During winter, our lips feel it more than ever. Cold temperatures, wind, and dry air make it all the more important to keep a lip balm close at hand ❄️
But ingredients matter. Some can contain mineral oils derived from petrochemicals, problematic preservatives, or other ingredients that aren’t recommended.
That’s why we’ve selected the top ten lip care products with excellent ratings on Yuka, free from ingredients that pose risks to your health or the environment ✔️
| 1 |
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Shea Butter Balm - Dr. Pawpaw
Excellent - 100/100
This lip balm is made with shea butter, pawpaw (papaya) fruit, aloe vera, olive oil, and castor oil, combining plant-derived oils and extracts in a simple formulation. |
| 2 |
 |
Glowy Lips Lip Balm - Nivea
Excellent - 100/100
This lip balm uses hyaluronic acid, vitamin E, glycerin, and magnolia extract, combining humectants with ingredients of plant origin. |
| 3 |
 |
Squalane + Amino Acids Lip Balm - The Ordinary
Excellent - 100/100
This allergen-free lip balm, formulated with squalane and amino acids, is made with ingredients that are also naturally present in the skin. |
| 4 |
 |
Shea Lip Butter - The Body Shop
Excellent - 100/100
This balm is made without mineral oils and uses shea butter, sunflower seed oil, castor seed oil, and cocoa butter in a vegan-friendly formulation. |
| 5 |
 |
Lip Repair Balm - Aquaphor
Excellent - 100/100
This fragrance- and petrolatum-free balm is formulated with panthenol, which helps bind moisture, along with vitamins, moisturising agents, and chamomile extract. |
| 6 |
 |
Tripeptide Lip Balm - The Inkey List
Excellent - 100/100
This lip balm is formulated with a tripeptide complex and hyaluronic acid spheres, without pepper-based ingredients commonly found in plumping products. |
| 7 |
 |
Lip Balm Coconut - Oyess
Excellent - 100/100
This lip balm combines organically sourced castor, jojoba, and coconut oils with plant-based waxes and shea butter in a minimalist formula. |
| 8 |
 |
Salted Caramel Lip Conditioner - Grüum
Excellent - 100/100
This lip product is formulated with a minimal ingredient list featuring sunflower seed and coconut oils, plus squalane, vitamin E, and a salted caramel flavor. |
| 9 |
 |
Liptide Lip Oil - Byoma
Excellent - 100/100
This lip oil is formulated with a Liptide Complex containing ceramides, lipids, and peptides, alongside avocado and tamanu in a plant-derived formula. |
| 10 |
 |
Vanilla Bean Lip Balm - Burt's Bees
Excellent - 93/100
This lip balm brings together beeswax, plant oils, shea butter, cocoa butter, and vanilla fruit extracts, and does not contain petrolatum or phthalates. |
Like all our rankings, this one was conducted completely independently, and no brand has paid to be included.
The app is brilliant! I recently got introduced to the yuka app on Sunday and I immediately downloaded the app. I scanned my burt’s bees lip balm and was shocked to discover that it scored poorly – 31 to be precise. It was the pomegranate flavour.
Thank you so much. Just loving all this information and using it to make informed choices
Like the sound of most of these. Reasonable prices and good ingredients. I need some so will certainly have a look next time I shop
Excellent choice! I have quite a few of them. 💋
I have a question mark over the prices of the first 2 lip balms listed?? Can’t find them at this price.
Nova has hyaluronic acid which promotes cancer surely a low score would fit.
Hyaluronic acid is a substance that occurs naturally in the body and helps with skin hydration, wound healing, and joint pain. It is a moisture retaining property.
true
Lovely products, am really enjoying the Yuka app, it keeps fully informed.
Great information thank you, saves searching. I love the Yuka app an have got all of my friends and family using it
beeswax in a lib balm is a NO NO
lol
I use the Yuka app before buying anything new , my biggest problem is in getting it to work in some supermarkets even if I use there wifi .
Fantastic, some surprise winners here!
this app is a must and all my family and friends use now, brilliant and sssoo informative
Same, I went in Waitrose to try some scanning it’s like they’ve blocked the signal, it just won’t work .
