Coconut oil to repair chapped lips?

Coconut oil is a vegetable oil widely used in cosmetics for its emollient and protective properties. It is mainly composed of medium-chain triglycerides, with lauric acid accounting for nearly half of its fatty acids. This lipid composition gives it a strong affinity with the stratum corneum of the skin, which explains its frequent use in products designed to restore the skin barrier. When it is minimally processed, in the form of virgin coconut oil, it also contains antioxidant compounds and certain polyphenols that may contribute to protecting skin tissues against oxidative stress.

These characteristics may theoretically be of interest in the context of chapped lips.

As a reminder, the skin of the lips is particularly thin and poor in sebaceous glands, which limits the formation of the natural hydrolipidic film and promotes insensible water loss. However, thanks to its viscous texture, coconut oil acts as an occlusive agent to retain water in the skin and improve its hydration. In addition, its fatty acids have anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties that may help to soothe micro-irritations and reduce the risk of bacterial contamination when the skin barrier is impaired, as is the case with chapped lips.

In practice, coconut oil can provide genuinely effective relief for chapped lips.

Several studies have investigated the effect of formulations containing coconut oil on lip hydration and barrier function, providing objective data on its moisturising potential. One study in particular assessed the effect of a lip care product formulated with wax and vegetable oils, including coconut oil and olive oil, on the hydration and barrier function of the lip skin. Fifteen volunteers applied the product, and the researchers measured skin hydration, transepidermal water loss and the penetration of lipids into the stratum corneum at different intervals (30 minutes, 2 hours and 6 hours after application). The results showed a significant improvement in lip hydration and barrier function. Lipids from the product, including coconut oil, were deposited in the stratum corneum and remained detectable there for several hours, creating a reservoir effect that favours hydration. In addition, transepidermal water loss decreased in the first few hours after application, indicating an improved ability of the lip skin to retain moisture.

These observations suggest that formulations containing coconut oil may help to temporarily restore hydration and the protective function of the lip skin.

As a continuation of this work on lip hydration, further research has examined the value of coconut oil in lip balm formulations designed to protect and repair lips that are dry or damaged by sun exposure. An experimental study thus evaluated different lip balm formulations combining virgin coconut oil and palm oil, both of which are rich in antioxidants. The aim was to analyse their physical properties and their ability to protect the lips from the effects of UV. The researchers formulated several balms containing different oil concentrations, then measured their photoprotective activity using UV-Vis spectrophotometry over the wavelength range associated with UVB (290–320 nm).

The results showed that the formulations studied exhibited a measurable photoprotective activity. The formulation containing 5% coconut oil and 15% crude palm oil displayed the highest SPF value, namely 15.4.

The analysis also confirmed that coconut oil itself exhibits moderate photoprotective activity, with an estimated SPF of around 7. Furthermore, the tested formulations showed physical properties judged to be satisfactory — stability over 28 days, homogeneous texture and a consistency suitable for application to the lips. These findings suggest that coconut oil may help to protect and maintain the hydration of the lips when exposed to environmental stressors, particularly sunlight. However, as in the previous study, its effectiveness depends on the overall product formulation and its combination with other active ingredients.

These results must, however, be interpreted with caution. Although coconut oil exhibits a measurable photoprotective activity, its sun protection factor remains relatively low and does not allow it to replace a sunscreen.

The formulations studied mainly show that coconut oil can help, alongside other ingredients, to protect and moisturise the lips as part of a balm. Furthermore, the data currently available remain limited: they consist mainly of instrumental studies or work on formulations, rather than clinical trials directly assessing the effectiveness of coconut oil in volunteers with chapped lips. Clinical studies are therefore still needed to fully confirm the relevance of coconut oil in this context.

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