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The skin on the lips is extremely thin and delicate, making the mouth among the most vulnerable areas to sun damage and wind abrasion. Cracked, dry lips can affect almost anyone, causing discomfort and a less than ideal cosmetic appearance.
Those with dry lips may be desperate for a solution and grab for the first items they see at the checkout stand. But before you do, carefully consider the points of this article.
Importance of natural ingredients in beauty products
As the world has moved towards a focus on organics and natural skincare, many lip balms have been left behind due to their artificial ingredients and fragrances. A lot of chapsticks contain toxic elements that can further dehydrate the skin, unbalance the hormones, and even cause the risk of cancer in rare cases.
So what exactly are the right ingredients to use on your lips?
Below we will explore the best options for treating your smile with the kindness and care it truly deserves.
Best ingredients in lip balm or chapstick
1. Shea Butter
Shea butter is rich in fatty acids that moisturize the lips and reduce inflammation. Wound-healing is also one of shea butter’s hidden strengths, making it ideal for chapped lips in the wintertime.
2. Essential Oils
Oils can be assimilated by the skin quite easily, making them ideal partners for any lip balm. Made with naturally-occurring antioxidants that help fight off free radical damage, essential oils can deeply hydrate your lips and protect them from environmental toxins. A few excellent oils to look for include olive oil, avocado oil, hemp seed oil, grapeseed oil, coconut oil, almond oil, sunflower oil, and jojoba oil. It should be noted that many of these oils have a lovely odor that can replace harmful artificial fragrances in your lip balm.
3. Raw Honey
Raw honey is not only delicious but is also chocked full of vitamins, minerals, and rich amino acids. In fact, honey is among the most hydrating compounds on the planet. It can repair damaged skin cells in the lips and act as a barrier against environmental stressors.
4. Cocoa Butter
Cocoa butter contains vitamins A, B, C, D, and E, along with magnesium and iron, all of which work together to strengthen and enrich the lips from the inside out. Cocoa butter gives the smile a more luminous and stunning appearance.
5. Zinc Oxide
Like the rest of the face and neck, the lips are vulnerable to sun damage. Zinc oxide can safely protect your smile from harmful UV rays long-term.
6. Candelilla Wax
Candelilla wax is included in natural lip balms to prevent them from melting, but it doesn’t clog the pores or irritate the skin. Vitamin A is plentiful in candelilla wax, which can help combat cellular decay and heal the effects of aging.
7. Vitamin E
Vitamin E accomplishes many goals simultaneously, including softening, hydrating, repairing, protecting, and revitalizing the skin.
Ingredients to avoid in lip balms
Not everybody will agree with this and even other lists of ingredients to avoid in lip balms (and other cosmetic products), but if you’re beginning to veer toward a more natural, organic, or clean selfcare regime, these are typically the ingredients you’ll want to avoid in lip balms:
- Parabens – Parabens interrupt the endocrine system and can increase the risk of cancer in women.
- Petroleum – During the refinement process of petroleum, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons may be released, compounds that can increase the risk of cancer. Petroleum may also trap toxins and bacteria under the skin.
- Fragrance – Artificial fragrances may contain hidden chemicals that can lead to a rash, eczema, or skin inflammation.
- Alcohol – Alcohol can dry out the skin, doing the opposite of what the product promises to do, which is to moisturize the skin.
- BHA and BHT – Butylated hydroxyanisole and butylated hydroxytoluene are preservatives that have been connected to cancer, endocrine problems, and respiratory disorders.
- Oxybenzone – This is a chemical included as a sunscreen, but it has been linked to endometriosis in female users.
The takeaway
It adds a minute to your already packed day to check the labels on your beauty products, but for many, doing as much as they reasonably can to prevent over-exposure to harmful chemicals and toxins is a growing priority.
The lists above should help with that, at least as far as lip balm and lip scrubs are concerned.
Natural lip balm ingredients provide nourishment and relief, soothing the skin for long-term hydration and radiance. Nature is an abundant resource, filled with miraculous solutions for common skin ailments, so there isn’t a huge need to reinvent the wheel with synthetic versions of compounds found in nature that already work quite successfully.
The next time you go shopping for a lip balm, choose one that contains healthy ingredients like Vitamin E, cocoa butter, honey, and essential oils.
Consider the notion that you probably shouldn’t put anything on your lips that you wouldn’t feel comfortable ingesting.
