Is ChapStick Makeup? (Explained)

 

You love your ChapStick, but lately, you’ve found yourself wondering: Is ChapStick—or any type of lip balm—makeup?

After all, chapstick doesn’t dramatically change your appearance like lipstick can.

It also has healing benefits for dried and cracked lips.

In that sense, it can almost be considered a medicine or skincare product.

In this article, we will take you through everything you need to know about using chapstick as a part of your daily beauty routine.

 

Is Chapstick Makeup?

 

No, chapstick is not considered makeup.

Chapstick is not made to change your appearance.

Instead, it is made to protect your lips from getting chapped.

It can also be used as a treatment for lips that are already chapped.

Some chapsticks even contain SPF, which makes chapstick a skincare product.

There is one type of chapstick that can be considered makeup.

Tinted chapstick is intended to change your appearance.

Tinted chapstick also has protective and healing benefits.

This can make it a great product for those who are looking to take care of their lip health.

 

Should I Add Chapstick to My Daily Routine?

 

Adding a lip balm like ChapStick to your daily routine is a great way to make sure you are taking care of your lips every day.

Putting on chapstick in the morning can have the same benefits as putting on moisturizer each morning.

If you use a chapstick with SPF, it is like putting on sunscreen and moisturizer in one step!

 

Why Chapstick Can Be Better Than Lipstick

 

Chapstick can make your lips look shiny and healthy without changing your appearance too much.

For those who like a natural makeup look, using chapstick instead of lipstick can be a great way to do it.

Chapstick is an especially good option for those with a natural lip color that they love.

It is also great for those who have dry lips.

Dry lips might not respond well to lipstick.

Not only can lipstick further dry out your lips, but it can also build up under dry skin and look unattractive.

Chapstick also isn’t at risk of bleeding.

Lipstick can get smudged without you noticing, which can be quite embarrassing.

Even if chapstick does gravitate outside of your lip’s edge, no one is going to notice because of its lack of color.

 

Chapstick vs. Lip Gloss

 

Chapstick can function a little bit like lip gloss by making the lips shinier.

However, lip gloss is much more of a beauty product.

For one thing, most lip glosses do not have any specific moisturizing or healing components to them.

Lip glosses are more likely to be tinted or have glitter in them, whereas lip balm rarely has glitter in it.

Lip gloss also often has a sticky feel to it, which some people find uncomfortable.

 

Should I Use Tinted Chapstick?

 

Tinted chapstick can be a great option for those who want to enhance their natural beauty but don’t want to look too overdone.

If you like the color and shape of your lips but want them to pop just a little bit more, tinted lip balm is a great option for you.

 

Who Should Use Chapstick?

 

Anyone and everyone can use chapstick! Chapstick has no gender or age associated with its benefits.

Men, women, and children can comfortably use chapstick every day.

In fact, chapstick can be particularly good for men.

Many masculine men do not feel comfortable putting something on their lips that will noticeably change the look of them.

Men do suffer from chapped lips too! Lip balm can be a great way for men to look more attractive by maintaining their lip health, while still appearing masculine.

 

What to Look for in Chapstick

 

Not all chapsticks are created equal.

Some chapstick can contain ingredients that are actually quite drying.

Make sure to look at the ingredients of your chapstick.

If it contains ingredients like phenol, menthol, or salicylic acid, it could dry your lips out over time.

The ideal chapstick is going to protect your lips from sun damage.

You might not think of this as important, but your lips are a part of your face, which means they get exposed to a lot of sunlight.

The best chapstick will be one that is at least SPF 30.

It is especially important to use a chapstick with SPF when you are doing an activity that exposes you to sunlight, like chilling on the beach.

If you are looking for the healthiest chapstick, it is best to stay away from lip balm with flavoring and scents.

These are added using chemicals that some people can find irritating.

The best products will be petroleum-based and won’t have too many ingredients.

 

Should I Use Chapstick Under My Lipstick?

 

No, you should not put chapstick on under your lipstick.

The best way to integrate chapstick into your makeup routine is to put it on the minute you wake up in the morning.

You can leave it on your lips as you finish all the other parts of your morning routine.

Save your lips for last.

Then, before you put on any lip makeup, remove the chapstick residue.

Giving the chapstick time to moisturize your lips in the morning is a good way to benefit from its healing properties.

However, chapstick normally has oils in it, which will break down the lipstick.

Therefore, you need to make sure to remove it before you put on your lipstick.

The same can be said for lip liner.

You want to make sure you don’t have any chapstick residue on your lips before putting on your lip liner.

 

Can I Put Chapstick Over Lip Liner?

 

You can absolutely put chapstick over your lip liner!

However, if you choose to go this route, you will want to make sure your lip liner is adequately blended before you apply the chapstick.

Normally, you will top lip liner off with lipstick, which contains pigment.

That pigment is what makes your lip color appear smooth and blended.

Chapstick doesn’t have pigment.

This means that patchy lip liner will still look patchy underneath chapstick.

However, the oils in the chapstick might mix with the lip liner to make an almost tinted lip balm.

 

How Often Should I Apply Chapstick?

 

Since chapstick is a skincare product, it is good to apply it as soon as you wake up.

This helps you to start your day on the right foot! After that, you can reapply it between two and four times per day.

You are probably going to want to apply it after each meal and before bedtime.

By making it a part of your routine, you are more likely to be consistent in moisturizing your lips.

