The Best Balms to Keep Your Lips Soft All Winter

One of the most important commandments of getting gorgeous the green way is "Thou shalt not use products that contain petroleum." Easier said than done when it comes to lip balms, as a majority of the ones many of us use regularly contain petroleum derivatives (look for things like petrolatum or mineral oil on labels) as their main moisturizing ingredient. To help your lips break free of their dependence on petroleum products, we tested over 60 different natural balms and narrowed them down to our 15 favorites. Choose any of them and your lips will look and feel soft all winter. 

Best Drugstore Balms

Sometimes, the best balms are those that you can buy just about anywhere, right when you need them — no waiting for your online order to arrive or making a special trip to a cosmetics store to find them. At the drugstore, we love Burt's Bees Medicated Lip Balm. The camphor and menthol infused balm soothes severely dehydrated lips and helps prevent further cracking and chapping thanks to grape seed oil and shea butter. And when we're at Target, we look for Yes to Carrots C Me Smile Lip Butter, a USDA certified organic balm that's virtually fragrance-free and contains hydrating coconut oil, beeswax and jojoba seed oil.

Most Hydrating

Before becoming eco-aware, many of us would coat our lips with petroleum jelly (an oil byproduct) to keep them from cracking. Now, we like to compare a balm's effectiveness to that standard of moisturization. In our search, we've found two that pass the petroleum test. The first is Lavanila Laboratories' The Healthy Lip Butter SPF 8. The 100% chemical-free formula uses shea, kokum, illipe and cocoa butters to hydrate lips and gives them a glossy look — a great substitute for sticky clear lip glosses. For all-night nourishing, check out Jason Natural Products' Lips Bee Healthier Aloe and Beeswax Balm, which looks hard and chalky in the tube but melts onto lips on contact. It's made with 70% organic ingredients like cocoa seed butter and sweet almond oil and has a subtle mint aroma. Perfect Organics Super Moisturizing Shea Butter Lip Balm is another overnight sensation that leaves lips soft by morning. It's made with a total of six ingredients, five of which are organic and none of which are petroleum products or chemicals.  

Best Balms With Color

While lipsticks and gloss are great for adding punch to your pucker and healthy color to your entire face, it's rare that they offer adequate moisture, which is why balms with tint win out in the winter months. Two we love: Juice Beauty SPF 8 Lip Moisturizers, which contain mineral pigments and provide mineral sun protection; and Alba Botanica Terra Tints, which also include chemical-free SPF 8 and mineral-based colors. Both brands offer lighter and deeper shades, so you can find the hue that's right for you, plus they're also petroleum-free and full of organic botanical emollients and extracts. Just be sure to apply them in front of a mirror: It can be difficult to stay within the lines of your lips due to the flat surface of the balm.

Yummiest Scents

While you shouldn't be licking your lips — the act actually dehydrates your kisser as the saliva evaporates and pulls moisture from your mouth — we wouldn't blame you if these lip-smacking "flavored" balms enticed you to do just that. Aubrey Organics Treat 'em Right Raspberry balm wins for best fruit flavor and the brand's Spearmint is the most minty (just like Double Mint gum). They're both beeswax- and coconut oil-based and contain over 90% organic ingredients. Sumbody's Lucky Lips Balm in Coffee, with moisturizing shea and coffee butters, smells just like a dark cup of java with a hint of sugar and gives lips a creamy feel. And for those with a sweet tooth, try Green By Nature's Coconut Milk Lip Butter; it's 97.6% natural and smells like a cross between coconut cream pie and vanilla cake batter.