You can use lip balm for far more than your lips. A simple, natural balm works on dry cuticles, flaky patches around the nose, rough elbows and knees, chapped knuckles, and the dozen little dry bits skincare forgets. The trick is the formula: a balm that's mostly butters and oils, with no fragrance or fillers, behaves like a wearable barrier you can put almost anywhere skin gets dry. Here are 20+ real uses, and the few places it has no business going.
I made a 30g balm because I was sick of buying tiny tubes for one job. Once you've got a generous stick of the stuff, you start using it everywhere. This guide is the honest version of "everywhere": what actually works, what's a stretch, and where to stop.
What can you use lip balm for besides your lips?
A good lip balm is really just a portable barrier balm, so it works on most small areas of dry, rough or chapped skin: cuticles, knuckles, elbows, knees, heels, the dry corners of your nose, and flaky patches anywhere on the face or body. The American Academy of Dermatology recommends thick, fragrance-free ointments and balms to trap moisture in dry, cracked skin, which is exactly the job a balm does (AAD, "Dermatologists' top tips for relieving dry skin").
The catch is the recipe. Most high-street balms are wax, a splash of oil and a lot of fragrance, so they sit on lips and not much else. A balm built mostly from butters and plant oils, with no added scent, spreads and sinks in like a body product, which is why one stick can cover so many jobs. That's the whole idea behind our 30g balm: one big, multi-use stick instead of a drawer full of single-job tubes.
"It started as a lip balm. Then my mum was using it on her hands, I was putting it on my elbows, and a customer told me she keeps one in the shed for her gardening cracks. Honestly, the lips are just where it begins." Thom, founder of Phatstix
Is it safe to use lip balm all over your skin?
For most people, yes, as long as the balm is simple and fragrance-free. A balm made from butters, oils and beeswax is a cosmetic emollient. It sits on the surface, softens skin and helps slow water loss. Fragrance and flavour are the usual irritants in lip products, so a stick with neither is a far safer bet to use beyond the lips (Cleveland Clinic, "Why your lip balm might be making your dry lips worse").
A few sensible limits. This is general dry-skin care, not treatment. If skin is broken, weeping, infected, or you're dealing with eczema-prone skin that won't settle, see a GP or pharmacist before slathering anything on. Patch-test a new balm on your inner arm first if you react easily. And our balm is made for ages 16 and up. None of our products contain SPF, so a balm is never a substitute for sunscreen on exposed skin. For more on the face specifically, we've written a whole piece on putting balm on your face, dry patches and the bits around your nose.
The 20+ real uses, sorted by where they go
Here's the honest list. Each one is something a simple, fragrance-free balm genuinely helps with. We've split it into face, hands, body and a few clever extras, with the verdict for each.
Face and lips (the obvious ones)
| Use | What it does | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Chapped lips | The day job. Softens, conditions and forms a protective layer over dry, flaky lips. | Yes, every time |
| Dry patches around the nose | Cold-and-flu season leaves the nose corners raw. A balm calms the flake and stops the sting. | Yes |
| Cheekbones and cheeks in the wind | Wind-burnt, tight cheeks after a cold walk. A thin layer takes the edge off. | Yes |
| A base before lipstick | A conditioning balm under colour stops lipstick clinging to dry patches. | Yes |
Hands and nails (where most people land next)
| Use | What it does | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Dry cuticles | Possibly the single best non-lip use. Massage a little into the nail bed to soften ragged cuticles. | Yes, brilliant |
| Cracked knuckles | Winter knuckles split and sting. A balm gives them a soft, protective layer. | Yes |
| Hangnails | Softens the skin so you stop picking and tearing. | Yes |
| Rough hands after gardening or DIY | Rubs into the dry, scuffed bits a hand cream slides off. | Yes |
| Brittle nails | Conditions the nail and surrounding skin (it won't "fix" the nail, but it helps the skin around it). | Yes, with honest expectations |
We go deep on this in our guide to using one stick for lips, hands, cuticles and dry patches.
Body (the bits skincare ignores)
| Use | What it does | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Rough elbows and knees | The classic crocodile-skin zones. A balm softens and smooths over a few days. | Yes |
| Cracked heels | Works on the early, dry stage. Deep cracks may need a podiatrist, so signpost that. | Yes, early-stage only |
| Chafing from running or rucksack straps | A barrier where skin rubs skin or fabric. A favourite with cyclists and runners. | Yes |
| Dry shins after shaving | Calms the tight, flaky feeling. | Yes |
| Scuffed, dry tattoos (healed ones) | Keeps healed ink looking conditioned, not ashy. Never on fresh, unhealed tattoos. | Yes, healed only |
| Wind-burnt or weather-beaten skin | Pre-ski, post-swim, pre-dog-walk-in-a-gale. A protective layer against the elements. | Yes |
The clever extras
| Use | What it does | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Taming flyaways | A whisper of balm on the palms smooths frizzy baby hairs at the hairline. | Yes, go light |
| Softening the skin before a plaster comes off | Eases the edges so it hurts less. | A handy trick |
| Conditioning dry ear and nostril rims in cold weather | The forgotten dry bits in winter. | Yes, external only |
| Smoothing dry patches before make-up | A primer-ish base on flaky areas so foundation sits better. | Yes |
That's 20 uses, and there are more, but this is the list I'd actually stand behind. Notice the pattern: every one is dry, rough or chapped skin on a small area. That's the sweet spot for a balm.
Why does a natural balm work for so many things?
