Physical Stability of Beeswax Lip Balms with Pomegranate Peel or Green Tea : Narrative Review

Abstract

The lips have a thin stratum corneum, lack sweat and sebaceous glands, and contain little melanin, so they dry easily and are vulnerable to ultraviolet damage. Beeswax lip balms enriched with phenolic plant extracts are widely developed, yet their physical performance is rarely compared across extracts. This narrative review compared the physical characteristics and stability of beeswax-based lip preparations containing pomegranate peel (Punica granatum L.) or green tea leaf (Camellia sinensis) extract and identified research gaps. Google Scholar, PubMed, and ScienceDirect were searched manually from April to June 2026 for articles published in 2019–2026. Seven studies on lip preparations containing the target extracts formed the core evidence, supported by six studies on beeswax bases and four on other topical forms of the same extracts. Pomegranate peel lip balms had pH values of about 5.0–6.1, spreadability of 5.10–6.67 cm, adhesion of 3.97–23.84 s, and viscosity of 102–494 dPas; they stayed stable for up to 12 weeks without irritation. Evidence for green tea was limited to a lip cream that stayed organoleptically stable for 14 days and a chamomile–green tea lip balm that remained physicochemically stable, raised skin hydration by 34.6%, and caused no irritation in 90 volunteers. Across studies, the type and proportion of wax largely determined hardness, spreadability, adhesion, and melting behaviour, whereas the extract mainly affected colour, homogeneity at high loading, small pH shifts, and functional outcomes. Both extracts are compatible with beeswax bases, but a head-to-head comparison in an identical base using standardised tests is needed.