Lip balm and gloss

I have known for a while that I probably shouldn't be using Blistex Medicated Lip Medex. You know the kind I'm talking about -- a tiny blue jar that works miracles on chapped lips. I don't use lip balm often, but if I had severely chapped lips during cold, dry weather or if I was sick I would turn to this little jar.

This stuff earns a 6 on the EWG database. Here are the ingredients:
Petrolatum (59%), Camphor (1%), Menthol (1%), Phenol (0.5%), Cocoa Butter, Flavor, Lanolin, Mixed Waxes, Oil of Cloves

The absolute worst thing on this list is the phenol. It ranks a 9 with a good amount of data to back it up. I knew this from working in a lab. When we use phenol we wear gloves and keep it from touching our skin. I found myself holding my breath around it, too. It's not like it will instantaneously zap you with cancer, but if I'm wearing gloves to handle it in a lab then perhaps
I shouldn't be smearing it on my lips! The other ingredients fall in the yellow and green zones and aren't really worth mentioning since a chemical ranking a 9 should be enough to send you running for the hills.

I stopped using this stuff when I was pregnant. One of my worst pregnancy complaints was severely chapped lips. I tried Chapstick (also scores a 6 due to fragrance and parabens). No phenol, but not really great. Plus it didn't work.

My friend got me a bunch of Burt's Bees stuff as a gift, so I gave the Burt's Bees Beeswax Lip Balm a try. I have it in both the tin and the tube, but the tube is easier to use. It scores a 2 in the EWG database, placing it in the green (safe) zone. The major advantage I've noticed is that it seems to actually decrease my need for lip balm in general. When I use Chapstick or Lip Medex I feel like I am constantly needing to put on more. I don't know why this is -- maybe it's all in my head?

Ingredients in Burt's Bees Lip Balm:
Beeswax, cocos nucifera (coconut) oil, helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed oil, mentha piperita (peppermint) oil, lanolin, tocopherol, rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf extract, canola oil, glycine soja (soybean) oil.

Lanolin is the only ingredient that scores in the yellow zone (4). It can be an allergen. I am not too worried about it, but if you're prone to allergies/sensitivities there are tons of options that get a zero in the EWG database.

Cost comparison on Amazon (single tube/tub):
Lip Medex is significantly less expensive. That being said, the difference between paying $1-ish and $2-ish is minimal to me for a product that I only buy about once a year max.

Convenient access:
I actually am able to find Burt's Bees Lip Balm much more easily than Lip Medex. I often went to several drug stores before locating Lip Medex. It's probably because phenol is horrible for you. =) However, Burt's Bees and Chapstick are equally as convenient to find.

I wanted to end by mentioning Burt's Bees tinted lip glosses. They rank a 2 on EWG and come in a variety of colors. I don't use lip gloss very often, but these are easy to find. I have only worn lipstick a handful of times in my life, so I am not going to review it. However, standard lipstick brands rank from a 4 to as high as a 10 on EWG. Smashbox has some lip tints that score a 10. Yikes. I'd check out EWG before buying lipstick for sure.