5 Eco-friendly ways to protect your kisser.

Personally, I don’t like lipstick. I used to wear it from time to time, until a few years ago I read about how much lipstick the average woman ingests in a lifetime (estimated to be between four and seven pounds!) This knowledge also put an end to my Chapstick addiction.

I bite and lick my lips constantly–even more so when I’m writing or concentrating hard on work–so it’s an effort to keep them soft and smooth. It also makes me keenly aware that whatever is on my lips is also ending up in my mouth. I want my lip balms to be free of ingredients that I’d be afraid to eat! If you wouldn’t put petroleum products in your mouth, don’t put them on your lips either.

Besides all the chemicals, there are so many different and beautiful colors for lips to be, why fake it? If you do like to change it up for fun, there are some great eco-friendly lipsticks available. For me, I’m going to stick with just keeping them soft, which means these suggestions all fit for our male elephants too. My main criteria? No petrochemicals, no animal testing, and it has to taste good. Environmental Working Group is a great source of information about other scary ingredients you might wish to avoid. (I also need to make mine gluten free...if you are in the same boat, be sure and check labels for wheat germ oil and other ingredients containing gluten.)

My favorites:

Pangea Organics – Egyptian Fennel with Grapefruit & Sweet Orange. My hands-down, Holy Grail, all-time fave lip balm. (It’s what I have on my lips in the picture above.)

 

 Kiss My Face Organic Strawberry Lemon. Second runner-up in terms of softness. Tastes like summertime!

Mocha Cocoa Badger Balm. Mmmmmm! Plus the castor oil in it is great for helping heal any chronic dry patches. Badger also makes great salves and balms for all over.

Burt’s Bees Original Lip Balm. It’s a classic for a reason! Great stuff, inexpensive, and easy to find.

Unfortunately for any vegan friends, one thing all of the above products have in common is that they contain beeswax. If you are looking for a vegan lipbalm this one is great:

Merry Hempsters Lemon Lime. The only downside here is I think the flavor makes me lick my lips a little more. Delicious!

Did your favorite make my list? If not, leave it in the comments!

Note:  All of these items were purchased by me!