Lip care is big business in the UK, worth an estimated \u00a380m and promoted by celebs like Charli XCX. But how can you really find out the facts about which products are worth it and which are the ones to avoid?<\/p>\n
Turning to your socials doesn\u2019t always help. There are more than three million Instagram posts with #lipbalm and reviews of luxury balms, recommendations of more affordable alternatives and unboxing of the newest item on the market account for the army of videos about lip balms on TikTok. YouTube offers videos where dozens of balms are tested in one go – with an honest opinion at the end – and Reddit threads on luxury lip balms include comments from users unimpressed with the pricier versions, preferring the cheaper, more established products.<\/p>\n
So, how can you separate the facts from the fake claims when it comes to lip care? Does lip balm really help to keep chapped lips at bay? Are natural ingredients better for our lips? And is it true that the more you use lip balm, the more you need to use? Bitesize Other Side of the Story\u2019s teamed up with BBC Sounds podcast Sliced Bread to try and get you the answers.<\/p>\n
Greg: So when our lips get cracked or chapped, is it simply them drying out?<\/p>\n
Dr Emma Craythorne: It’s exactly them drying out. So if you go to the Arctic where the humidity is really low, loads of water will leave the skin on your face and it will get all dry and cracked. But because the lips are even more sensitive, even in just normal cold conditions, our lips will dry out much more readily.<\/p>\n
When we apply lip balm, it creates an protective layer on the lip\u2019s surface. This seals moisture in and guards against outside elements such as the wind or low temperatures, or irritating foods like chilli peppers. It can also protect us from ourselves! When we lick our lips, the enzymes in our saliva can break down the natural protective barrier our lips already possess – known as lipids – and the ingredients in lip balm mimic those lipids, to rebuild the barrier.<\/p>\n
Some lip balm ingredients are manufactured, such as petroleum jelly. Others are natural, such as beeswax. There has been some debate over which is better for you.<\/p>\n
Dr Emma Craythorne, a consultant dermatologistcloseDermatologistA doctor who specialises in diseases and conditions of the skin. and surgeon, who uses petroleum jelly as a lip balm, told the Sliced Bread podcast: \u201cSometimes if you\u2019re creating something syntheticallycloseSyntheticA substance manufactured by humans rather than one which is made naturally. A synthetic substance can also mimic a natural substance., you\u2019re making it in a more pure form, whereas if you have it from a natural source, it may be contaminated with other things. Natural ingredients are wonderful, but some natural ingredients are really, really harmful, so I wouldn\u2019t say natural was better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pharmaceutical and medicinal chemistry lecturer at the University of Sunderland, Dr Teresa Borello, said on the same episode that she prefers some elements of her lip balm to be natural, as they are biodegradable and better for the environment, but agreed with Dr Craythorne that natural ingredients are not always the best ones.<\/p>\n
Everyone is different and we all have different skin types. Water and moisture will leave different people\u2019s bodies at different rates, so there is no single lip balm that works for everyone. We each have different ways we want our lips to look and feel as well.<\/p>\n
The difference in price between lip balms can be significant, with some costing less than \u00a32, to others with a price tag of \u00a320 or more. But do you have to spend that much to make your lips feel better?<\/p>\n
Lip balms with a petroleum jelly base are among the cheapest in the market while ones that contain beeswax, for example, can be pricier. If we do pay more, are we getting a better product that really benefits our lips?<\/p>\n
Dr Borello believes this can be true – but not always. She said: \u201cIn some cases, I must say, I think the prices reflect the real value. Expensive products might contain high quality ingredients\u2026 a much cheaper product might have a similar base\u2026 but without the glossy marketing and the prestige packaging.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the other hand, Dr Craythorne doesn\u2019t agree in paying more: \u201cI fully believe that a lot of the expensive price tag is paying for the celebrity to endorse it\u2026 and I\u2019m sure there are some formulations that are spending a lot more on these ingredients than others but I know what the mark-ups [the cost added to products to make a profit] are on these products, they are pretty high.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not all lip balms come with sun protection. Those that do can be pricier than those without – but are they worth the extra cost?<\/p>\n
Dr Craythorne said it\u2019s a good idea to have protection on your lips, but to make sure the SPF (sun protection factor) on the balm is at least 50. It\u2019s also worth considering that, unlike some sun creams and lotions, lip balms do not last as long on the skin – they often need re-applying after a couple of hours, so one application won\u2019t last the day in the sunshine.<\/p>\n
Dr Craythorne is doubtful: \u201cI think there\u2019s probably an element of truth to it, because if you seek out to use lip balm in the first place, it must be because you normally feel that your lips are a little bit dry.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you then are somebody who wants to have that feeling on your lips where they\u2019re feeling a little bit moist, then that in itself is quite an addictive feeling because it just feels nicer to you. I don\u2019t think that you have to keep using it for a physical reason but it\u2019s just more for probably a pleasurable reason, it\u2019s something that you like.\u201d<\/p>\n
You’ve read about lip balms, but what about the differences between the ear plugs, fitness trackers and cycle helmets on the market? You can find out about these and more from Sliced Bread on BBC Sounds.<\/p>\n
This article was published in July 2025<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Lip care is big business in the UK, worth an estimated \u00a380m and promoted by celebs like Charli XCX. But how can you really find out the facts about which products are worth it and which are the ones to avoid? Turning to your socials doesn\u2019t always help. There are more than three million Instagram […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-8982","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8982","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8982"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8982\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8982"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8982"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8982"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}