The One Sunscreen Mistake Not to Make

Winter, summer, spring or fall — no matter what season, the sun’s rays are still powerful enough to cause some serious damage if you spend any length of time outdoors. Most of us don’t have too much of a problem remembering to apply sunscreen to our faces and bodies, but we shouldn’t be forgetting our lips either. I made the mistake of neglecting to check my balm for an adequate SPF factor once. And won’t soon forget how painful that was… not to mention that I ended up looking like a cross between Bozo the Clown and one of the Real Housewives of Miami for about a week.

There are a few lip balms on the market that will help protect your kisser from chapping, wind, sun, and that contain the level of SPF needed for a long day on the water. Here are just a few of the brands I’ve tried and found to be most effective.

Dermatone Medicated Lip Balm

SPF 23 with moisturizing broad stream protection made in the USA by Beaumont Products. Dermatone’s lip balm is not only great for protection against the sun, but it also protects well against the wind and cold. Beaumont Products sell the .15 oz. stick for around $2.69 each or you can get a .3 oz. “Chunky” for $3.29. It’s not the easiest to find in stores, so your best bet is to order online and stock up by purchasing a few at a time.

Coola Liplux Original Formula

SPF 30 with UVA/UVB broad stream sunscreen protection. I absolutely LOVE Coola’s lip and sunscreen products, it’s just not always easy to rationalize the higher price. Liplux runs about $12 for a .15 oz. stick. Why is it one of the best lip protection products on the market in my book? The formula contains vitamins, antioxidants, is 70+% Certified Organic, is made with natural food grade ingredients, is green friendly, recycle friendly (they use 30% less plastic to make the tubes), cruelty free, hypoallergenic, and is water resistant for up to 80 minutes.

Arbonne BefoRE Sun Lip Saver Sunscreen

SPF 30 and contains all natural ingredients including beeswax, safflower oil, arnica flower and rosemary leaf extract. Arbonne’s balm is Certified Vegan and offers the maximum SPF for preventative measures. The formula is blended with targeted antioxidant ingredients that refresh, rejuvenate and soothe at a cost of $9.00 for a .17 oz. tube. With Arbonne’s Lip Saver, you get a little more balm for the per unit price.

Now that you know more about lip sunscreens, learn why it’s important to use sunscreen for your hair and scalp while you’re out on the water.