As much of the country continues to wonder what exactly Old Man Winter is so pissed about, (maybe it’s that we call him “Old Man Winter”?) we alternate between bundling up to brave the windy cold and retreating to the cozy heat of our homes. One common casualty of this routine is dry cracked lips.

The most popular solutions for winter lip woes have familiar names, many of which have been around for decades. Who doesn’t recall the ever-present container of Vaseline Petroleum Jelly in your childhood home? Or rolling on your favorite flavor of Chapstick in grade school? Then graduating to Bonne Bell Lip Smackers or Village Bath Lip Lickers (those yummy smelling balms in the little gold vintage-look tins) in Junior High and High School?…Okay, depending on your age and sex, you may have a different chapped lips timeline, but these products and others such as Blistex, Carmex, and Bag Balm are still the default choices. (Except the Lip Lickers which it appears went the way of the Mood Ring, Pet Rock, and my bell bottoms with butterflies on them.)

But are they the best option? Are there natural eco-friendly products that do just as good of a job? And will going natural cost you more? The answers are: No. Yes. And yes. Let me elaborate. Read the rest of this entry »