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Lip Love

by Sandra Ramani

How to keep lips soft and luscious

We paint them, gloss them, balm them, and lick them—but sometimes, we forget that our lips are also a part of our skin, and are susceptible to the same issues as, say, our elbows and knees.

“Cold weather and dehydration can cause lips to become dry, chapped and cracked,” says Nichole Hester, director of spa and Business Development at Chuan Spa at The Langham Huntington, in Pasadena, CA.

Because the skin on our lips is thinner than elsewhere, and there are no oil glands to moisturize them (just saliva), Hester recommends doing all you can to stay hydrated in the winter (from drinking enough water to using a humidifier), and using a lip balm that both adds moisture and protects you from the elements.

Hester suggests opting for “naturally hydrating ingredients like avocado oil, hemp seed oil, vitamin E and coconut oil, and avoiding products that contain artificial fragrances and colors, alcohol, camphor,” and petroleum or mineral oils, which trick the body into not producing its own moisture. Here are seven naturally lip-smacking products that will keep delicate lip skin moisturized and glossy all winter long.

Burt’s Bees Tinted Lip Balm

Multitask with a potent balm that coats lips with a healthy hint of color. Available in six sheer, flower-inspired shades, including a dusky Rose and deeper Red Dahlia, the tinted balms offer eight hours of hydration thanks to natural ingredients like beeswax and shea butter. Layer them with one of the brand’s Lip Crayons, which pack more color punch and soothe lips with omega 3-rich jojoba and kendi oils. burtsbees.com

Tarte Quench Lip Rescue

Available in four flattering pigments and packed with moisturizing ingredients, Tarte’s paraben-, gluten- and mineral oil-free tinted balms are all you need to throw in your bag for the day. Jojoba seed and coconut oils, candelilla wax, and theobroma grandiflorum seed butter help heal and soften. Apply on top of your favorite lipstick for a dewy finish or, if lips are particularly dry, prep first with Tarte Lip Facial, a minty scrub packaged in a convenient, mess-free roll-up stick. tartecosmetics.com

Hurraw Dosha Balms

Inspired by its on-staff Ayurvedic practitioner, this Montana-based line used top-notch organic, vegan and raw ingredients to create nourishing lip balms that correspond to the three Ayurvedic doshas (body types), and feature traditional Indian healing herbs.

All three start with a base of cold-pressed sesame seed and castor oils, raw coconut oil and raw cacao butter. The grounding Vata balm then adds ashwagandha, Guatemalan cardamom and Turkish rose; energizing Kapha’s got tulsi (holy basil), eucalyptus and Malagasy ginger; and the Pitta is a cooling mix of amalki, lemongrass and Oregon peppermint. hurrawbalm.com

Tata Harper Be Fierce Lip Treatment

Offering concentrated therapy in an easy-to-use stick, this sheer treatment gently exfoliates and conditions dry, chapped and irritated lips—and protects from environmental pollution—with a combination of herbs like meadowsweet, calendula, elderberry, comfrey and alfalfa. Oils, including rhubarb, acai, green tea, avocado, olive and apricot kernel, further help bring the moisture, leaving lips silky smooth. tataharperskincare.com

Poppy Organic Lip Love

In addition to crafting small-batch healing soaps, this California-based line produces luscious lip balms packed with organic ingredients like Fair Trade shea butter (high in antioxidants) and cocoa butter (softens skin and locks in moisture), vitamin E (protects) and avocado oil (soothes chapped skin.) Choose from color-free Hello Sunshine (Tangerine Vanilla), the wine-tinted Hi Lovely (Ginger Cardamom) and pink-hued Hey Sweets (Peppermint Basil). poppysoap.com

SpaRitual Moisturizing Balm

You’ll be able to tackle dry skin on the lips—and hands, feet, knees and more—with this multipurpose balm stick, formulated with 80 percent organic ingredients to provide long-lasting moisture to any stressed and parched areas. Ingredients like Fair Trade Certified Organic Shea Butter and Cocoa Seed Butter help both add hydration and seal it in with a protective barrier, encouraging cell regeneration and skin elasticity. The twist-up packaging makes for easy application wherever you need it.  sparitual.com

Aspen Herbal Lip Balm

This family-run line’s lip balms are handcrafted in Montana using organic oils and Fair Trade butters, giving them a silken texture that melts into lips without leaving a greasy residue. The oils are slow-infused with herbs like calendula, lemon balm and yarrow to help tackle chapped skin and encourage hydration. Flavor combos include peppermint/thyme and lavender/licorice; red and pink tinted versions, and a Lip Scrub—made with Himalayan salt and poppy seeds to gently exfoliate dead skin—are also available. myaspenherbals.com

Targeted Therapy

Over the last few years there has been an increase in cold sore outbreaks around the world, with the World Health Organization stating that over 3.7 billion people now suffer from some form of the HSV-1 cold sore/fever blister virus. What you might not know is that cold and dry weather can increase susceptibility to the virus, as can a weakened immune system (having a cold or flu), chapped lips and decreased exposure to vitamin D—all things that happen in the winter.

John Paul DeJoria, the cofounder of John Paul Mitchell hair products and Patron Tequila, is now backing Aubio Life Sciences, a company whose products are based on the healing properties of an ancient, carnivorous plant that—as first noted by Charles Darwin—appears to be able to devour many types of viruses, infections and diseases.

The company’s first two products tackle cold sores from different angles: The Lip Balm with SPF 30 combines botanical ingredients and ceramides to heal cracked and tender skin and provide a long-lasting hydrating barrier, while the clinically tested Cold Sore Treatment Gel uses Sarracenia extract and a proprietary blend of “super botanicals” to offer relief from blisters and return lips to a healthy state. aubio.com

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