If your lips tend not to be especially dry, you can take your pick of either. “Some people do not like the heaviness of a mask,” says Levine. “You should use whatever you like best.” But that said, there’s no reason not to use both, especially if you are prone to dryness, or if your lips are weathering harsh conditions (winter, anyone?). Use your lip balm for daily protection and a lip mask to help stave off future chapping and irritation.
Best Overall: PCA Skin Overnight Lip Mask
- Why We Love It: The hardworking ingredients and rich, yet not greasy texture of this mask make it a must for anyone looking to revive lips. “It has an elegant consistency and is formulated with squalane, shea butter, and antioxidants for added protection,” says Yang, who uses this treatment herself. “It works magic overnight and helps maintain smooth, plump lips when used consistently.”
- Key Ingredients: Squalane, shea butter, vitamin E
- Size: 0.46 oz.
Best Flavored: Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask
- Why We Love It: All of our experts acknowledged that this mask from Laneige is a fan favorite, with Levine adding that it’s especially popular among her younger patients. “This product contains hyaluronic acid and antioxidants that are good for hydration,” says Newman. It’s available in a bevy of flavors, ranging from classic berry to limited-edition, seasonal options like eggnog latte. Just proceed with caution if you have especially sensitive lips: “Added fragrance can be irritating and worsen dryness and flaking,” warns Yang.
- Key Ingredients: Shea butter, murumuru butter, coconut oil
- Size: 0.7 oz.
Best Applicator: Tatcha Kissu Lip Mask
- Why We Love It: There’s a lot to love about this lip mask, including the bouncy, jelly-like texture which melts into lips and the squalane-rich formula, which Newman notes is good for soothing and moisturizing a parched pout. But the cherry on top is the gilded applicator—while it can be easy to misplace a lip applicator, this one offers both function and flair. It slips into the cap so it’s always at hand to scoop out the perfect dose while enhancing the aesthetic of the mask’s jar.
- Key Ingredients: Squalane, peach extract, camellia oil
- Size: 0.32 oz.
Best For Chapped Lips: Sara Happ The Dream Slip Overnight Lip Mask
- Why We Love It: The calming honey-vanilla-chamomile flavor of this mask is the perfect complement to this overnight formula, which feels like a comforting weighted blanket as it works to powerfully repair dry, chapped lips. A lipid-rich blend of plant oils (including jojoba, sweet almond, and macadamia) work to soften and smooth away flakiness and cracks so you can wake up to a plush, nourished pout.
- Key Ingredients: Jojoba oil, sweet almond oil, hyaluronic acid
- Size: 0.5 oz.
Best Korean: CosRx Propolis Lip Sleeping Mask
- Why We Love It: This cushy formula is packed with nourishing ingredients like petrolatum, shea butter, and propolis, which “has antimicrobial and healing properties,” says Newman. It’s a resin-like substance that bees produce to repair their hives and protect themselves from harsh weather—and in this mask, it helps restore softness to lips while shielding them from overnight moisture loss.
- Key Ingredients: Petrolatum, shea butter, honey complex
- Size: 0.7 oz.
Best Clean: RMS Beauty Lipnights Overnight Lip Mask
- Why We Love It: Considering that products applied around our mouths tend to get ingested, even inadvertently, a clean lip mask is ideal—and this one from RMS Beauty is exceptional. A little goes a long way to infuse dry lips with cocoa and shea butters, peptides, and vitamin C-rich kakadu plum oil, leaving them nourished, firm, and protected before bed. The natural vanilla and chamomile scent totally enhances this pre-sleep ritual.
- Key Ingredients: Cocoa butter, shea butter, peptides, kakadu plum oil
- Size: o.31 oz.
Best For Fine Lines: Ilia Lip Wrap Overnight Mask
- Why We Love It: This formula works as a two-in-one lip treatment, reviving dry lips with hyaluronic acid and shea butter while gently exfoliating them with papaya enzymes. This combo staves off flakes for a smoother, softer, and more moisturized pucker. Though it’s meant to be used overnight, we also like using it in the morning—it’s a great prep step before applying matte lipstick.