Tesco and Sainsbury’s & other shops no problem.
Meant this to reply to Chris’ comment!
I’m so glad to see burts bees on the list as I have tried many and this is the only one that doesn’t dry my lips.
Brilliant thank you
I was shocked to see chemicals such as Titanium dioxide in most high street lip balms/glosses. Titanium dioxide has been banned by the EU as a food additive, yet it is still used in stuff you put on your lips! MADNESS!
Thanks for the update…
Thank you, Love the advice.
I do find the products that are excellent is hard to find in the shops you can get it online but I’m a mature lady and prefer to go shopping.
Would be great if value for money 🥺
I agree, it can be frustrating in some shops you think will be great (Holland and Barratt). Although if you do have the time, my partner and I have great fun scanning stuff in the larger supermarkets to find the winners… Makes shopping into a sort of game 😂
I have berts bees lip barm and there lip stik as well its rely good stuff best of them all
I love this App my daughter now uses it and her friends.
So thank you Julie
Love this app, you are so very helpful and I buy your recommendations, but cannot find Auqaphor lip balm. I suffer extremely dry, tight lips year round. Please keep up the great work.
You’ve always got the best advice I don’t know what I’d do without my YUKA app thank you
It would be great if cruelty free brands were highlighted. Thank you.
Thank you for letting me know as I now buy products which you recommend. I appreciate your time and efforts.
Thank you that’s very helpful
Thanks so much for providing such excellent research findings.
This is so useful both my young sons use a lip balm thank you
Thank you… this is very helpful
thank you for this information, I will definitely buy from this list of chemical free products
Thanks for this and I would also love to know which are the best tinted lipsticks. I’m trying to find lipstick without Titanium Dioxide but quite often it says +/- Titanium Dioxide in the ingredients list and don’t know if this is just a disclaimer, ie “might contain titanium dioxide” or does it actually contain it. The BodyShop lipstick is showing as good on the app but the +/- ingredients have been left off. It certainly is a minefield.
Would be great to know best rated tinted/coloured lip products. They seem few and far between. Why, additives for staying power?
Fantastic !
Very helpful
Hi
The recommended products are showing prices in Pounds Sterling. BUT I live in Australia.
Also, when the app shows me healthier alternatives they are always from UK supermarkets.
How can I fix this please?!
Thanks!
Hi their thank you very much has I love non-chemical based products for me and my family, all so we use byoma,and Nivea
Many thanks for your advice
Thus is really helpful and I’m going to buy from the list. Thanks
Thank you Yuma but can u I’d like best tinted lipglosses that are also good for ur lips:)
Why did I say Yuma I meant yuka
They are all in plastic tubes which can leak into the product.
Thanks that’s very helpful. I always recommend Yuka to people. Keep up the good work 👍
You guys are amazing! We need more companies like you! Thank you for doing the hard work so I can shop knowing I am buying a product that’s good for me and the environment!
I love this app but wish you would say if products are cruelty free/tested on animals, vegan.
Thank you love your app
Totally brilliant. Thank you, love your app
Thank you for sharing the lip balms. Brilliant app.
Great to know
Hi, could you please advise if the guidance as to whether the products are vegan friendly and cruelty free, only available with the premium version of the app? Thanks, Lynne
Thanks for sharing
Have you tried Dermaviduals Lip Balm or Albus and Flora Lip Shield?
Thank you for all your information. I used the free app for an afternoon before I bought the subscription. It is the best and I have told anyone I can about it!!
Love this app use it all the time 🩷
I love this app
I scan so much with it and find it so helpful.
Fantastic app, keep me on track what to buy and what not to buy recommended to all my friends
I use a lip balm by Moo Goo or the Cornish Seaweed Company. I would be interested to know how they rate. Moo Goo products do sometimes scan with the barcode but the Cornish Seaweed company doesn’t.
Love Yuka. Would like more emails like this
You have to add Dr Lipp nipple balm (yea, it’s for lips and other bits too!).
Thank you. Very useful
Thank you for the information!!!Love the app.
