Ingenious Alternative Uses for Lip Balm
Lip balm comes in all shapes, sizes, colors, and flavors, and is available all over the world. Most people will have at least a tube of unscented, clear lip balm somewhere in their house, but it’s not unusual to own a fruity scented one, or maybe one with a hint of color in it. Either way, most people associate lip balm only with relieving dry, flaky, chapped lips and helping to prevent them from becoming any worse – the name itself is kind of a giveaway, after all.
However, it turns out that lip balm can actually do a lot more than that – and most people are completely unaware of just how multifunctional it is. It can actually be used for a lot of things, from removing stains and getting rid of scuff marks to relieving and soothing minor cuts and scrapes and improving your appearance. Read on to discover everything that it can do.
Stating the Obvious Use: Lips
This is the most obvious use for lip balm – the name does give it away, after all! However, we couldn’t leave it off this list. Dry, chapped, flaky, and cracked lips are a problem at some point for most people – especially in either extreme heat or extreme cold. They’re painful, make applying lipstick impossible, and look unsightly.
Just apply lip balm to sore lips to soothe and relieve them instantly. It not only acts as a moisturizer but also helps to protect lips against any further damage, which is great. In fact, there’s no need to even wait until your lips are sore before using lip balm – help keep them soft and hydrated all year round with regular use.
Soothe Minor Burns, Cuts, and Scrapes
Getting a minor cut or scrape isn’t unusual – especially if you’re a naturally clumsy person or do a lot of DIY around the house. And if you have children, then they’re probably regular occurrences. Your go-to solution is more than likely an antiseptic wipe and a plaster – but it may surprise you to learn that lip balm can also be used in this situation.
Of course, the affected area should be properly cleaned and sterilized first, then you can apply some unscented lip balm before covering it with a plaster or bandage. This will help to speed up the whole healing process by providing an additional protective layer. Moreover, this method works for minor burns as well.
Doing Your Own Nails
Having a manicure regularly is a luxury that a lot of us are unable to afford – moreover, it’s difficult to find the time to make and keep to appointments. As a result, it’s not uncommon for people to have to give themselves a DIY manicure from the comfort of their own home – although it’s not always as easy to do so as it sounds.
Getting nail polish on the skin around your nails is pretty likely – unless, of course, you’ve got a particularly steady hand. Lip balm, however, provides a good solution – just apply some to your cuticles beforehand to act as a moisturizer, then apply it to the skin around the nail. It will provide a protective layer, meaning you can easily wipe any slips away.
Banish Those Split Ends
Everyone gets split ends from time to time, even though they’re a nuisance, not to mention completely unsightly. Of course, you could get your hair trimmed every couple of weeks or so, but not everyone has the time – or the money – for that. As a result, we occasionally need to tend to the problem ourselves – and, surprisingly, lip balm can provide a temporary solution.
Just rub a small amount of lip balm onto the ends of your hair and massage it into each strand. Of course, you’ll have to wash it out eventually, but try and leave it on for as long as possible to work its magic – overnight would be ideal. Try and do this every week or so to keep split ends away for longer.
Groom and Preen Your Eyebrows
It seems as though, in the last few years, the trend surrounding eyebrows has completely changed. Gone are the pencil-thin lines that were all the rage in the 90s and the early 2000s – instead, it’s all the rage to have thick and long brows. However, they must be perfectly groomed – which can be a bit of a challenge at times.
That’s until you try using lip balm to keep them tame. Obviously, you won’t want to use anything that’s tinted, but if you simply take a little onto the end of your finger and smooth it onto your eyebrows, you’ll find that they’re held perfectly in place. You can even put the lip balm onto an eyebrow brush for more specific shaping.
Say Goodbye to Blisters
Blisters can be an absolute nightmare – usually occurring on your toes, feet, and heels as a result of the shoes that you’re wearing. Not only are they horrible to look at, but they’re also incredibly painful and can make putting on shoes and walking around near to impossible sometimes – even the tiny ones. If they’re left untreated, they can even become infected, which makes them even more painful.
