What’s really in your lip
Lip balm is one of the most reflexive things we reach for — cold morning, dry afternoon, end of the day. Most people apply it a dozen times or more without thinking about it. I did too, for years. It was only when I started looking more carefully at what was actually in these seemingly harmless products that I began to understand why choosing a natural, non-toxic lip balm matters more than most of us realise.
What is in your lip balm? And does it matter?
I think it does. Here is what I have found, and why I formulated Botani's Healing Lip Balm the way I did.
The ingredients worth understanding
Many conventional lip balms — including well-known pharmacy brands — contain what are called endocrine-disrupting chemicals, or EDCs. These are substances that interfere with the body's hormonal signalling. They can mimic, block or alter the way hormones communicate, and the effects of long-term low-level exposure are still being studied.
Some of the most common EDCs found in lip products include:
Parabens (methylparaben, propylparaben) — synthetic preservatives used to extend shelf life. A 2025 review published in Reviews in Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders found that parabens, phthalates and benzophenones in cosmetics are associated with hormonal imbalances and reproductive health issues through documented mechanisms of endocrine disruption.
Phthalates — often hidden inside the catch-all term "fragrance" on an ingredient label. Research published in Environmental Health Perspectives has associated phthalates with reproductive toxicity and hormonal disruption, particularly with repeated exposure.
BHT (Butylated Hydroxytoluene) — a synthetic antioxidant used as a preservative. Some regions have moved to restrict it due to its potential hormonal effects, though it remains permitted in many products.
Oxybenzone (Benzophenone-3) — a UV filter found in some tinted or SPF lip products. Research has linked it to thyroid disruption and hormone interference.
A 2025 inventory of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in cosmetic products published by the Netherlands National Institute for Public Health and the Environment found that frequent and diverse cosmetic use poses a meaningful concern for aggregate EDC exposure. What makes lip products particularly worth scrutinising is that a significant portion of what we apply is ingested. Lip balm applied many times a day over a lifetime represents a repeated exposure pathway — making the choice of formula more consequential than it might appear.
None of this is cause for alarm. But it is cause for awareness.
The whole-body picture
As a naturopath, I am always thinking about the cumulative effect of what we put on and into our bodies. Skin absorption is slower than ingestion, but it is real — particularly for products applied to mucous membranes like the lips. Hormonal health is not determined by a single product. But it is shaped by the sum of small, repeated exposures across a lifetime.
I also think about the people in my clinic who are already navigating hormonal sensitivities — women managing PCOS, perimenopause, thyroid conditions, endometriosis. For them, reducing the burden of unnecessary chemical exposure is a genuinely worthwhile thing to do. Lip balm is one of the easiest places to start.
What a safer lip balm looks
The good news is that a lip balm does not need any of these ingredients to work beautifully. Plant-based alternatives have been used for centuries, and they do the job far better.
When I formulated the Botani Healing Lip Balm, I wanted something that genuinely nourished the skin barrier rather than sitting on the surface. The formula is built around a blend of olive butter, olive wax and olive squalane — plant-derived, deeply moisturising, and completely free from petrochemicals. Olive squalane is something I reach for across many of our formulations because of how closely it mirrors the skin's own natural lipid structure. On lips, which lack sebaceous glands and dry out faster than the rest of the face, that kind of compatibility matters.
Evening primrose oil adds omega-6 fatty acids to support the skin barrier from within. Calendula oil brings gentle anti-inflammatory properties — something I often recommend to patients whose lips are chronically chapped, cracked, or reactive. And a natural vanilla oil gives the balm a scent that is genuinely pleasant without a synthetic fragrance molecule in sight.
The result is a lip care routine that repairs rather than creates dependency. True hydration comes from restoring the skin barrier, not from applying layer after layer of occlusive ingredients that do the barrier's job for it.
Botani's Healing Lip Balm is free from petrochemicals, parabens, phthalates, BHT, oxybenzone and synthetic fragrances. It is certified vegan, cruelty-free and Australian-made — and was awarded a Diamond Sustainability Award for its ethical sourcing practices.
A final thought
I do not think we need to scrutinise every product we own with equal intensity. But the products we use most frequently — and especially those applied to areas where absorption is higher — are worth a second look. Lip balm, applied many times a day for years, is one of them.
If you are curious about what is in the products you are using, I would encourage you to check the ingredient list on whatever you have in your bag right now. The Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep database is a useful starting point for looking up individual ingredients. Knowledge is the most useful tool I know.
— Barbara Filokostas, Naturopath & Herbalist, Founder of Botani Skincare Australia
References
Bouwmeester, MC, Eliesen, GAM, Pennings, JLA, Wijnhoven, SWP & Hessel, EVS 2025, 'Inventory of possible endocrine disrupting chemicals used in cosmetic products', Critical Reviews in Toxicology, vol. 55, no. 7, pp. 693–706, doi:10.1080/10408444.2025.2539186.
Tomar, C, Singh, P & Yadav, S 2025, 'Endocrine-disrupting chemicals in cosmetics: mechanistic insights and their impact on human and skin health', Reviews in Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders, doi:10.1007/s11154-025-10006-5.
Darbre, PD 2006, 'Environmental oestrogens, cosmetics and breast cancer', Best Practice & Research Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 121–143.
Swan, SH, Main, KM, Liu, F, Stewart, SL, Kruse, RL, Calafat, AM, Mao, CS, Redmon, JB, Ternand, CL, Sullivan, S & Teague, JL 2005, 'Decrease in anogenital distance among male infants with prenatal phthalate exposure', Environmental Health Perspectives, vol. 113, no. 8, pp. 1056–1061.
Schlumpf, M et al. 2010, 'Developmental toxicity of UV filters and environmental exposure: a review', Toxicology, vol. 271, no. 1–2, pp. 43–49.
Environmental Working Group (EWG) 2023, Skin Deep cosmetics database, viewed 2026, <ewg.org/skindeep>.
