The Best Lip Balms

22-04-2025

For such a tiny tube, lip balm can cause some oversized reactions. Recall the last time you dug into your bag or pocket looking for some chapped-lip relief, only to realize that your favorite balm had vanished. Agony.

When we solicited testers to help us uncover the best balms out there, many on staff clamored to volunteer, confirming what we already knew very well: People are passionate about lip balm.

Since 2020, we’ve tested more than 80 lip balms—the greasy and goopy, the ill-tasting, the smelly, and the fiendishly expensive. In our most recent round of testing, six favorites surfaced: a simple, exceptional everyday lip balm for under $5, a high-gloss moisturizer, an invisible sun protector, a soothing medicated option , a , and cool tinted balm in five flattering shades. Each one is unique, from their level of hydration to their finish and fragrance. The common denominator: Each one makes our lips feel amazing.

The research

Best for…

Coola Original Liplux Lip Balm Sunscreen

Clear sun protection

Transparent chemical sunscreens deliver broad-spectrum protection in a lightweight, moisturizing stick that’s surprisingly luxe for the price.

$18 from Amazon

Bronner’s Naked Organic Lip Balm has a no-fuss, stick formula that disappears into lips while making them feel healthy and happy. It’s the balm we want within arm’s reach at all times,
and at about $4 a pop, that’s a pretty achievable dream. In contrast to many of the other balms we recommend, which you can find only online or in beauty stores, it’s easy to pick up a tube of the
Dr. Bronner’s balm at any drugstore or grocery store, so there’s no excuse to be caught without. We tested and recommend the “naked” unscented formula, but it also comes in three varieties scented with botanical oils.

Top: bare lips. Bottom: one coat of Dr. Bronner’s Naked Organic Lip Balm. Photo: Michael Murtaugh

The formula is no-nonsense. The five ingredients in the Dr. Bronner’s balm—avocado, jojoba, and hemp-seed oils, plus beeswax and tocopherol, aka vitamin E—are elegant in their simplicity. And the stout cylindrical packaging, with its pop-off top and twist-up base, is also straightforward, like an old-school tube of ChapStick. Only ChapStick has 18 ingredients, including possible irritants, such as lanolin, a common allergen , and petrolatum, which some people avoid for ethical reasons. For those who have sensitive skin or are mindful of sourcing, Dr. Bronner’s unfussy formulation makes it easy to know what you’re getting.

It’s truly scent- and taste-free. Of the nine balms our panelists tried, the Dr. Bronner’s balm got the highest combined rankings for smell and taste—or more accurately, its lack thereof. Our testers found other everyday formulas we tested, such as Badger Creamy Cocoa Butter Lip Balm and Ilia Lip Wrap Reviving Balm, “medicinal,” “industrial,” and “distracting.” Amazingly, the Dr. Bronner’s balm offended no one. “This was totally neutral, which I love. No accidental upsetting flavor,” one panelist wrote.

It has a surprisingly smooth texture and a lustrous but not glossy finish. The Dr. Bronner’s balm goes on silky and slippery, yet it doesn’t leave behind greasiness or residue, as Vaseline or ChapStick tends to do. One tester wrote, “Loved the texture. It slides on smoothly and it’s very hydrating, but not gooey.” The combo of beeswax and botanical oils lends a muted sheen that looks polished but not distracting, glazed, or overly makeup-y.

It’s moisturizing enough. Lip balms can often be uncomfortably heavy or too slippery to last long enough to relieve dryness, but the Dr. Bronner’s balm is both softening and lightweight. “It did the trick,” said one of our testers. Another found the balm neutral enough to dab on a dry spot under her nose.

Dr. Dan’s Cortibalm.

Variations

Coola also sells Tinted Liplux Lip Balm Sunscreen..

Flaws but not dealbreakers

It doesn’t last all day. Panelists needed to reapply this sheer formula at least a couple of times a day—a pretty standard cadence for regular lip-balm wearers.