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06 January 2012

Comparative Review: Lip Balms for Dry/Chapped Lips



The products pictured are:
Alba Un-Petroleum Multi-Purpose Jelly
Blistex Revive & Restore
Carmex Original Formula
Eucerin Aquaphor Healing Ointment
Eucerin Aquaphor Lip Treatment
Maybelline Baby Lips - Quenched
Neosporin Lip Health Daily Hydration Therapy

I recently had an issue with my lips being so dry they cracked at the corners, and I tried so many things to fix it. These are my experiences/results.

Alba Un-Petroleum Multi-Purpose Jelly:
As the name states, this product can be used for a lot of different things from moisturizing to removing makeup. I like to use it to moisturize my hands and feet at night. This product is the most comfortable to apply on the lips when they're so dry that they hurt, and it's also the most likely to protect and moisturize at the same time because instead of being petroleum or petrolatum, it's beeswax and oils (no mineral oil). I find it most useful at night because while this product is effective, it lacks SPF, and I find that when my lips are chapped, being in the sun doesn't help. Being a jelly, it can be annoying to have slathered on the lips, so I found it easiest and most comfortable to apply a tiny bit of this to the corners where I was experiencing the most dryness/pain. Of all the things I tried, this is probably the most effective. It can be a little pricey (7 or 8 USD for 100 g), but even using it on my feet I hardly use any of it, so one tube will last a long time. No scent or flavor.

Eucerin Aquaphor Healing Ointment:
This used to be my go-to product for severely dry skin and lips. I've also used this on my feet, too. Aquaphor is a petrolatum jelly with mineral oil and such added to it. It can be effective in protecting chapped lips and preventing further drying, but it's extremely thick, and it doesn't really moisturize at all. It is definitely the least comfortable to apply to the lips, and it also lacks SPF. It's best for night treatment, and I use it the same as I use the Alba jelly. This lasts at least through the night. No scent or flavor.

Eucerin Aquaphor Lip Repair:
This is NOT the same as the Aquaphor ointment. It has more ingredients, and it's less heavy feeling. This one also lacks SPF, so I personally wouldn't choose to wear it outside during the day, but it is a pretty good lip treatment. It's in a handy tube, so it's not obnoxious to carry with you, and because it's still similar to Aquaphor in texture, it lasts on the lips a long time. It moisturizes somewhat well, but I prefer its protective properties. No scent or flavor.

Blistex Revive & Restore:
This is a lip balm duo that includes Revive which is supposed to smooth and protect the lips (with SPF 15) and Restore which is supposed to soften the lips. Revive has a light minty scent, and it has a smoother, softer texture. Restore has the scent/flavor that a lot of Blistex lip balms have, and I hate that scent. Revive is more waxy than Restore, but they both moisturize the lips equally well. The packaging of these is interesting because they are made to be stacked together, so you can revive and restore your lips at the same time; I guess. If the scent/flavor of Restore isn't bothersome, this is a good duo. For me I got one lip balm I like and one I won't use, so the 6 USD could have been better spent elsewhere.

Carmex Original Formula:
Also a waxy texture with an odd scent of which I am not particularly fond, Carmex works pretty well. It's designed to protect and heal cold sores, so in theory it should work well to protect and heal dryness and chapped lips. I found that it didn't really help with the dryness, but it certainly didn't make anything worse. My lips felt better using this, but the really dry, cracked parts of my mouth felt the same. No SPF.

Maybelline Baby Lips - Quenched:
I have already reviewed these balms, but for the purposes of this review I thought it should be included. I chose Quenched because it's flavor-less and scentless. This one does moisturize very well, and it makes my lips feel protected (SPF 20), but I didn't get enough moisturization to help with the cracking.

Neosporin Lip Health Daily Hydration Therapy SPF 20:
This has a nice texture, and it initially makes my lips feel moisturized, but after half an hour or so my lips feel dry again. I like that this has SPF, but the SPF means nothing to me if my lips feel dry anyway. The texture does make my lips feel protected though. I wouldn't recommend this product.

Products I would recommend for severely chapped/dry lips:
Alba Un-Petroleum Multi-Purpose Jelly
Aquaphor Lip Repair
Blistex Revive from Revive & Restore Duo

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