How to Keep Your Lips Hydrated and Smooth

Winter can wreak havoc on your skin. While dry patches on your forehead are annoying enough, chapped, dry lips feel almost unbearable in the cold air, especially when your teeth keep gnawing on them, cutting them up further. From overnight masks to balms and oils for an extra hydration boost during the day, here are the best lip products for keeping your lips feeling plump and moisturized through these cold winter days (they’ll work well into summer too!).

_{Prices are accurate as of February 14, 2025. Subject to change.}

Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask

When your skin is dry and inflamed, the best way to treat it is by using thick, deeply hydrating products overnight while you sleep. The same goes for difficult-to-heal chapped lips. I love Laneige’s lip sleeping masks, which pack shea butter and other moisturizing ingredients to help deliver soft, plump lips in the a.m. Simply swipe a small amount onto your lips before you head to bed and wake up with noticeably hydrated lips. You can shop them in various flavors, including berry, grapefruit, and vanilla.

Lip Smacker Flavored Lip Balm

If you need a good, moisturizing balm, stick with the classic (and nostalgic) Lip Smacker. These tropical fruit-scented balms are packed with castor seed oil and beeswax for long-lasting moisture. With eight flavors in a pack, you can stow one in every one of your totes.

Handmade Heroes Natural Lip Scrub

Lip scrub is great for exfoliating all that crusty dried skin off your lips to make them feel like new (especially when paired with a lip mask). This one has no scent, so it’s perfect for sensitive skin that doesn’t react well to added fragrance. It also packs ingredients like almond oil, jojoba oil, and glycerin, all designed to smooth and soften.

Wonderskin Lip Rehab Serum Oil

Wonderskin is known for its color-changing lip masques, but its color-changing lip oil is just as good — maybe even better. It has a glossy texture for long-lasting moisturization and packs shea butter, avocado milk, and even apricot oil for dry, chapped lips. Once you apply this clear gloss to your lips, it starts to transform into a subtle shade of pink, reacting to the PH of your skin. Talk about a beauty product and magic trick in one.

O’Keeffe’s Lip Repair Lip Balm

When you have painful, chapped lips, this is the product you need. Because it’s unscented, it won’t irritate your skin, and it works well for providing quick hydration and relief from extreme damage. With this two-pack, you can carry one in your everyday bag and leave the other on your nightstand.

Hanalei Lip Treatment

Packed with vitamins and fatty acids, this nourishing balm prevents moisture loss and increases hydration levels over time. It comes from a small business, and while this pick is not tinted, it does leave your lips looking plump and glossy with application. Results are pretty immediate too — your dry lips should start feeling better within 30 minutes.

Burt’s Bees Overnight Intensive Lip Treatment

This is another overnight lip treatment that I swear by. It truly leaves my lips feeling so soft in the morning. It’s also said to remove fine lines in and around your lips and includes Vitamin C and ceramides to help rebuild your skin’s moisture barrier. A little of this creamy formula goes a long way, so make sure you’re not over-applying nightly. 

Blistex Medicated Lip Balm

Blistex’s lip balm is a classic for a reason. It keeps your lips hydrated and has SPF 15 to protect them from harsh winter and summer climates. Each three-pack works well for irritated, dry skin. All you need to do is apply 15 minutes before sun exposure and then continue to reapply every two hours for the best results.

Melixir Vegan Lip Butter

Tinted lip butter is a great way to get a little color and keep your lips feeling hydrated all day long. Melixer’s vegan balm comes in 10 shades and is nourishing and non-sticky, so any wayward hair strands won’t stick to it when you’re outdoors. It’s great for all skin types, leaving your lips with a light glow.

Permotary Moisturizing Lip Mask

There’s something relaxing about applying a physical mask to your lips that you can peel off after, and that’s exactly what Permotary offers. The cute, lip-shaped masks are designed to reduce chapping, while also smoothing fine lines in and around your lips. All you have to do is apply, leave it on for 20 minutes, and then peel it off, massaging any leftover oil and gel into your lips and skin. You should notice plumper, fuller lips almost immediately after your first use — I did!

Vaseline Lip Therapy Tinted Balm

Vaseline is the queen when it comes to reviving your dry skin. Its Lip Therapy balm is no different, packed with shea butter, vitamin E, and rose oils. Unlike the thick, greasy consistency of the original ointment, this one leaves your lips feeling moisturized without feeling icky or oily. It has a light cherry fragrance too, which I really like, particularly because it doesn’t smell artificially sweet like some other flavored lip balms.

Featured Image Credit: miniseries/ iStock