Chapped lips are a nuisance—and they can get so bad that it becomes painful to eat (one of my favorite activities!). I was recently reading a book where this was the case for a little girl who couldn’t stop using Lip Smacker lip gloss and licking it off her lips. Licking your lips only makes them more dry, sadly…so it became a vicious cycle for her. Another character in the book recommended using Vaseline, which makes me respect this author more. She knows where the good stuff is at. Vaseline is definitely the way to go when your skin is cracked and super dry. It works wonders.

I don’t use a lot of lip balm, but I’ve been thinking about it more lately because I’ve always felt guilty for neglecting my lips in my sunscreen application routine. When I apply sunscreen to my face, I oftentimes forget about my lips. Sometimes I wonder if I can just use regular sunscreen on my lips, but then I’m afraid that I’ll accidentally forget to wipe it off before eating. For some reason, I feel safer using a lip-specific product on my lips because it’s meant to be applied to that area.

One good thing about SPF lip balm is that it protects your lips from the sun and also moisturizes your lips at the same time—which is very important during this dry summer heat we’re getting here in California. I recently tried out Sun Bum Mineral Lip Balm (SPF 30), and I’ve been quite pleased with it so far.

Sun Bum Mineral Lip Balm ingredients

My Dad the Chemist’s review of Sun Bum Mineral Lip Balm

Do lip balm ingredients need to meet stricter requirements?

Next, I asked him if there are stricter requirements for the kinds of ingredients that can be used in lip products, since they’re more likely to get eaten/licked off. Here’s what he had to say.

My dad also reassured me that I could use this product without being paranoid about eating it. I often forget to wipe off lip balm before drinking water or eating food, so this is a real concern for me. :P It’s interesting to see that the only ingredient of concern is zinc oxide. The waxes don’t just make this product water-resistant—they also make it spit-resistant. So if you accidnetally lick your lips, you don’t have to worry about eating something that you shoudln’t be eating. Yay!

Sun Bum Mineral Lip Balm review

I used to have a Banana Boat SPF lip balm that I would apply to my lips whenever I went to the beach, but it always kind of made my lips feel weird and tingly, for some reason. I figured that maybe it was the chemical SPF ingredients, since those tend to irritate sensitive skin more than mineral/physical sunscreen. So when I decided to buy another SPF lip balm, I specifically looked for one that had zinc oxide as the active ingredient.

I’ve tried one other mineral lip balm in the past (Sprouts), but that one was only SPF 15 and left more of a noticeable white cast on my lips, so I stopped using it after a while. It also didn’t go on quite as smoothly as this Sun Bum lip balm.

Sun Bum Mineral Lip Balm does leave your lips looking slightly paler, but I don’t think it’s super noticeable. I like that it’s really easy to apply, and it feels like it’s actually nourishing my lips, rather than simply protecting them from UV rays.

So if you’ve been considering using a mineral SPF lip balm, but you’re afraid that it will make you look like you just ate a jelly doughnut, check out Sun Bum Mineral Lip Balm. Most people probably won’t even notice that it’s there…which is exactly what we’re all looking for in a sunscreen product.

Related reading

• Best zinc oxide-based sunscreen lip balms: Burt’s Bees vs. Sprouts
• Vaseline Lip Therapy Rosy Lips Mini Review: Your secret to soft, rosy lips even in the winter