Lanolin is the heavy hitter for extreme cold.

For extreme cold, lanolin is your best bet because it forms a thick, breathable barrier that actually seals in moisture instead of just sitting on top.

Beeswax is fine for everyday use — it creates a decent shield — but in bitter cold and wind, it can feel waxy and stiff, and doesn’t lock in hydration as well. Shea butter is more of an emollient; it softens and conditions, but it melts too easily and won’t hold up against a -20°F windchill. Lanolin is the only one of the three that is both deeply occlusive and helps your skin hold onto water.

Downside: lanolin is greasy and a lot of people find the smell and texture off-putting. If you’re not allergic (some people are), it’s worth the trade-off. A lot of the best cold-weather balms combine all three — beeswax for structure, shea for softness, lanolin for the heavy lifting.

If you can stomach the texture, nothing beats lanolin when the wind is howling.