Almost every purse, bag or pocket has some chapstick inside of it. This small medicated stick is perfect for softening and healing our lips, especially after sun or wind damage, but did you know there are other great uses for this product, too? Even more reason to have some lip balm on hand.

These tips will work with almost every brand of lip balm, but remember to use plain, unflavoured balm only - unless you'd like your eyebrows to smell like strawberries... You'll know what I mean when you read the article.

So without further ado, here are ten great new ways to use your chapstick.

1) Protect against blisters. New shoes are great, but the blisters that come with them.... not so much. Little Things suggests this great hack - smear a little chapstick across your heels before putting on your shoes. It'll protect your skin from blisters.

2) Fix that stuck zipper. According to Urban Survival Site, you can rub chapstick into a sticky zipper to lubricate it. This will have the added advantage of waterproofing it, too (because water does nasty things to metal zippers!).

3) Create a smoky eye. She Knows suggests this great make-up hack: mix a small amount of your favourite eyeshadow with chapstick for a smudgy, under eye smokiness. An added bonus of this is that you won't get stray powder escaping onto your cheeks. This is one of many great chapstick-related makeup ideas.

2) Fix that stuck zipper. According to Urban Survival Site, you can rub chapstick into a sticky zipper to lubricate it. This will have the added advantage of waterproofing it, too (because water does nasty things to metal zippers!).

3) Create a smoky eye. She Knows suggests this great make-up hack: mix a small amount of your favourite eyeshadow with chapstick for a smudgy, under eye smokiness. An added bonus of this is that you won't get stray powder escaping onto your cheeks. This is one of many great chapstick-related makeup ideas.

4) Soften your cuticles. Glamour suggests rubbing chapstick into your cuticles before bed to keep them soft and moisturised.

5) Control the frizz. Some of us deal with flyaway hairs on a daily basis - in the absence of hair product, a little chapstick goes a long way in taming that unruly hair. It's especially useful on eyebrows, as suggested by Little Things.

6) Shine your shoes. If you own nice leather shoes it is important to give them a thorough polish every now and then to keep the leather soft and supple. However, if there are particular problem areas (such as the toe or heel) you can rub a bit of chapstick into the leather to protect them between polishes, according to Little Things.

7) Slide off a stuck ring. There's no worse feeling than realizing a ring is stuck on your finger, especially when it feels like it gets tighter as you pull on it... Some people suggest using butter or cooking oil to slide it off, but here's a better option: chapstick. Massage a little around the ring and it'll come right off. You don't even need to wash your hands afterwards; just rub the balm into your hands! It's a great moisturizer.

8) Protect minor cuts. Thanks to WikiHow for this one: you can dab a bit of chapstick onto minor, clean abrasions (shaving cuts, paper cuts etc). It'll stop the bleeding and protect the cut from dirt.

9) Heal a sore nose. Sometimes the worst part about having a cold is that sore, red nose we get from using tissues so often. Glamour suggests dabbing chapstick on the sore, raw areas around the nostrils.

10) Keep your home dye-job neat. Gurl suggests this clever one - dab a generous amount of lip balm around your hairline while dying your hair, and it'll stop the dye from coloring your skin. Make sure you don't rub the balm into your skin, though - you want it to form a protective layer.

Chapstick, or lip balm, is such a useful little product. I always have some in my bag, because you never know when it might come in handy. Soft lips is just the beginning!

RESOURCES LITTLE THINGS, URBAN SURVIVAL SITE, SHE KNOWS, GLAMOUR, WIKIHOW, AND GURL

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