The most obvious solution to the problem is a plaster – but we’ve got another tip that offers an even better solution. Yes, you guessed it – lip balm. Just gently apply some unscented lip balm onto the part of the shoe that’s rubbing, which will create an additional barrier and, therefore, ease the pain in general.
No More Hair Dye Stains
If you’ve ever tried dying your hair at home, you’ll know that it doesn’t always go quite to plan. After all, you’re using dye, so if you get any of it on your skin, it’s going to be pretty obvious – and it doesn’t exactly look great. It’s much cheaper to do a DIY job than go to the hairdressers regularly, though, so this little tip may come in handy.
Simply apply a little lip balm around the edges of your hairline before you start the dyeing process – and don’t forget to include the back of your neck! It will act as a barrier between the dye and your skin, so any drips will stick to the lip balm instead of staining your skin. When the process is complete, you can just easily wipe the lip balm – and the excess dye – away.
Make Your Fragrance Last Longer
Perfume doesn’t usually come cheap – especially if you go for the bigger brands, which often come with a hefty price tag. As a result, many of us tend to go for an eau de toilette, rather than a perfume or Eau de perfume, as it’s slightly cheaper. However, the downfall is that the scent doesn’t last for very long – it’ll likely be gone by the end of the day.
Of course, you could just top up with a couple of extra spritzes, but there’s a way of making the fragrance last for longer. Just apply a little bit of lip balm – unscented, of course – to your skin before you spray the perfume, and it holds the smell for longer. If you do this regularly, you’ll find that your bottle of perfume will last a lot longer than usual!
Keep Allergies at Bay
Allergies of all varieties are extremely common, with millions of people suffering around the world daily. One of the most common allergies, however, is to pollen, which generally affects people more in the warmer months. Sniffing particles of pollen can lead to severe sneezing fits, coughing, and breathing difficulties in more serious cases.
There are dozens – if not hundreds – of products that are marketed as a cure for allergies to pollen. One simple solution, however, is applying a small amount of lip balm around both of your nostrils before you leave the house. This creates a barrier between the pollen and your nose – plus, it helps to catch the pollen and prevent you from sniffing it. All you need to do when you get back home is wipe it off.
Two-in-One Makeup
Makeup can be expensive, so it’s great when you’re able to get multiple uses out of just one product. Well, it may surprise you, but lip balm can actually be used to transform some of your make up. Just apply a little to your eyelids before you apply eyeshadow – it will give a dewy, glossy color rather than a matte look.
Additionally, you can use lip balm to turn eyeshadow into a lip gloss. Just mix the eyeshadow with a little lip balm (you can always add more later, but remember that you can’t take it away – and you don’t want to end up wasting your products!). When it’s ready, just apply it to your lips, and you’re ready to go.
Unstick Your Nail Polish Lids
Those of you who use nail polish will probably be familiar with stuck lids. When you haven’t used one for a while, the polish that falls onto the rim dries out completely and acts as a glue, sticking the lid and making it extremely difficult to twist and remove. Sometimes, it results in you having to throw away the nail polish, which is, of course, a waste.
Never fear – lip balm provides a perfect solution that will stop this from happening. All you need to do is apply a small amount around the rim after you’ve used it, then just close the lid as you normally would. The lip balm will stop the excess polish from drying and sticking, meaning the lid will easily twist off the next time you come to use it.
Prevent and Relieve Sunburn and Windburn
If you’ve ever suffered from sunburn and windburn, you’ll know they’re both extremely unpleasant. But if you’re accustomed to lounging on the beach or traveling up to the top of mountains, it’s more than likely that they’re things you have to bear occasionally. Of course, there are plenty of products on the market that claim to protect against both sunburn and windburn, but we’ve got an alternative solution.
You may have guessed what it could be – lip balm. It may sound surprising to some, but if you apply a thin layer to your skin before you go out into the sun or wind, it will provide an extra layer of protection against the elements. Plus, if you also apply it when you come back in from the sun or wind, it will help even further, as it provides moisturization.