- Key Ingredients: Hyaluronic acid, papaya enzymes, shea butter
- Size: 0.34 oz.
Best Lightweight: M-61 Perfect Lip Mask
- Why We Love It: If you hate heavy-feeling lip masks, give this one a try. Its texture is something of a mask/balm hybrid, making it suitable for use anytime, day or night. Despite its lighter feel, it’s plenty moisturizing thanks to plant butters, waxes, and vitamin E. The slim jar also fits nicely into your pocket for on-the-go nourishment.
- Key Ingredients: Castor oil, cocoa butter, vitamin E
- Size: 0.35 oz.
Best For Mature Skin: Kiehl’s Buttermask For Lips
- Why We Love It: Levine notes that Kiehl’s Buttermask it’s a favorite among her older patients; if your lips have dried out with age, this may be their savior. This creamy formula is full of rich oils and butters including shea, coconut, and mango to bring a parched pout back to life as you sleep. Those with lips ravaged by harsh or dry weather, nervous biting, or aging will see the benefits in just a few uses, but feel relief instantly.
- Key Ingredients: Shea butter, coconut oil, mango butter
- Size: 0.35 oz.
Best Plumping: Alpyn Beauty Willow and Sweet Agave Plumping Lip Mask
- Why We Love It: This TikTok fave is worthy of the hype, with a thick but not tacky texture that wraps lips in a cocoon of nourishment courtesy of castor oil and a hydrating blend of hyaluronic acid and agave extract. Coupled with gently-exfoliating willow bark extract, hyaluronic acid’s humectant properties help draw moisture into lips for a subtle plumping effect. Bonus: The inclusion of stevia gives it a sweet taste when you lick your lips.
- Key Ingredients: Hyaluronic acid, sweet agave extract, willow bark extract, castor oil
- Size: 0.35 oz.
Best Gloss: YSE Like A Gloss Hydrating Lip Mask
- Why We Love It: This multitasker combines the benefits of a mask, balm, and gloss in one step, using plumping hyaluronic acid and nourishing shea and coconut to soften rough lips while giving them a gorgeous sheen. Even though the formula provides intense moisture, it has a light, silky texture, making it ideal for applying any time of day.
- Key Ingredients: Shea butter, coconut oil, hyaluronic acid
- Size: 0.42 oz.
Best Fast-Acting: Typology L72 – Repairing Lip Mask
- Why We Love It: The texture of this formula is unlike most lip masks—it has a lightweight, gel-like consistency—but that doesn’t mean it’s light on benefits. Lips in dire need of TLC will drink up the ceramides and hyaluronic acid, which “are good for repairing the skin’s barrier function and locking in moisture,” says Newman. But what’s particularly noteworthy about it is how fast it can get to work. “I like that this can be used as a quick 15-minute treatment or deeper overnight repair,” says Yang.
- Key Ingredients: Mango butter, ceramides, hyaluronic acid
- Size: 0.5 oz.
What to Look For in a Lip Mask
The best lip masks will give the lips some extra TLC with added ingredients to hydrate, nourish, soften, and protect, explains Yang. “Look for products that contain both a humectant and occlusive—ingredients to hydrate and also seal in the moisture,” she says. Common humectants include hyaluronic acid and glycerin, which draw water into the skin, while occlusives like beeswax and petroleum jelly will act as a physical barrier to prevent moisture from evaporating.
You should also seek out products with emollients, which help restore the skin barrier while helping to soften and smooth the lips. Newman recommends natural plant oils and butters (like coconut, avocado, and shea) as well as ceramides, which are essential to your skin’s barrier function. Antioxidants and peptides can be helpful, too, with the former protecting skin against free radical damage and the latter offering multiple benefits, including hydration, firming, and smoothing.
