This $24 lip treatment from Fresh is the only product that cured my dry, cracked lips - here's why I recommend it

• I always had trouble finding a lip treatment that was moisturizing and had SPF to protect my lips from sun damage and get rid of dryness and flakiness.
• Many lip balms are too heavy and sticky. I also find I have to reapply them obsessively to keep my lips hydrated.
• I tried a handful of different remedies, but the only one that did the trick was Fresh's Sugar Lip Treatment Sunscreen SPF 15 ($24). I've been using it for three years, and my lips are noticeably softer and smoother.

Having grown up in Colorado, a dry, mountainous desert state that happens to be more than 1 mile above sea level, not only do I know the importance of sunscreen, I also know how horrible cracked, flaky lips are.

Between dry weather, sun exposure, and lack of proper hydration, my lips became extremely dry and chapped to the point where everything I tried wasn't working. Regular lip balms made my lips feel even dryer, lip scrubs didn't seem to be making much of a difference, and more intense treatments such as Aquaphor seemed too heavy and sticky.

Finally, three years ago, I found a fix for my dry lips that didn't involve me reapplying it every 10 minutes and wasn't overly sticky: Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment Sunscreen SPF 15. This is the only lip treatment I've found that has and does everything I've ever needed a lip balm to do, and most importantly, the more I use it, the softer and smoother my lips become. The SPF 15 protects my lips from sun damage, and meadowfoam and black currant seed oils in the formula help moisturize.

The texture of this lip treatment is heavier than normal lip balm but not as sticky as Vaseline or Aquaphor; it falls somewhere in between being not sticky and light enough to be comfortable and heavy enough to be ultra-moisturizing. I used Sun Bum for a while before finding this lip treatment, and while I enjoyed all the delectable Sun Bum flavors, I didn't like how I needed to reapply the lip balm frequently. Typically, I don't have to reapply the Sugar Lip Treatment for at least four hours because it's so hydrating. While the flavor isn't as enticing as Sun Bum's options, I quite enjoy Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment's vaguely lemon flavor.

The bottom line

I would have never imagined paying $24 for a single tube of lip balm, but I find myself buying up to three new tubes a year just so I can have one in every purse I carry. One tube lasted me almost six months, and I used it down to the smallest amount of product remaining in the tube.

I definitely recommend keeping the lip treatment at room temperature. I once kept a tube of this lip treatment in my pocket when I went to a football game in 80-plus-degree weather and found that it significantly melted.

All that being said, it makes sense that this lip treatment is Fresh's No. 1 bestseller. I stick to the untinted version, but the Sugar Lip Treatment comes in a variety of shades in satin and shimmer finishes. I use it on mountains and in deserts, and it never fails to keep my lips soft and moisturized.

Buy Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment on Sephora and Nordstrom, $24