butter, squalane, rose, and lotus for those soft, plump, and glowing lips.

8. Vegan Choice

This homegrown brand makes everything vegan, cruelty-free, paraben-free, and alcohol-free for a plant-based alternative to soft, hydrated lips. Although this lip balm comes in a lot of flavours, the blood orange one is my personal favourite.

9. Dermat’s Choice

This lip balm is a popular drugstore product since several dermatologists recommend this brand due to their potency, efficacy, and ingredient quality. Made with jojoba oil, chamomile, beeswax, UV filters, and anti-tanning agents, it is mild enough to use 2–3 times a day, making it a good lip balm for the winter

10. Hybrid Beauty

This is the best lip balm for the winter if you are looking to replace it with makeup. This glassy tint is made with the benefits of eight luscious fruit extracts that offer a lightweight, juicy finish. The long-lasting, radiant shine is perfect for the winters.

How To Apply Lip Balm In Winter

Applying lip balm the right way helps save your lips from drying out in the winter. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to apply lip balm during winter.

Step 1: Clean your lips well with a face cleanser or makeup remover.

Step 2 (Optional): Gently exfoliate with a soft-bristled toothbrush or a lip scrub. Skip this step if you have cracked lips as it can aggravate the tear.

Step 3: Apply a thin layer of the lip balm on your lips and don’t skip out on the corners.

Step 4: Reapply throughout the day as and when needed.

Pro Tip: You can use a lip liner before lip balms to better define your lips if you’re stepping out for work or outings in the winter.

Side Effects Of Lip Balms

Although lip balms are generally safe and don’t have a lot of side effects, there are a few things you need to be mindful of while using them.

1. Overuse:

   Yes, you heard it right. Overusing a lip balm is also bad for your lips. Constantly using a lip balm impacts the natural hydration abilities of your lips and inhibits the restoration of skin cells. It is important to limit the use of lip balms so your skin can generate moisture and repair itself. Use lip balms as an aid for hydration and not the only source.

2. Irritation & Allergens:

   If your skin is allergic to something it is possible that your lips are too. Avoid harsh ingredients, toxic chemicals, and allergens that can cause a reaction and add more damage to your already damaged lips.

3. Breakouts:

   While your lips don’t produce sebum, the skin around them is full of oil-producing glands. Ingredients such as petroleum jelly and mineral oil in lip balms can clog pores and cause breakouts – especially if you have oily skin.

Parting Thoughts

A lip balm is a great moisturising agent for your pout during the winter season when your lips get dried and cracked. With the benefits and side effects in mind, apply the lip balm mindfully and in proportion. Choose a good lip balm for winter from our top 10 recommendations to kiss dull, dry, itchy, cracked lips goodbye.

FAQs

1. Does lip balm darken lips?

   Lips balms that don’t suit you can darken your lips as they can cause an allergic reaction that can later cause pigmentation. Expired products can also darken your lips as their efficacy reduces over time, eventually leading to more harm than good. On a positive note, you can purposefully darken your lips with a tinted lip balm to even out your lips if you have dual-toned lips.

2. How long should I leave lip balm on?

   You can leave your lip balm on for 4–5 hours, you can either wipe it off to give your lips some rest or reapply it to hydrate your lips again.

3. How do you remove lip balm?

   Take a makeup remover and a cotton pad to remove it completely, you can also just water and your clean hands to wipe it off.