Never Get a Stuck Zipper Again
We’ve all been there – a zipper getting completely stuck, and you’re unable to move it, no matter what you do. This could be on a pair of pants, a coat, a jacket – we’ve all got at least one item of clothing that has a zipper fastening. Sometimes, it seems as though the only solution to the problem is ripping the clothing – or breaking the zipper completely.
There’s definitely a much easier solution, though – as long as you’ve got some lip balm to hand, of course. All that you need to do is put a small amount on the end of a q-tip (or your finger will do if you don’t have a q-tip) and then wipe it onto the zipper. Wiggle it around for a bit to loosen it up, and it will soon come loose.
Getting a Tight Ring Off
If you’ve ever tried a ring on and then been completely unable to get it off, no matter how hard you pull, you’ll know it can be a pretty awkward situation – especially if the ring isn’t yours or you’re in a store. Sometimes, it can even be quite serious, as if it’s too tight, it can start to cut off the blood supply to your finger.
You may have heard of several different solutions for removing a stuck ring, but many of them aren’t always practical – for example, you don’t always have access to soap and water, or even a string (although that trick can be extremely painful!). Instead, just rub lip balm all over the finger, including the knuckle and the ring itself, and it should slide off pretty easily.
No More Squeaky Hinges
A squeaky hinge can be pretty annoying – but also fairly common, especially in older houses. It’s not a particularly serious problem, but it’s one you’re going to want to get sorted – and the usual go-to solution is oiling it. While this is fine for some, not everyone keeps oil in their house – and it can also stain badly, so you need to be careful.
So, why not use a little bit of lip balm instead? After all, it’s more than likely that you’ll have some lying around in the house – plus, it’s easier to apply than oil and shouldn’t stain. Just rub some onto the offending hinges, and you should notice a difference almost straight away. Try opening and closing the door a few times just so the lip balm can get into all the edges.
Treat Your Pets’ Paws
For dogs and cats that are walking outside in the summer months, the hot sidewalks can dry out their paws and cause irritation and even sometimes pain. If it gets particularly bad, it can even lead to an infection if left untreated – which is a situation you’re going to want to avoid at all costs.
All that you need to do is grab some lip balm, and you’ve got a great solution. As soon as you start noticing that your pet’s paws are getting dry, clean them thoroughly (and sterilize them if they’re cracked and/or bleeding), then apply a generous amount of lip balm and leave it on there for as long as your pet will let you. Just make sure they don’t like it all off – a good tip is waiting until they’re napping!
Get Rid of CD Scratches
Although it seems as though fewer and fewer people are listening to CDs these days, it’s still fun to get a few old albums out every now and then to have a listen. But you’ll remember that age-old problem – scratches. They make the CD jump and, as a result, it’s often impossible to listen to them.
Lip balm provides the perfect solution. Just rub a small amount onto the scratches, and it should provide enough binding to make the CD play smoothly as normal. Just make sure you apply it carefully with your fingertip or a q-tip, as you don’t want to make the scratches any worse.
Avoid Rust Like the Plague
Knives, scissors, clippers, screwdrivers, and other tools and appliances can often become rusty if left unused – and uncleaned for a long period. Unfortunately, rust renders a tool almost useless if it gets too bad, so it’s always recommended to do anything that you can to prevent it from occurring.
That’s where lip balm comes in, providing a quick and easy way of ensuring your tools and appliances won’t get rusty any time soon. All that you need to do is rub some onto the metal parts that you want to protect (make it a fairly liberal amount just to be sure), and it will form a protective barrier that resists oxidization.
Stop Your Glasses Fogging
If you wear glasses regularly, you’ll be all too familiar with the problem of them fogging up. This can happen in warm or cold weather, or even when you’re taking something out of an oven or leaning over to eat hot soup! Either way, you have to take them off and clean them up before you’re able to wear them again.
So, a little tip for all you spectacle wearers out there – just coat both the lenses with lip balm, then polish with a clean cloth until there’s no residue left. This will keep them from fogging up in the first place, meaning you’re free to get on with your day with perfect sight at all times!
