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Beauty lovers everywhere know how to mitigate wrinkles and ensure glowing, healthy skin with serums and hydrating night creams and moisturizers. However, maintaining the lips is perhaps a less common standard. With spring in full swing, we feel inspired to go out and enjoy the great weather and sunshine. And with the glorious bursts of sunlight come harmful UV rays, which is why protecting your lips as well as slathering good sunscreen with a decent SPF is paramount. Even if the heat isn't quite to its summer standard, our skin and that on our lips is still under attack—which is why some of the best lip balms have SPF. So when looking for the ideal moisturizing lip balm for this spring and summer vacations, make sure you're keeping an eye out for the SPF number on the packaging. While we're thinking about lip protection in the hot months of the year, it's never too early to prepare your lip regimen for the winter months. When the cold arrives, we are starkly reminded just how painful and bothersome chapped, dry lips can be. “That cold irritant jostles our keratinocytes, our epidermal barrier, and compromises it, and then water can evaporate out essentially,” explains board-certified dermatologist Mona Gohara, MD. “You also tend to breathe faster in the winter, if you’re cold,” says board-certified dermatologist Papri Sakar, MD. “You’re breathing out not just air but saliva, and that water or that spit, it gets on the lips and then evaporates off and causes more dryness.”

But you may be surprised to learn that cold weather outside isn’t the only reason for your flaky lips. “Forced indoor heating can strip our skin of moisture, from our heads to our toes,” explains Geeta Yadav, dermatologist and the founder of Skin Science Dermatology in Toronto. “It’s especially noticeable on lips because the skin there is so much thinner—it’s about three to six layers deep rather than the 15-plus layers of skin found on the rest of our bodies.”

Certain medications (like Accutane and diuretics), heat, chemical irritants, fragrances, windburn, and foods that are high in citrus or salt are also possibilities as to why your lips are particularly chapped these days. Lucky for you, we asked top-rated dermatologists to disclose exactly why lip balm is helpful in combating dry lips, along with their favorite product recommendations.

Which Ingredients Do the Best Lip Balms Contain?

Lip balms not only deliver essential hydration and nourishment but also prevent moisture from evaporating. Because the lips don't contain any oil glands to help regulate the skin, lip balms serve as a protective barrier and help enhance moisture. When searching for the right lip balm, people should look for the ingredients hyaluronic acid and sodium hyaluronate. These ingredients are humectants, aka the substance that works to draw moisture into the lips.

“Ingredients like ceramides help prevent transepidermal water loss, which is a big factor of lip dryness, ” says Yadav. “Emollients such as shea butter and coconut oil help smooth and soften away dryness and chapped texture.” Basically, emollients are a moisturizer that help to seal the skin cells back together by adding moisture.

As your hunt to find the best lip balm forges on, steer clear of products with menthol, camphor, phenol, and alcohol. “These are ingredients that can irritate the skin leading to skin shedding,” explains Morgan Rabach, MD, board-certified dermatologist, assistant clinical professor at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and the cofounder of LM Medical Dermatology and Plastic Surgery in New York. Other irritating ingredients include cinnamon or capsaicin (hot pepper), which are often used in lip plumping treatments.

So without further ado, these are the 25 best lip balms, according to customer reviews and dermatologists.

Best Value Lip Balm: Vaseline Lip Therapy Advanced Petroleum Jelly Most Loved: Glossier Balm Dotcom Best Lip Balm With SPF: Colorescience Sunforgettable Total Protection Color Balm SPF 50 Best Vegan Lip Balm:Biossance Rose Vegan Lip Balm Best Tinted Lip Balm: Neutrogena Tinted Lip Balm with SPF 20 Best Lip Balm for Anti-Aging: Paula's Choice Anti-Aging Lip Gloss SPF 40 Best Scented Lip Balm: Sun Bum Sunscreen Lip Balm SPF 30

Help protect your lips from temperate weather with long-lasting moisture, so you don't have to keep reapplying! Apply at night for optimal protection. "While you sleep, your body works hard to help regenerate and heal itself," explains Yadav. "Providing moisture to your lips during this critical moment will help promote healthier lips."

"This one is great for stashing in your pocket or in your bag when you need extra nourishment," says Yadav. "It has a bunch of emollients, including lanolin, castor oil, and beeswax—and also comes in fun flavors." It's a dermatologist fan favorite, evident by the rave reviews from Nichols, too. "My go-to everyday lip balm is the Glossier Original Balm Dotcom; this hydrating lip balm features a variety of natural antioxidants and emollients," shares Nichols.

“It’s actually kind of like sunscreen that has makeup in it,” says Gohara. “I’m really confident that my patients are protecting themselves with it because lips are very susceptible to sun damage.” Bonus: It's water- and sweat-resistant for up to 40 minutes!

Committed to clean beauty, Biossance's rose vegan lip balm is made with hyaluronic acid and squalane, delivering a boost of hydration. The ceramides prevent moisture loss, while the wakame algae will work to plump your lips.

