CONTEST ALERT! How do you protect your lips? Leave a comment below and you’ll be entered to win a $25 gift card to Shopper’s Drugmart! See details below.
By iRun Gear Test Team member, Sarah Macfadyen
Runners these days have all sorts of high tech gadgets. But sometimes, it’s the simplest things that get forgotten when you head out for a run—like lip balm.
Training outdoors in the sun and wind can wreak havoc on lips. Because they don’t have oil glands to keep them nourished, lips dry easily and can become chapped. They also don’t produce much melanin, the pigment in our skin that protects us from the sun, which means they can burn. Lip balm with SPF helps seal in moisture and prevents lips from burning. The next time you lace up your running shoes and dash out the door, grab some lip balm. Your lips deserve the attention.
Choosing a lip balm can be as difficult as picking out the perfect pair of running shoes. You can spend anywhere from a couple of dollars to as much as $30. To help wade through the plethora of products on the market, we put seven lip balms to the test. Here’s how they stacked up.
Day One
Nivea Sun SPF 30, $2.99
★ ★
If you like to actually feel that you are wearing lip balm, this is the one for you. It goes on very thick and has a slightly waxy texture. Wearing this lip balm will give you an idea of how a car feels after a wax job—water just beads off your lips (wax is one of its ingredients, so it’s no surprise). Once the waxy texture disappears, lips are left smooth, but a little tight. It has an SPF of 30, which is a selling point. But be warned, if you have long hair, you might find your ponytail sticking to your lips on a windy day.
Day Two
RoC Soleil Protexion, $11
★ ★ ★ ★ .5
Leave it to the French to make a lip moisturizer that feels more like an expensive lipstick than a
lip balm. It goes on silky, with almost no smell, and finishes semi-matte. After a few minutes it is almost like it’s not there at all. Lips felt moist after a tough workout on a hot and humid day. It also has SPF 30, but it protects lips from the sun’s harmful rays without feeling like you are smearing sunscreen all over them.
Day Three
Arbonne Lipsaver Sunscreen SPF 30, $10
★ ★ ★ .5
This lip balm goes on silky and is very light, but it has a definite menthol smell to it and makes your lips tingle a few seconds after it is applied. The tingling sensation disappears fairly quickly, but if you’re not a fan of feeling like you have Rub A535 on your lips, this may not be the lip balm for you. It does contain SPF 30, which is a definite plus. It also contains safflower seed oil, chamomile extract and vitamin E, which leave lips smooth and moisturized for a long time. It doesn’t hold up to heat well, though, so make sure you don’t leave the tube in the sun on a hot day.
Day Four
Nuxe Rêve de Miel Lip Moisturizing Stick, $9.00
★ ★ ★
Nuxe has ditched the traditional cylinder shape lip balm and made this one actually look like a tube of clear lipstick. It glides on light and creamy, leaving lips feeling soft and moist. It contains natural products such as sunflower and macadamia nut oils, argan oil, Shea
butter, honey, and a Vitamin E-derivative. The company claims to have tested this lip balm in “extremely cold conditions in Canada,” and found that it protects “against external aggression (88%*).” The major drawback is that it has no sun protection.
Day Five
Burt’s Bees Ultra Conditioning Lip Balm, $5.79
★ .5
This lip balm is like butter on you lips and despite its name, it doesn’t have the waxy feel of some other lip balms. It contains kokum, shea and cocoa butters to hydrate lips and it claims to offer four hours of long-lasting moisturization. Maybe it should say 40 minutes? Instead of making lips moist, it leaves lips feeling quite dry. It also seems necessary to keep reapplying. After a day of using this product, lips felt more chapped than they did before. It also loses points because it doesn’t contain sunscreen.
Day Six
Blistex Five Star, $4.99
★ ★ ★ ★
Blistex claims that its main five ingredients are the perfect combination for dry lips. It contains glycerin to hold in moisture, candelilla (wax) to protect lips from the wind, wheat germ to moisturize, calendula oil to soothe chapped lips, and SPF 30 to protect them from the sun. Blistex might have come up with the perfect combination. This lip balm goes on a little thicker than some of the others tested, but it is barely noticeable after a few minutes. It also has a pleasant cocoa butter scent. Dry lips felt much smoother after wearing this lip balm. And even after a long run, it didn’t feel like it was necessary to reapply it. Who says something has to be expensive to be good? But be warned, I wouldn’t forget it in the car on a hot day. Even after a few minutes in the heat, this lip balm was a gooey mess.