Give Tired-Looking Leather a Spruce Up
Leather is a long-lasting and durable material – there’s no doubt about it. However, after a lot of wear, it can start to look slightly dull and lifeless. If you have a lot of leather accessories or wear a lot of leather shoes and clothing, this is a great tip that will help to prolong the material’s longevity.
The only thing you need is a bit of lip balm, which you can use to shine it up instantly. Just take a small amount of clear, unscented lip balm and use a cloth to rub it into the leather. Pretty soon, you’ll start to notice a difference – and we bet you’ll be impressed. You can even use this trick on leather furniture!
Banish All Your Blackheads
If you don’t get blackheads often, you can consider yourself to be extremely lucky. For the vast majority of us, however, they’re an occasional – but unsightly – problem and can even develop into painful spots, especially if you try and squeeze them. Although there are dozens of products on the market designed to remove blackheads, there’s another method that may surprise you.
All you need is your lip balm – there’s no need for expensive products that rarely work as advertised. Cleanse your face thoroughly, apply lip balm to the blackheads, and put plastic wrap over your face (of course, ensuring you’re able to breathe properly!). Apply a warm, damp towel over the plastic and keep it there for five minutes. The blackheads will loosen and wash off along with the lip balm.
Make Scuff Marks Look Better
Wooden floors are becoming increasingly popular as an alternative to carpets – after all, they’re a lot easier to keep clean as well as attractive to look at. However, when you move furniture around, it’s pretty easy to leave a scratch or scuff mark that stands out and is extremely hard to get rid of.
Never fear – there’s actually a simple, cheap, and quick solution: lip balm. Just apply a liberal amount to the scratch or scuff and leave it there for 24 hours. It will work its magic over this time, and when you wipe it off, the marks should be a lot less visible than before. This ingenious method can also be used on scratched or scuffed wooden furniture.
Create Your Own Highlighter
Highlighters – not the neon markers that you find in elementary schools, but the makeup product – are all the rage right now. In addition to other face makeup, such as concealer, foundation, and blusher – it can be used to accentuate your features and is usually used on the cheekbones, the tip of the nose, the chin, and on the forehead.
There’s another way to maintain a dewy, fresh complexion, however, without having to go out and spend a lot of money on a branded highlighter. All you need to do is take a small amount of lip balm and apply it as you would a normal highlighter – it’s the perfect texture and just allows you to subtlety accentuate your features.
Help to Relieve a Fever
If you have a fever, you’re going to want to do whatever you possibly can to make yourself feel better. Not only are you ill and, therefore, feel horrible in general, you’re also sweaty and uncomfortable and left pretty much unable to do anything productive. There’s no need to just wait it out, though – there’s a simple action you can take.
It may come as a surprise, but lip balm can actually provide a pretty good solution to bringing your temperature down successfully. Just keep it in the freezer for a while (you shouldn’t need longer than about 15 minutes), then smooth it onto your inner wrists and forehead and enjoy its cooling effects, which should help to relieve your symptoms.
Win the Battle with Dried-On Gum
Having dried-on gum on any surface is not only disgusting, but it can also be almost impossible to get rid of – even if you manage to scrape the majority off, there still tends to be a lasting residue that’s unsightly. In fact, it’s pretty much one of the hardest substances to remove successfully – unless, that is, you’re aware of this top tip.
All you need to do is apply a generous amount of lip balm to the affected area – including the gum itself as well as around it – and leave it for a substantial amount of time. Basically, the bigger the piece of gum, the longer the lip balm will need to work its magic. Eventually, the gum will soften, and it should be easy to wipe it away.
Soothe an Itchy Scalp
A dry, itchy scalp can have many different causes, such as dry skin, allergies, or irritations to hair products, and sunburn. Regardless of the cause, however, it’s horrible to have to deal with, as it brings a high level of constant discomfort and irritation. All you want to do is scratch your scalp, but unfortunately, that just exasperates the problem.