Thank you for the information, it is very useful, I’ve used Yuka a lot in shops and other places, it has opened my eyes to a lot of things that I thought was ok but your app has told me otherwise, I shop differently now, thanks again xxx
I struggle finding one with a good spf
Great to get independent ratings, thank you Julia & Co!
Love that you have rated products that are costing £1-£2 just shows you don’t need to break the bank for effectiveness. Also loving the app, for someone who appears to be allergic to everything since turning 40 it’s been a game changer for me. I recommend paying for the premium to anyone, makes researching new potential products a breeze. Thanks Julie and Co
This is a great list! I am obsessed with lip balms, ob-sessed I tell ya! I probably carry at least three different ones at any given moment, so it’s fab to see quite a few of my faves have made the 100/100 score.
I have to refer to other sources to find out if the products are cruelty free. Please will you add this to your ratings/ reveiws
Really useful information just what I needed.
… so interesting … and so lovely to see The Bodyshop’s shea lip butter on your “100% / excellent” list 🌟x. We have loved this lippy for a very long time !! Fantastic !! And tops for us .. x
Thanks for the info as to what best to use. I’m still searching for a toothpaste that’s 100%. Great app always use it whilst out shopping.
I personally don’t use any of the above, I’m looking for a lip balm with SPF 50
Lip shade by Tropic is a lip balm with spf 50. It is also vegan, cruelty free & natural
Please could you include if products ate vegan/ cruelty free. This is a very important element for lots of people and hugely important to the environment. Thank you
I’m a bit surprised you include Gruum which seems to have artificial flavour added, or have I misunderstood?
Excellent as always. Thank you 😊
Innit
Thank you for making this research knowledge accessible to all.
Yuka: the best app. Changed my lifestyle.
This is all very useful!
Any ideas where Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask and Laneige Lip Glowy Balm score at all?
The Sleeping mask is a life saver for me in winter and now a staple in my skincare, while the glowy one is not amazing on repairing, but great for a touch of moisturising while shining on the go.
Great article. I’ve had dry lips all my life and tried lots of different balms over the years. I always return to Nuxe Reve de Miel Honey lip balm (in the pot, not the stick). It’s very effective but I’m not sure how it scores on Yuka. It works for me.
Could you possibly give me a good skin care range that doesn’t cost the earth. I’m a cancer patient and need a clean product. Thank you.
Thank you for your excellent useful advice. What facial moisturiser would you advise for daily use?
Very useful & interesting
Can you recommend any body lotions
Thank you. I have many lip balms all over my home as I do suffer from dry lips. I will now go and check them all out and renew where necessary with your suggestions. Must admit I Have tried and liked Burts Bees so will probably stick with that in future.
Thank you, these pieces of information are always useful and welcome, thank you!
Thanks this really helps me to make the right choice
Thank you Yuka. I love what you do and have told as many people as possible about the good you do to protect us from the UPFs and chemicals we are clueless about.
This really helped
Thanks for the info and much appreciated. It certainly is an eye opener on knowing the damage we are doing to our bodies with these ingredients in makeup products. 👍🏽
Thank you for the info, much appreciated. You are doing a great job.I have your app , its an amazing tool to have,all my family and friends use it too. Again, thank you .
Great thank you for the information. But do they work well?
Thank you Very useful information
Burts Bees for me 💯 the only one I use it works well and no horrible additives.
It’s good to know what’s free from nasties, but how well do they do the task in hand?
Thank you.
💯 absolutely. Thank you for useful.
Thank you, that’s really helpful 👍
The information is so valuable as I can’t stand in shops surveying the labels and guessing if they are ok for me so thank you! More on products would be good!!
I have been struggling to find the right lip so this is very timely. A big thank you.
Thank you just wish there was a way to save this list
Love your top tips,and i do get them
Thank you, super helpful!
Very useful info. I’m a professional musician. (Brass player) this weather plus extra heating plus aircon plays havoc with our lips!
Thank you
Really helpful information and informs me to make the best of choices.
👍
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you, very helpful 👍
Thank you 😊
Great – but looking for a tinted lip balm or lip stain….
This is so useful – thank you.
That’s great to know but I’m after one with a good SPF in please?!.. 🙏
Try Olenhenriksen peptide lip treatment vanilla bonbon
Very informative. I need a lip balm but didn’t know which to buy. Most helpful. Thanks so much! Great App!
