Skip The ChapStick: Here's How You Can Heal Your Baby's Chapped Lips This Winter

As winter approaches and temperatures drop, your baby’s skin may begin getting dry and cracked. The cold dry air outside, combined with the hot air from your household heater, can lead to chapped skin and lips. While remedies for your baby’s dry skin may be easier to find, like baby lotion and moisturizers, it may be a bit more confusing when it comes to their lips. You may want to pull out your favorite lip treatment for your little one, but can babies wear ChapStick?

In an interview with Romper, Chicago pharmacist Beenish Moyeed says that the traditional ChapStick brand contains chemicals, like parabens and paraffin. She notes that unlike older kids and adults, babies are not able to avoid licking their lips, so they could potentially ingest chemicals from the coating on their lips. “Some versions of ChapStick can contain fragrances and flavorings too,” adds Moyeed, “so it’s better to stick to an all-natural, organic lip balm for a baby.”

Moyeed suggests that aside from organic, all-natural lip balms, you can even use a nipple cream, lanolin, or even a dab of coconut oil to help heal your baby’s chapped lips. For an even more natural, easy, and perhaps safest remedy of all, Momtastic suggested that breastfeeding mothers use breast milk as a moisturizer for their baby’s dry lips, because of its healing and hydrating capabilities. Who knew?

If you are sticking to store-bought lip balms, there are plenty of great options out there. Boudreaux's, the company that makes Butt Paste, has a natural lip moisturizer called Baby Kisses that is formulated specifically for babies. The Honest Company makes organic lip balms that are great for moms and babies alike, too. You can easily find Burt’s Bees and EOS lip balms, that are both natural, organic, and chemical-free, in your favorite store.

If you are weary about the ingredients in store-bought lip balms, or are just in a crafty mood, you can even make your own lip balm. I’ve made tons of lip balm, and I can tell you, not only is it super easy, but the natural ingredients are much more moisturizing than the store-bought ones. The Herbal Academy has a great lip balm recipe for little ones, for which you only need coconut oil, beeswax pastilles, a butter (like shea, mango, or cocoa butter), and a carrier oil (like olive, jojoba, or rosehip oil). All you need to do, the article explained, is melt everything in a double boiler and combine. Then you can fill it either in a lip balm tube or tin and use as needed.

Lip balms can be really handy, but prevention is really the best remedy when it comes to chapped lips. Pennsylvania pediatrician, Dr. Jarret Patton, tells Romper that in the winter months, when your baby's skin is exposed to harsh cold air, it can easily get dry and chapped, so it’s ideal to keep their exposure limited. Healthline suggested that to prevent your baby's lips from chapping, keep a humidifier running in the house to keep the air moist. The website also recommended lightly covering your baby’s lips, especially on windy or sunny days, with a light, breathable scarf.

Just remember that before you use any kind of lip balms or topical creams on your baby, you should always check the ingredients. If you are unsure of the safety of the products, you can always ask your doctor or pharmacist for advice. Chapped lips are something that continue well on into adulthood. For the time being, do the best you can and keep your baby’s lips moisturized with natural products. When they're older, they may not sit still long enough for you to try.

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