Nothing helps chapped lips like a dab of lip balm. Wax-like and often scented, the lip salve moisturizes dry and cracked lips, healing wind- and cold-damaged skin—while making your lips appear all the more kissable in the process! But there are a few lesser-know uses for lip balm worth trying out, too.
Because lip balm traps moisture and protects from external forces as well, it can do a lot more than just keep your lips supple and un-crackable. Clever and crafty people have found these 20 ways to re-purpose lip balm into a tool capable of solving every day problems.
1. Relieve an irritated nose: Sensitive skin around your nose makes blowing your nose even worse when you’re suffering a cold or flu. Unscented lip balm applied to the irritated spots, however, protects the reddened skin.
2. Fix a bad hair day: Sometimes, hair won’t cooperate, but with lip balm, you can force it to submit to your will. Swipe your finger tips over the balm and rub them on any hairs that refuse to blend into the pack. That’ll keep all your hairs together.
Tati / YouTube
3. Protect tools from rust: Keep tools free from oxygen and moisture exposure by applying a layer of lip balm to all metal portions. Rust-causing elements won’t easily penetrate the wax.
Sensible Prepper / YouTube
4. Stop bug bite itch: A visit from nasty insects leaves you covered in itchy bites. Dotting those bites with lip balm keeps airborne irritants away from the bug’s mark, and—viola—you itch less.
5. Remove sticker residue: If you loaded up notebook covers or laptop faces with 25 cent stickers and now regret it, apply lip balm to the sticker residue left behind when you peel them off. Let it sit for a few minutes, then wipe it away.
6. Protect pet’s paws: In the winter months, ol’ Fido’s paws don’t hold up so well on snow-stricken pavement or icy backyard grass. Apply lip balm to his paw pads for a little extra help in the elements.
7. Remove a stuck ring: When soapy water and body lotion falls short in removing a ring stuck behind your knuckle, just reach for the lip balm. Apply it to the area around the ring to grease the track and slide it right off.
SensiblePrepper / YouTube
8. Tame rebellious brows: You might fix those unruly caterpillar eyebrows above your eyeballs with an expensive brow gel, but that’s just an unnecessary product. Lip balm keeps your eyebrows lookin’ sleek.
9. Clean up mascara smudges: A Q-tip topped with a bit of lip balm can wipe away any stray patches of mis-applied mascara or eyeliner—and it won’t remove concealer or foundation!
Jacqui Zadik / Babble
10. Soothe small cuts: Small cuts like paper cuts hurt so much because they expose skin-level nerve endings to every airborne irritant possible. Seal the cut with a waxy lip balm to create a makeshift wax seal over those nerve endings.
11. Patch up shaving nicks: On a similar note, a dab of lip balm to a shaving nick puts a thin wax seal over the wound and stunts any bleeding. This does not work for larger cuts, though. So do be careful.
12. Prevent nails from splitting wood: Lube up nails and screws with a healthy serving of lip balm before hammering or drilling them into delicate furniture. You’ll lower the risk of splitting the wood this way.
13. Lubricate hinges and tracks: Window that won’t budge? Sliding door not living up to its name? A little lip balm on the hinges and tracks will have your windows and and doors flying up.
14. Defog eyeglasses: Extreme temperatures or even a steaming stove-top pot steams up glasses, making it impossible to see. A protective layer of lip balm polished onto the lenses with a soft cloth prevents the blind from getting blinder.
15. Prevent blisters: Blisters form from the friction between the heel of your shoe and the heel of your foot. Luckily, a spot of lip balm on the back of the heel minimizes friction and prevents irritation.
16. Moisturize your cuticles: Lip balm moisturizes and rejuvenates dry cuticles or fingertips. Rub some on the cracking areas before bed and you’ll wake up with fingers ready to star in a puppet show.
17. Seal your fragrance: Dab your wrists and behind your ears with lip balm, then apply perfume or body spray directly to those locations. The lip salve will absorb the fragrance, ensuring it lasts all through the night.
18. Shine your shoes: Tell the shoe shine to take a hike. Just apply a layer of waxy lip balm to your kicks, buff them with a cloth, and watch ’em shine like brand new.
19. Keep laces tied: Sweating at the thought of tripping over a shoelace during a big moment in your life? Keep your laces tied tight with a smudge of lip balm over the knot.
20. Repair scratched CDs: If you’re still reliant on CDs, you know a scratch on the back spells doom for the disk’s future. A little lip balm over the scratch can hide the nick and stop your CD from skipping.
Lip balm saves countless lips from painful existences every single day. But now you can use it to overcome non-lip-related problems, too!
Share these uses for lip balm with your friends below!