Day Seven
Chapstick Active SPF 30, $2.99
★
Made specifically for athletes, this lip balm goes on smooth, albeit a little waxy. It has a slight odour, which you can actually taste in your mouth. So unless you want the aftertaste of lip balm lingering in your mouth, best to leave this one on the rack. It also contains parabens, a preservative used in cosmetics that has raised some health concerns. This lip balm does have SPF 30, so in a pinch, slathering a little of this on before your run might be a better option than having nothing at all.
The Final Word on Dry Lips
If your lips are constantly chapped, drink more water. While it won’t heal dry lips, it will help keep them from getting worse. When all else fails, you might want to turn to a product many long distance runners often have on hand: Vaseline. Slathering on petroleum jelly at night, and throughout the day, will lock the moisture in your lips. But you will still want to have a lip balm with sunscreen on hand for running outdoors to give your lips the protection they deserve.
CONTEST ALERT! How do you protect your lips? Leave a comment below and you’ll be entered to win a $25 gift card to Shopper’s Drugmart! Contest closes at midnight on Monday, August 4th, 2014. Winner will be contacted by email, and will be announced on Facebook on Tuesday, August 5th. Contest open to Canadian residents only.
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nivea works for me
burt’s bees is my favourite
chap sticks works for me
One base layer of chapstick to provide moisture to the lipsany..Plus on top one layer of vaseline to prevent newly added moisture to evaporate. Is the most efficient lipsies treatment!!
I use the Rocky Mountain Soap Company `s lip balms all year round, their new one has sunscreen in it. They are toxin free, pretty much organic and the flavors are awesome.
I prefer Blistix with SPF 30. In all seasons, I remind myself that lips don’t tan, they burn.
I use ROC Enydrial 12$ all year round. It is just great for a run, don’t need to reapply. A must with our winters in Montreal.
I have tried several, mostly for winter, but the odd time during the summer, and have yet to find anything better than Blistex. With saying that, will try to hunt down Carmex, as I have never tried.
I’ve tried lots of different lip balm’s over the years but the best one has to be Blistexin the tubs. They protect well, give chapped lips immense relief, and they give a bit of a shine to give you a bit of a glam look through the sweat
Blister for me!
Blistex for me, sorry auto correct was on!
I use number 6 in your photo. I keep at all times in my hydration belt. Love!
The tester # 7 Chap Stick works well for me!!! Great when running and skiing in winter!!
I use EOS lip balm whenever possible, my lips get a smooth coat of lip balm & then I’m off to the races (literally & figuratively)!
I always have chapstick of some kind in my pocket, they all seem to be pretty equal. I hate when I forget it or it runs out.
Since I was a little girl, Blistex was one o my favorite lipbalms (cherry) mmm… And still is. I love the blue lipmedex durin the winter time.
Yves Rocher noix de coco. I apply to constantly through out my runs.
Blister is my go to! Carry it every where with me from my purse, pocket, jogging bag….great for winter and summer!
EOS lip balm.
Blistex always works for me!
Carmex is the best and I don’t know where to find it anymore!
Tried the blistex and love it! Also couldn’t live without Vaseline in the winter!
blistex is far the most versatile, some with protection some hydration, it is cheap and you can find it everywhere, tho if I have severe problem, like extra dry in winter I will use bag balm, which is for cow! and it is incredible!!
I’ve used Nivea Sun for ages. Don’t have to reapply very often. Doesn’t smell medicated, melt off or become gooey in the heat.
I like EOS. It lasts & has a cute package
I use the Blistex Moisture Melt, it has an SPF 15, it’s got some staying power even through our LSD runs. It’s so cheap, comparatively to many others. I love it in all the seasons.
Avon’s Moisture Therapy
Avon Sun SPF 30
I use ROC, like it a lot!
Would have to say the chapstick brand
I use vaseline only in the cold winter months – lasts longer.
Love Nivea Chapstick! It’s always in my car!!!
I usually carry a tube of Blistex with me when I run. The challenge I had this winter was keeping it from freezing on my long runs!
I love Burts Bees. My favorite! But will use a sunscreen balm when running.
Blistex 30 , every time i run
I use either burt’s bees or chapstick, both great for everyday wear too
Burt’s Bees Ultra Conditioning Lip Balm
Vaseline – night and day, its the only thing I can put on my lips and works wonders! Also loks good – nice shiny lips on my runs!
Eos lip balm
I protect my lips just by putting on lip gloss lipstick and lip balm and of course a fresh natural lip scrub it makes my boobs look bigger I don’t know how!?!