Look For Moisturizing Ingredients
The primary aim of buying lip oil is to hydrate your lips, so start by looking for moisturizing ingredients like coconut, jojoba, and avocado oils. Aside from deeply hydrating your lips, such organic ingredients can also provide many secondary skin-soothing effects. Be sure to check the back of the packaging to find oils like hazelnut, sunflower, and castor, as they can quickly make your lips feel supple and soft.
Floral and plant extracts are also green flags, as they’re rich in antioxidants and have natural healing qualities.
Does It Have Occlusives?
Aside from the emollients mentioned above, you should also look for occlusives that are excellent at forming a protective barrier, keeping moisture retained inside. A few great organic examples are beeswax, shea butter, and mineral oil.
Ingredients like niacinamide are also a huge bonus, as they help grow a lipid barrier, providing another layer of protection to your lips.
Does It Have Vitamins
Vitamins are just as important as the moisturizing ingredients in lip oils. Vitamins B5, E, A, and C have a whole host of valuable benefits. Aside from nourishing your lips, they help keep them safe from UV-ray damage, as well as free radicals. That’s why they’re a must-have for going one step further than just hydration. They heal, protect, and make your lips healthier overall.
Extended use can even repair and condition that chapped look. Over time, high-quality lip oils enriched with vitamins can promote cell turnover, skin regeneration, and even reduce hyperpigmentation.
Do You Prefer Tinted or Clear Lip Oil?
Some lip oils have a tint, which means aside from hydrating or treating your lips, they also act as makeup by providing a dash of pink, red, or any shade you pick. Some products also offer a subtle tint that’s hardly discernible from your natural lip color, secretly giving you a healthy-looking flush.
You can also get completely clear oils if all you need is some hydration and a glossy finish. We recommend going for clear products if you plan on using lip oil for overnight healing.
It’s a subjective choice that completely depends on your preferences, and what you want to achieve with your lip oil.
Lightweight Formulas
Unlike cosmetic lipsticks that are only worn occasionally, you’re supposed to use lip oils constantly for continuous hydration. That’s why the product you choose must be very easy to wear. You can easily find non-sticky formulas which glide on effortlessly, and that’s the way to go. The bottle or container design also matters, so look for a convenient closure that makes re-application as easy as possible.
Ideally, you shouldn’t even remember that you’re wearing any lip oil at all, which is only possible with lightweight formulas. Despite having a thin layer, they’re highly effective at deeply moisturizing your lips for a long time with quick-absorbing qualities. Look for such characteristics in your lip oil’s advertisement text or customer reviews.
Fragrance
Fragrances can greatly improve your lip oil-wearing experience, but it’s not always a good thing. That’s because scented lip oils often have chemical ingredients which may or may not suit your lips. You may experience irritation or similar symptoms, especially if you have sensitive skin. If that’s the case, we recommend going for non-fragrant products with argan oil and jojoba oil.
With that said, if you never seem to experience any irritability issues with scented skincare products, feel free to go with mildly fragranced lip oils, as they’ll help boost your mood with each refresh.
