Dermatologists and aestheticians—and beauty editors of course—regularly preach about the importance of wearing SPF on your face and body daily, but one thing not talked about as often is the need for sunscreen on your lips as well. So when we heard that searches on Pinterest for lip balms with SPF have increased a whopping 304 percent since last year, we were pleasantly surprised nonetheless. This is one beauty trend that will never go out of style—that is, until they invent permanent SPF. Sign me up!
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You probably already have a lip balm in your beach bag, but if it doesn’t contain sunscreen—opt for SPF 30 or higher if you can—consider swapping it out for a protective formula. Montclair, NJ dermatologist Jeanine Downie, MD says that unfortunately, her patients neglect their lips all the time, and although they may not think about it, lips are prone to skin cancer just like the rest of the body. “It is critical to protect the skin on your lips by using sunblock constantly—it must be reapplied every two hours, as the lips are very susceptible to skin cancer. Additionally, the lips can get very discolored from sun damage and almost make people look like they are smokers when they are not!”
Scroll through to check out some of our favorite SPF-infused lip balms.