Moreover, if you end up breaking the skin, you also run the risk of it getting infected. There are several branded products available to help relieve an itchy scalp, but lip balm also provides a simple – and cost-effective – solution. Just take a generous amount of lip balm and apply it to the affected area. Leave for around 30 minutes, then wash it out.
A Makeshift Makeup Remover
We’re all told just how important it is to remove makeup at the end of each day – if you don’t, it won’t be long before you start to notice negative effects on your skin, such as spots, blemishes, and either oily or dry patches. There are plenty of products available for removing makeup, but a lot of them cost a fair amount of money – and there’s actually a much cheaper method.
You’ve guessed it – lip balm. Just put a decent amount on a cotton wool pad, then use that to wipe your face. The makeup will come off effectively – plus, it’s kind to your skin, which will be left feeling soft, smooth, and moisturized. Lip balm can even be used to remove eyelash glue – which is notoriously tricky to get rid of!
Make Your Home Fly-Free
Flies can be a mild, annoying nuisance at best and a real problem at worst, especially in the warmer summer months. Sometimes, your entire home seems to be full of the buzzing creatures – which is extremely off-putting, as they’re known for spreading germs and being dirty in general. Although there are already a few tried-and-tested methods for getting rid of them, we’ve got another.
This alternative method is, of course, lip balm – because flies are attracted to the smell (even unscented lip balms). All you need to do to solve your pesky problem is wipe melted lip balm onto paper and hang it up – and you’ll have your own flypaper. Alternatively, melt some in a jar, and the flies will end up investigating and becoming stuck.
Easily Wipe Away Candle Wax
Candles are brilliants tools for creating ambiance – plus, if they’re scented, they fill the room with a beautiful fragrance. They seem to make a home seem more inviting in general, and as a result, are extremely popular. However, falling candle wax creates one potential nuisance, as it can stain floors, carpets, and furniture – moreover, it’s extremely difficult to get rid of.
Often, the harder you try to get the candle wax off of a surface, the worse it seems to become – it’s almost like you end up embedding it even further and making the problem worse overall. Next time this happens, just apply a fair amount of lip balm to the edges of the wax and leave it there – although it may take a few hours to work its magic, you will eventually be able to wipe the wax away easily.
Soothe a Dry Nose
One of the worst side-effects of a nasty cold is how sore your nose can get as a result. After continually blowing your nose for days on end, the skin around your nostrils becomes dry, flaky, and chapped. Most products, such as moisturizers, will sting when applied to broken skin, but there’s one thing you can try.
Simply take a clear lip balm (we’d recommend an unscented one, but that’s totally up to you!) and apply it gently to the affected area. This not only helps to moisturize, but it also forms a protective layer that helps to prevent further damage and irritation. In fact, lip balm can be used in this way on other areas of the body – for example, dry, cracked elbows.
Avoid Having Loose Shoelaces
Shoelaces coming undone without you realizing it is not just annoying, it can also be dangerous. Before you know it, they’ve caused you to trip over and sometimes really hurt yourself. Of course, you can tie them up as tight as possible, but there is one additional thing you can do to ensure they stay done up for as long as you need.
It may come as a shock to you, but putting lip balm onto the knot after you’ve tied it as tight as possible will help to make sure it sticks there for longer. However, that doesn’t mean the laces will be hard to undo when you want to take your shoes off – just pull as you normally would, and they’ll come undone straight away.
Tame Your Flyaway Hair
Flyaway hair can be such a nuisance – whenever it occurs. No matter how you style, brush or tie your hair, there are still flyaway strands that can end up spoiling the whole look. There’s no need to be defeated; however – surprisingly, lip balm may be able to offer the solution to the problem.
Simply put some on the palms of your hands and/or your fingertips and then run them over your hair. It will cause the flyaway strands to flatten and stay down, as they will be ‘stuck’ there in a way. Just be careful not to use too much, or your hair will end up looking greasy – which no one wants!
Get Those Earrings In
If you have pierced ears but haven’t worn earrings for a while, then you may have the problem of not being able to slide them in the next time you decide to put a pair on. This is because the skin on the earlobe slowly starts to grow over the hole, thereby making it smaller and, therefore, harder to get anything in.