Because it's mostly skin-friendly fats, and fats are what dry skin is short of. Our balm is 100% natural and built from nine ingredients: beeswax, sunflower, jojoba, sweet almond, grapeseed and raspberry seed oils, plus shea, cocoa and mango butters. No water, no fragrance, no flavour, no fillers. That mix does two jobs at once: the oils and butters are emollients that soften and smooth, and the beeswax is an occlusive that forms a breathable layer to slow water loss.
Dermatology backs the approach. Emollients and occlusives are the standard recommendation for dry skin because they soften the surface and trap moisture in, rather than adding water that evaporates (Cleveland Clinic on emollients vs humectants). The reason a fragrance-free formula matters so much off the lips is simple: added scent is a common skin irritant, and the more places you put a product, the more that matters. Take the fragrance out and you've got something you can use head to toe without picking a fight with your skin.
One more thing that makes multi-use realistic: size. A standard lip balm is about 4.25g to 4.5g. Ours is 30g, which works out at 7x bigger (7.06x, to be exact), and one stick lasts up to a year. Multi-use only makes sense when you've actually got enough balm to spread around. A 4g tube runs out if you so much as look at your elbows.
Where should you NOT use lip balm?
This is the part most "20 uses" listicles skip, so here it is plainly. A balm is brilliant on dry skin, but it is not a cure-all, and a few places are a hard no.
- Intimate areas. Just no. Our balm is for lips, faces and places, and "places" does not mean those places.
- Inside the eyes, nose or mouth. External use only. A dab on the rim of the nostril in winter is fine; up the nose is not.
- Open wounds, weeping skin, or anything infected. A cosmetic balm is not a wound dressing. See a pharmacist or GP.
- Fresh, unhealed tattoos or piercings. Follow your artist's aftercare, not a lip balm.
- As sunscreen. Our products contain no SPF. A balm will not protect you from the sun. Use a proper SPF on exposed skin.
- On babies and young children. Our balm is formulated for ages 16 and up.
- As a fix for a medical skin condition. A balm can make eczema-prone or very dry skin more comfortable, but it doesn't treat, heal or cure anything. If skin won't settle, that's a GP or pharmacist conversation.
Knowing where to stop is what makes the long list trustworthy. A balm that claims to do everything is lying. A balm that does a lot of small jobs well, and tells you the limits, is just useful.
How do you actually apply a balm to non-lip areas?
Differently from how you'd dab your lips, mostly because the skin is tougher and you want it to sink in. Here's the no-faff method.
- Warm it up. Twist up a little and rub it between your fingertips, or stroke the stick straight onto the area, then work it in. Body heat softens the butters so they spread.
- Less than you think, then build. Start thin. A balm this concentrated goes a long way. You can always add more.
- Massage, don't smear. On cuticles, knuckles and rough patches, a few seconds of rubbing helps it absorb instead of sitting greasy on top.
- Time it right. After a shower, when skin is still slightly damp, is the best moment to seal moisture in. Last thing at night is ideal for heels, elbows and cuticles, so it works while you sleep.
- Reapply when it's gone, not on a schedule. There's no magic number of times a day. Skin tells you when it's dry again.
One stick, applied like this, quietly handles the dry-skin admin most people spread across four or five products. For the full lips-and-everything-else routine, see our guide to using one balm across lips, hands, cuticles and dry patches.
Is a multi-use balm better value than buying separate products?
Usually, yes, if you'd otherwise buy a lip balm, a cuticle oil, a hand balm and a heel cream. One honest, fragrance-free stick replaces the lot for the simple "this bit is dry" jobs. At 30g, our balm works out around £0.80 per gram, which is better value than most premium balms a fraction of the size, and it lasts up to a year from a single stick.
The maths is the point of the whole brand. Most people get through roughly a dozen little lip-balm tubes a year and chuck the plastic. Buy one big multi-use balm and you've got a year of lip care plus a barrier balm for cuticles, dry patches and weather-beaten skin, from one object you won't lose in a coat pocket. It's not a magic everything-cream and we'd never call it one. It's a generous, genuinely useful balm that happens to do a lot of small things well. If that's your kind of thing, here's the big one.
FAQ
What can you use lip balm for besides your lips?
A simple, fragrance-free balm works on dry cuticles, cracked knuckles, rough elbows and knees, flaky patches around the nose, early-stage cracked heels, chafing, and taming flyaway baby hairs at the hairline. It's any small area of dry, rough or chapped skin. Avoid intimate areas, open wounds, and the eyes, nose and mouth internally, and never use it as sunscreen.
Can you put lip balm on your face?
Yes. A balm made from butters and oils, with no added fragrance, is fine on dry patches, the corners of the nose and wind-tight cheeks. If you have a flare of eczema-prone skin or anything that won't settle, see a GP or pharmacist first.
Is it OK to use lip balm every day, all over?
For most people, yes, with a simple, fragrance-free formula. A balm is a cosmetic emollient, so daily use on dry skin is fine and often helpful. Patch-test first if you react easily, keep it out of the eyes, nose and mouth, and remember it isn't a treatment for medical skin conditions.
Can you use lip balm as a moisturiser?
On small dry patches, yes. A balm softens skin and slows water loss, which is what a moisturiser does. It's not designed to replace a body lotion over large areas, partly because it's thicker and partly because a 30g stick is built for targeted dry bits, not full-body coverage.
Can I use lip balm instead of sun cream?
No. None of our products contain SPF, and a balm offers no meaningful sun protection. Always use a dedicated sunscreen on skin that's exposed to the sun.