Another favorite of Rabach's is Neutrogena's tinted lip balm, which comes in five different shades. It improves lip texture and enhances natures hues, while also providing protection against harmful UV rays.

For maximum sun protection, look for lip balms with a sun protection factor of 30 or higher, like this anti-aging lip gloss by Paula's Choice. "Skin cancers found on the lips can be incredibly deadly, more so than other areas of the body," explains Yadav.

Sun Bum's lip balm is another great lip balm choice if you're searching for a product with SPF. Made up of aloe and vitamin E, your lips will stay smooth and hydrated. But you've been warned—you'll want to lick it all off, thanks to its yummy fragrance.

The Tinted Lip Balm goes with most skin tones and is affordably priced. "I find that some of my patients have an easier time using a lip balm if they have a sheen, and this one is great," says Sarkar. "It has fruit oils, shea butter, lanolin, and, of course, beeswax, so it has great staying power." However, if you're allergic to wool, beware of the lanolin.

"Beeswax, coconut oil, and shea butter all contain fatty acids and vitamins that help to heal, protect, and provide lasting hydration to the lips," explains Kim Nichols, MD, FAAD, a Harvard-trained, board-certified dermatologist who treats both medical and cosmetic skincare concerns. These ingredients are all present in Eos lip balm, ensuring it's a great go-to for those with chapped lips.

Rabach recommends Aquaphor's Lip Repair Ointment, thanks to its purity and reasonable price. It's clinically proven to relieve dryness and soothe chapped lips.

"This one is creamy, rich, and soft without feeling thick or heavy," explains Yadav. "It contains a lot of emollients, including murumuru and shea butters, candellila wax, and the humectant sodium hyaluronate." Additionally, it contains a blend of fruit extracts that offers antioxidant benefits.

"If I was stranded on a desert island, I'd bring this. It's a petrolatum (great emollient) with ceramides," says Sarkar. "It's great for slugging on your face and lips, but can really be used anywhere like heels, elbows etc. It's not sexy, but it's got staying power without being as heavy as Aquaphor."

If you're struggling with severe dehydration, this lip balm is your best bet. "This medical-grade, emollient cream has vitamin E and hyaluronic acid to nourish lips and restore hydration, botanicals to sooth irritation, and silymarin to prevent future damage," says Nichols.

Free of silicones and full of vitamin E, this lip balm glides on the lips, like a gloss. "Vitamin E has both hydrating and antioxidant properties, helping to promote cell turnover while simultaneously moisturizing the lips," explains Nichols.

Coming in a four-pack, this vegan lip balm is formulated with coconut oil and shea butter—ingredients that'll help soothe dry, chapped lips. It doesn't contain beeswax, petrolatum, or parabens.

"I recommend the EltaMD UV Lip Balm for a lip balm specifically formulated to protect your lips from UVA and UVB rays," says Nichols. "This creamy lip sunscreen is created with zinc oxide for uv defense as well as glycerin, vitamins C and E, and Hydromanil® for lasting hydration."

Suggested by Gohara, this semi-matte, nonslip formulation helps to moisturize and protect chapped lips. The shea butter and glycerin ingredients helps to nurture and hydrate, keeping lips feeling soft, smooth, and comfortable.

"I needed a chapstick with SPF to keep my lips from getting a sunburn on vacation, and this definitely does the job!" writes one Amazon reviewer. "If you like coconut, it tastes and smells like it." Coming with two tubes (and at an extremely affordable price), this balm is made of pure extra virgin coconut, monoi, and sweet almond oils.

Fully of peptides, omega fatty acids and antioxidants, this balm will plump your lips to the fullest. It's also spiked with a blend of avocado, mongongo, and marula oils to moisturize and replenish lips.

Remember, you can get skin cancer anywhere on your skin, including your lips, so it's smart to reach for an SPF lip balm. "This one has a wand and an SPF 40," says Sarkar. "It's great on its own but it also works as a topper to your favorite lip color."

This tinted lip balm comes in a variety of shades and ensures long-lasting moisture. "I bought this lip balm in the color blood orange and it’s great! I like that the color is buildable, with a few swipes it becomes a bright red," says one Amazon reviewer. "It fades to a natural flushed color, no cracking or patchiness."

"Let me be clear, I think all lip balms can be used by men or women, but this one tends to especially appeal to my patients who identify as male," says Sarkar. "It has shea butter, beeswax, and lanolin. I ask patients to avoid the mint one because that can be a little more irritating than the others. I love when people reach for this, because it has SPF 25!"

Revlon's tinted lip balm is infused with natural fruit oils and fragrances that will keep your lips moisturized for up to eight hours. Not to mention, it's available in five different shimmery, bold shades.

Provide maximum relief for chapped lips with this lightweight formula. Enriched with cocoa butter and vitamin E, your lips will be protected and feel as smooth as a baby's bottom. Additional points for the slight pink hue, which will enhance your lip's natural undertones.

"Shea butter contain[s] fatty acids and vitamins that help to heal, protect, and provide lasting hydration to the lips," says Nichols. And lucky for you, shea butter is a key ingredient in this lip balm.