If you are outdoors, you can apply it even more frequently.

According to the American Academy of Dermatology, you can apply chapstick every two hours when you are exposed to the elements.

 

Benefits of Chapstick

 

You might be interested in integrating chapstick into your routine now that you have learned more about it.

Here are some more potential benefits of chapstick.

 

1. Chapstick Can Make You Appear More Youthful

Chapstick has a youthful association with it.

For many people, chapstick is a product that brings back a certain amount of nostalgia.

It is often the first beauty product young girls are allowed to integrate into their daily routine.

When you think of who typically wears lipstick, it is going to be a grown woman.

Teenagers usually stick to less pigmented lip looks like chapstick and lip gloss.

If you are looking to come across as more youthful, switching your lipstick for chapstick might be a great way to do it.

 

2. Chapstick Can Provide Protection During Sports

One of the most important times to wear chapstick is during sports.

This is especially true of sports that expose you to tough elements like skiing and surfing.

Winter sports have the potential to really dry out your skin.

Since the snow reflects the sunlight onto your face, you are also at risk of getting burned.

A lot of people forget about the importance of sun protection when they are in the snow.

However, skiing and snowboarding are probably the times when you need SPF protection on your lips the most!

 

3. Chapstick Is More Affordable

Lipsticks can get quite expensive.

Once you start wearing lipstick, you probably won’t be satisfied with just one kind.

Using lipstick leads to a slippery slope of wanting more colors and more looks.

This can add up in cost!

Chapstick, on the other hand, tends to be very affordable.

Since they don’t change your appearance, you aren’t going to need more than one type of chapstick.

This is going to save you a lot on cost.

 

4. Chapstick Is a Protective Barrier

Chapstick moisturizes and often provides UV protection, but that is not all it does! It also provides a physical barrier between your lips and the elements.

Wind and snow can be quite damaging to lips, but lip balm will act as a shield between your lips and these outside elements.

 

How to Keep Your Lips Healthy

 

Keeping your lips healthy is essential to appearing attractive.

The lips see more action than most other parts of your body!

You eat with them, talk with them and kiss with them.

It’s essential to keep them in tip-top shape.

 

1. Exfoliate

Just like your face, your lips want to be exfoliated, too!

Exfoliation is an important part of your lip-care routine.

Exfoliating your lips will help remove the dead skin from them.

It is best to exfoliate your lips before moisturizing them.

That helps the moisturizer penetrate the lips.

It also helps smooth your lips out before any makeup application.

 

DIY Lip Exfoliant

There are lots of lip exfoliants out there on the market.

If you want, you can try one out.

However, if you are looking for a cost-effective way to exfoliate your lips, you can easily make a lip exfoliant at home using common household ingredients.

All you will need is some oil and some sugar.

If you can get coarse sugar, it will be better for exfoliating.

Otherwise, normal table sugar will do the trick!

Olive oil would be the best type of oil for this, however, if you have other cooking oils, they should work as well.

Mix the oil and sugar together until you get a goopy consistency.

Rub the mixture into your lips.

Rinse it off and, voilà!

You have freshly exfoliated lips.

 

2. Moisturize

This is where your chapstick comes in! Chapstick is the best way to add moisture to your lips.

Vaseline is also a great household option for adding some moisture.

 

3. Stay Away from Irritants

You want to be extra careful about what you put on your lips.

Lips can be very sensitive! This is why you are going to want to avoid chapsticks with too many ingredients.

Scented and flavored chapsticks can be fun, but they often aren’t as healthy for your lips as plain chapstick.

 

4. Drink Water

One of the best ways to keep your lips hydrated is to work from the inside out.

By drinking lots of water, you can sometimes prevent your lips from getting chapped in the first place.

 

5. Don’t Lick Your Lips

It is natural to want to lick your lips when they start to feel dry.

After all, shouldn’t the saliva from your mouth help moisturize them?

It might seem counter-intuitive but licking your lips can actually make them drier.

This is because the saliva evaporates from your lips, leaving them dryer than they were before you licked them.

 

6. Stop the Biting and Picking

If you have dry lips, it can be tempting to pick at the skin.

This is not a good solution to the problem!

Picking at your lips is only going to irritate them more.

You also want to avoid biting your lips.

Lip biting can be a cute habit and a way to flirt, but over time, it is going to hurt your lips.

If you like someone and want to show them, maybe opt for a wink instead.

Winking provides all the flirtation with none of the damage.

 

7. Get a Humidifier

If you really have an issue with your lips drying out, it might be because your air is too dry.

Getting a humidifier can help your lips stay hydrated.

If the problem is your dry air, chances are your lips won’t be the only thing suffering.

All of your skin might feel dry, and you might even get nosebleeds more easily.

A humidifier is a great overall solution.

 

What If My Chapstick Doesn’t Work?

 

If you are doing everything you can to take care of your lips, but you find that the situation isn’t improving, it might be time to get extra help.

If you still have issues after using chapstick regularly for two to three weeks, and you have followed all of the tips in this article, it might be time to visit your doctor.

A dermatologist can help you determine what the problem is.

It could be due to a variety of issues, like an allergic reaction or a yeast infection.

Dry and scaly lips can also be a sign of actinic cheilitis which is a precancerous condition.

Don’t ignore your body if it is telling you something is wrong! Go to your doctor and get a diagnosis.