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How Do I Choose the Best Lip Balm Tubes?

S. Gonzales
S. Gonzales

Choosing lip balm tubes can be an interesting part of your lip balm-making experience. The best tubes for you will be those that match your preference of tube size, opening and color. After you determine what you want your lip balm tubes to look like, buying tubes for your lip balms can be simple.

There are few sizes of lip balm tubes from which to choose. The 0.095-ounce (2.8-ml), 0.15-ounce (4.4-ml) and 0.5-ounce (14.8-ml) sizes are widely available. If you want to choose a standard size, select the 0.15-ounce (14.8-ml) tubes, because they are the size of lip balms that are usually sold in stores. You'll also have to choose between an oval and round opening for the tube. The real variety in lip balm tubes, however, is in their available colors.

Lip balm may double as a lip tint.
Lip balm may double as a lip tint.

Brightly colored tubes can be a fine choice, especially if you want to give your lip balms to young people. Colors also can help you categorize your lip balms. For example, you might choose a red lip balm tube if your lip balm smells or tastes like cherries.

Choosing clear tubes can help your lip balm's users differentiate between tinted lip balm colors. These types of tubes can appeal to people who want to find a perfect shade of lip balm for themselves. This can be to your benefit, because clear lip balm tubes can help you advertise your product without requiring potential users to open the tubes. If you're keeping your lip balm for yourself, clear tubes can give you immediate notice of what types of lip balm are in the containers.

Darker tubes can give users the impression that your lip balms are a quality item, because they can look sleek and expensive. Dark tubes, such as those in blue and black, also have good reputations for appealing to men. If you want to sell your lip balms, dark tubes might be a good investment.

To make classification even easier, you might want to purchase lip balm tube labels that can be written on and stuck onto the tubes. Buying tubes with hook caps that you can loop strings into can maximize the tubes' portability. Caps for lip balm tubes are often sold separately, so be sure to choose caps that match your tubes.

An advantage of choosing lip balm tubes over lip balm pots is that they can be more hygienic to use. When using a lip balm tube, you won't have to dip your finger into the balm to apply the product. This can help keep your lip balm sanitary.

Discussion Comments

bythewell

@croydon - You can use a tube for most kinds of wax or shea butter based makeup and for solid perfumes as well. In fact, I prefer a tube for solid perfume as it makes it easier to apply.

And I think it's kind of a classic look, to use a lip balm tube. It makes it much easier to use them when you're at the beach or something and you don't want to get the pot dirty.

I try to buy organic lip balm from small producers and most of them seem to offer a choice between a tube and a pot.

The only time I don't like a tube is when it's too big. Then I feel like it's too difficult to outline your lips well, but other than that, I think tubes are much better than pots.

croydon

@KoiwiGal - They can also make sense from a commercial point of view and I think that's the main reason people prefer to use pots as lip balm containers when they are just running a small business. Usually they will be selling a couple of different products and not just lip balm. Maybe different kinds of makeup, or maybe solid perfume.

They can sell most kinds of makeup in a pot, but only a few kinds in a tube. So, buying the pots means that they don't have to mess around with different kinds of containers, and they don't have to worry about ordering too many. Plus, it streamlines the range.

You can buy lip balm containers and even lip balm base (without the flavor or color) on craft supply stores online, and buying in bulk will get you the best prices.

KoiwiGal

While you won't have to dip your finger into the balm to use a lip tube, the lip tubes go directly onto your lips, which have been exposed to your breath and saliva all day, so they aren't exactly germ free either.

And hands generally get washed all day, while lips don't. So, it's a toss up as to which is the more hygienic product to use, in my mind.

I guess I've always liked little tins or pots better, because I find that the tubes tend to break off if you roll them out too much.

Eventually the lid can get loose and then the balm goes everywhere in your bag as well.

Don't get me wrong, I use tubes as well, but I prefer to use little lip balm tins.

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    • Lip balm may double as a lip tint.
      By: Johanna Goodyear
      Lip balm may double as a lip tint.