You know when your lips are so beyond chapped that it seems like nothing can help? Like, they hurt and/or sting, they’re flaky as heck, and you really can’t stop licking or touching them. I think we’ve all been there before—I know at least once a month at minimum my lips can get chapped for a few days, and especially more so in the winter months.
Sure, you can try to slather on the lip balm, but I find that no matter how much I put on throughout the day, nothing seems to work. I try to drink as much water as I can to make sure my skin stays hydrated. I turn on the humidifier at home as another way to stave off the dryness. And of course, I try to stop licking or picking at my dried-out lips as best as I can because I know that makes it way worse.
But one thing I’ve discovered in the past year that has really helped is applying a lip mask to really lock in that moisture. You can use a lot of these masks overnight to let them work their magic, which is great because you don’t have to worry about reapplying after drinking or eating because you’re, well, sleeping. I find that a lip mask, in conjunction with all of the remedies above, has helped speed up the healing time for my lips.
So now I try to do a lip mask at least once a week, even if my lips are doing okay just to make sure I’m keeping them conditioned and moisturized. Take a look at some of my favorites, plus some editor and reader bestsellers below.
Laneige’s Lip Sleeping Mask is my all-time favorite. The vitamin C and antioxidants in the formula manage to refresh and deeply moisturize my lips overnight. I always wake up to softer lips when I apply it.
Kiehl’s overnight treatment targets dry, flaky, and cracked lips. One reviewer wrote, “This is actually a BALM. Most other products tout themselves as balms, but are just lip gloss with a slightly different formulation. I love this and use it every night before bed and also use it on my cuticles. I’m hooked—I will keep buying forever.”
Formulated with sea buckthorn, evening primrose, and black cumin seed, this lip mask will soothe your dry and chapped lips. It also has a light citrus scent.
Tatcha’s jelly lip mask contains Japanese peach extract, three rose extract, and Japanese camellia oil to repair any damage, protect from dryness, and lock in moisture.
You get a two-in-one with this lip treatment since it’s both a mask and exfoliator. The formula warms up with your body’s heat and melts into the lips. You can use it as a daily treatment, overnight mask, or as a lip primer.
Burt’s Bees’s overnight lip treatment contains ceramides to improve the skin’s moisture barrier and protect from more dryness. It also targets fine lines.
This leave-on creamy mask contains sugar to prevent moisture loss; berry wax to condition and improve the skin’s moisture barrier; and hyaluronic filling spheres to attrach moisture.
Patchology’s lip gel patches contain moisturizing ingredients to deeply hydrate your lips, making them softer and smoother. They also contain green tea extracts for an antioxidant bonus.
If you’re looking for a lip mask with anti-aging benefits, you’ll want to pay attention to this one. It contains a plant-based retinol, phyto-retinol, to improve the look of fine lines. Other ingredients include hyaluronic acid for hydration and papaya enzyme to renew the lips.
The cool thing about this overnight lip mask is it contains topical melatonin to support the skin’s melatonin levels and provide some calming effects. Other ingredeints include hyaluronic acid and a berry blend (goji, acai, blueberry, and blackberry).
Different from an overnight mask, this treatment is supposed to be applied in the morning and at night. It’s both exfoliating and hydrating, so it will slough off any dead skin and add a boost of moiture.
You’ve probably seen these gel lip masks on Instagram—they might look a little funny on, but they really work. They’re infused with collagen, hyaluronic acid, plant extracts, and vitamin E. It will leave your lips plumped and moisturized.
This overnight lip mask is a balm-to-oil formula which means it sinks into the lips quickly. Ingredients include agave nectar to soothe, plus pomegranate extract and jojoba, sunflower, and safflower seed oils.
111Skin’s treatment stick is like getting an in-office procedure without the needles. It’s a two-step system—the first step has a Neodermyl (a collagen-boosting complex), Volulip (a peptide to boost hyaluronic acid production), and X Styenol (a retinol-like ingredient). The second step is more of a traditional lip treatment, working to nourish and soothe the lips.
This non-sticky lip mask has a blam consistency and is formulated with an ester blend ad vegan lanolin. Moisture and shine will be locked in with this product.
Here’s another two-in-one product. It’s both an exfoliator and hydrating lip mask with sugar and organic chamomile powder. You can also use it to remove lip color or prep the skin for your lipstick.
A thicker formula, this lip mask contains bentonite clay and swertiamarin (an ingredient with wrinkle-reducing properties) to smooth and hydrate the lips. You can leave it on for two to 20 minutes, or even overnight.
A lip scrub comes in handy when you want to keep your lips smoother and/or if you want to prep it for a lip color. This one from Burt’s Bees contains exfoliating honey crystals.
For a plumper formula, this one from PCA Skin works like a charm. It smoothes wrinkles and chapped lips, while also hydrating and pumping up the volume.
Do you forget to put SPF protection on your lips? Don’t worry, I’m guilty of that all the time. This SPF 30 lip balm is formulated with nourishing and moisturizing ingredients like shea butter, honey, and sunflower seed oil.
Since this lip scrub is in stick form it makes it so easy to apply and use without the extra mess.
Here’s another SPF lip balm option. It’s also infused with aloe and vitamin E to moisturize and protect your lips.
Made with colloidal oatmeal, shea butter, and glycerin, this lip treatment really gets the job done when it comes to calming, hydrating, and smoothing dry lips. It leaves a semi-matte, non-slip finish so you can pair it with your favorite lip color.
Fresh’s lip scrub has brown sugar crystals which buff away any dead skin. And it also leaves your skin moisturized thanks to shea butter and jojoba oil. Next, These Are the Lip Balms That Work for Us, and They’re All at the Drugstore