For an easy solution to this problem, just grab your trusty lip balm. All you need to do is rub a little bit on your earlobe as well as on the earring, and it will be much easier to insert. This also helps to avoid the problem of possible tearing of the earlobe, which could lead to an infection.
Easily Remove Mascara Smudges
When applying mascara, especially when you’re in a hurry, it’s incredibly difficult to avoid getting a tiny bit on the skin either below your bottom lashes or above your top lashes. You don’t really want to use makeup remover, as it’s easy to get it elsewhere and take off makeup that you want to leave on your face, so why not use lip balm instead?
Simply rub a very small amount of clear lip balm on a q-tip and carefully dab it on the mascara that you want to remove from your skin. The grease in the lip balm will loosen it and make it easy to dab away with a clean tissue after – and it won’t leave your skin looking oily or greasy.
Stop Big Bites from Itching
During the warmer summer months especially – but also any time you go away on holiday, it would seem – bug bites can be a real nuisance. Some people are particularly susceptible to being bitten and really suffer as a result – and scratching them too much can leave them broken, bleeding, scarring, and even becoming infected.
Next time you get bitten by a bug and feel the urge to scratch it, just dot some lip balm on it. It forms a protective layer that helps to keep irritants naturally found in the air at bay, thereby soothing and relieving it, and making it feel far less itchy and irritated.
Get Rid of Sticker Residue
Back in the day, it was all the rage to cover notebooks, laptops, or other items with dozens of stickers – most of which were, let’s face it, pretty tacky. After a while, you may start to regret your sticker actions and want your item to look like it did before you completely changed its aesthetics.
Unfortunately, when you take stickers off, they more often than not leave an unsightly residue that’s almost impossible to remove. Well, we have a solution for you: lip balm. Just apply a fair amount to the sticker residue and let it sit for around 30 minutes. When you wipe it away, the sticker residue should come off with it.
Avoid Splitting Wood When Doing DIY
If you ever do a bit of DIY around your home, you may have come across the problem of wood splitting when you hammer or drill a nail or screw into it. It’s not only unhelpful to your DIY tasks but if it’s a delicate item of furniture, it can also ruin the entire look.
So, next time you decide you need to drill or hammer a nail or screw into the wood for whatever reason, remember this little life hack. Take a decent amount of lip balm and lubricate the nail or screw, which will greatly lower the risk of it splitting the wood.
A Makeshift Portable Moisturizer
It’s not unusual for our skin to occasionally need a hydration boost – whether we’ve spent too long in the sun during the warmer months or in extreme cold in the wintertime. However, it’s unlikely that you carry around a bottle of moisturizer with you daily that you can just whip out at any given time.
You likely carry around a small tube or pot of lip balm, though – and luckily for you, that’s all you need to give your skin a much-needed moisture boost. It works great on hands, fingers, and knuckles – but can be used pretty much anywhere else if necessary.
Easily Remove Makeup Stains
Spilling or dropping makeup, whether it’s onto a floor, carpet, item of clothing, or another surface, can often leave stains that are extremely hard to get out. Moreover, it’s not uncommon for them to become even worse and more ingrained when you try to mop them up or rub them off. Fortunately, there’s an easy way around this.
Dabbing a small amount of lip balm onto the makeup stain before using a clean, damp, warm washcloth to wipe the stain will give you the very best chance of getting it out. If it doesn’t work the first time because the stain’s particularly bad, just repeat the whole process again.
Never Get Lipstick on Your Teeth Again
If you wear lipstick regularly, you’ll be aware that you always run the risk of getting it on your teeth– and it can be quite embarrassing if you’ve been walking around like that for a while without realizing it. Thankfully, however, we’ve got a life hack that will prevent this from happening again.
All that you need to do is apply a thin layer of lip balm onto your teeth before you apply your lipstick. This way, any color that goes onto your teeth will just sit on top of the lip balm, which means you can just easily wipe it away when you’re ready to go. Although it may feel a little weird to have lip balm on your teeth, it’s worth it.