Thank you, that makes life easier 👍
Sadly a number of these brands you rate highly do not score well with regards to company ethics
Thank you. I have a thin top lip. What products could you recommend that plump lips slightly
Great recommendations thanks. Would love recommendations for tinted lip balm and lipsticks too.
Love your app. Excellent advice and alternatives. I recommend to all my family and friends
Do you take into account whether or not these products are truly cruelty free when scoring them? Thank you.
I’m sure they don’t because it’s not included in their criteria. Maybe they will take it into account in the future. I check Cruelty Free Kitty for this information.
Thanks Julie
Would love it if you would help me find Lipsticks please
Good
💋
Love your app and information!
Can you recommend a safe coloured lip-stain?
Fantastic, very helpful!
Excellent!!! Thanks for your advice👏👏
I appreciate the assessment of lip balms is based on products which are likely to do no harm. However they also need to block harmful rays from the sun. Has this been assessed?
Good point. I use Aquaphor but my lips burn on the sun. The Aquaphor with sunscreen rates low on the Yuka scanner. I have been using Labello
Sun protect spf30 and it works well in both summer and winter sun. Hope this helps
Love it.
I need a good moistener for a retired lady.
I have had 2 skin cancer removal on my face. if you can help me please x
This is fantastic. Thank you. Do you have a list of good body moisturizers?
This is brilliant thankyou very helpful.
Love this App! Use it all the time
How does Augustinus Bader compare?
This is great thank you, am already using a couple of the products mentioned so glad to know I am on the right track.
Great advise as always your app is very informative
Thank you
Thank you🙏
Thank you….you read my mind as I’m on the hunt for a new lip balm.
Really appreciate the info – thanks again.
I have bioma lip oil and I find it way too sticky. I’m actually surprise (in a good way) it’s on the list. I’ll give it an other go.
Thank you Yuka, love using your app and all the great advice
Thank you for this!
Amazing
Any with tint in them please?
Thanks for your information. Its extremely appreciated and helpful .
I suffer from dry cracked lips dreadfully in the winter months.
Disgusting but put your own ear wax and you will be healed forever!!!
Thanks for the information of new products,
I will try any of them to see which one works for my lips as they are always dry.
But which one do I choose? Help? Lol. My lips get dry and flaky (fan heater!) but not sore as such.
I highly recommend all dr pawpaw products and if you add a thin layer of vaseline or aquaphor after applying a lip balm to lock in moisture, another tip is in the evening use a peptide lip treatment (the dr pawpaw one is rlly good) and add a layer of vaseline and in the morning ur lips won’t be flaky and dry anymore. hope this helps
Err Vaseline ?? That’s PETROLEUM jelly … the clue is in the name ! Don’t put that stuff near your mouth or any other part of your skin for that matter !
I’ve found Nordh Skin Lip Treatment to be an amazing one for winter especially! It’s got two ingredients only – any thoughts on that lip balm?
Hello! I found Laneige (Korean brand) Lip Sleeping Mask to restore my lips completely in winter (never had them cracked and subject to cold sores as much as this year!). Any thoughts or scores on this brand?
so happy to have this information, thank you
You have two Top 10 Lip balm lists and two Top 10 Sunscreens lists, but non of the Lip Balms have an SPF rating and non of your Sunscreens are for lips. Your face (and lips) are exposed to the sun all year long summer and winter. It would be nice to see a list of SPF Lip Balms as well as sport (sweat resistant) sunscreens for both face and body.
The Tropic spf lip balm is rated excellent (I think) on Yuka.
the ordinary lip balm is excellent I love so much
What about Lip Balms with sunscreen?
What about Paula’s Choice? I would like to know your analysis of that brand’s lip gloss with sunscreen.
What about summer fridays or charlie tate london
I have this lip balm, and I use it every single day when I am getting ready for the day. I received this from a friend that came in a set with the lip balm and Sephora Nourishing and Repairing Hand Balm. This lip balm is literally the best!!!
Thay are all nice but I won’t buy them and thay look nice for the cuver