10 Hydrating Lip Balms That’ll Actually Get the Job Done (2024)

Best Overall: I reach for this shea-butter-based lip balm every day—it has a velvety cream texture and gives my lips a healthy-looking sheen. I love that it feels as thick and moisturizing as a lip mask—which also means it doesn’t wear off right away—but comes in a slim tube that makes the product easier to apply (and is more portable than a bulky jar). The clear vanilla balm smells amazing and subtly sweet.

Best Multipurpose Balm: SELF’s health director, Amy Rose Spiegel, says this essential-oil-scented salve is a “moisture bomb” that smells incredible, and Sephora reviewers say it’s “the best lip balm I’ve ever used” and “a personal must-have.” Bonus: You can use it to soften skin anywhere, like your elbows and knees. It contains petrolatum to lock in moisture and cottonseed oil—a great source of vitamin E—to soothe irritation.

Best for Sensitive, Cracked Skin: When your lips are really angry, simple products are best. Dr. Kunin swears by CeraVe’s Healing Ointment, and SELF’s executive editor, Alisa Hrustic, says it’s the only product she’ll use when her lips are ultra dry, chapped, or otherwise irritated. It’s loaded with ceramides to help repair damaged skin while petrolatum seals in moisture—plus it’s fragrance-free, so it won’t bother sensitive skin. You can apply this ointment anywhere else on your body, too, like parched patches on your face, dry cuticles, and cracked heels.

Best Budget: Anyone else still hung up on those egg-shaped, pastel-colored balms from back in the day? Well, they’re still around—sans the spherical shape (but just as fun). “The [twist-up] packaging is brilliant in all of its childlike glory,” one SELF tester wrote, adding that the flavors and scents are “divine.” These balms will keep your lips juicy with nourishing sunflower seed and coconut oils, which are rich in vitamin E.

Best Lip Balm With SPF: If you think chapped lips are bad, you definitely don’t want to deal with sunburnt ones. This 2023 Healthy Beauty Award winner is packed with moisturizing ingredients like olive, castor seed, and avocado oils (all good sources of vitamin E), as well as protective petrolatum and UV-blocking zinc oxide, a mineral-based sunscreen that won’t irritate sensitive skin. Our tester loved this product, saying, “The best part is that I can feel the moisture settling into my lips—after 15 minutes, they feel as smooth as a baby’s bottom. Even if I’m not in the sun, I want to be wearing this balm.”

Best Tinted Lip Balm: Sometimes you want a little pop of color but don’t want to deal with a lipstick that may awkwardly fade or dry out your skin. That’s where a tinted lip balm, like this 2023 Healthy Beauty Award winner from Tower 28, comes in. One of our testers called the JuiceBalm “phenomenal” and “very hydrating,” thanks to its combo of shea butter and marula oil. It requires zero fuss too. “You don’t have to worry about harsh or imperfect lines—you can swipe it on without looking, smack your lips together, and trust that it looks great,” they said. “I’ll rebuy this—which I’ve never said about a balm, let alone a tinted one.” It’s available in four pretty shades: nude (a pinky-brown color), berry, pink, and coral.

Best Lip Oil: Our tester appreciated how easy this 2023 Healthy Beauty Award winner was to apply thanks to its larger doe foot applicator that holds more product. “I LOVED that. It made putting on the gloss even easier and quicker, and [it] meant that a single dip into the bottle was enough to apply all over,” they wrote. It contains a nourishing combo of baobab, passion fruit, and camellia seed oils to leave your lips feeling delightfully soft.

Best Plumping Lip Balm: Unlike a lot of plumping products, this balm won’t make your lips feel like you just rubbed chili oil all over them. With only a slight tingling sensation, it creates a smoothing effect that made our tester’s lips look bigger and “airbrushed” right away. And, thanks to ingredients like shea butter, it’s hydrating too. You can pick this one up in several light-to-deep colors, as well as a clear option to pair with your go-to lipstick or tint.

Best Lip Mask: This restorative mask is packed with moisturizing fruit and plant oils that helped our tester, who was dealing with “hella chapped” skin from a prescription retinoid, keep flaking and cracking at bay. “This is the only thing besides my favorite cocoa butter stick that legitimately moisturizes my lips,” they wrote. “Rihanna put her whole Rihannussy into this and I would like to personally thank her for it.”

Best Glossy Lip Balm: If you love a glassy-lip look but can’t stand sticky lip gloss, you need to try this luxurious balm. I have three shades and at least one is with me at all times. If you typically stick with clear balms and think any of these shades look intimidating, trust that they glide on without ever looking patchy, and you can build up the pigment and shine with more swipes. And since it boasts shea butter and a wide range of plant oils, this balm meets gloss will make your lips feel just as juicy and hydrated as they look.