10 surprising uses for chapstick nobody ever told you about

There's a chapstick floating around in almost every handbag. It's great for softening and healing our lips, especially after sun or wind damage, but did you know there are other great uses for this product? There's even more reason to have some lip balm on hand!

These tips work with almost every brand of lip balm, but remember to use plain, unflavored balm only unless you'd like your eyebrows to smell like strawberries. Read on to discover 10 great new ways to use your chapstick.

1) Protect against blisters. New shoes are great -- but not so much the blisters that come with them. Smear a little chapstick across your heels before putting on your shoes to protect your skin from blisters.

2) Fix a stuck zipper. Rub chapstick into a sticky zipper to lubricate it. This also has the added advantage of waterproofing it.

3) Create a smoky eye. Mix a small amount of your favorite eyeshadow with chapstick for a smudgy, undereye smokiness. An added bonus of this is that you won't get stray powder escaping onto your cheeks.

4) Soften your cuticles. Rub chapstick into your cuticles before bed to keep them soft and moisturized.

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.

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

7) Slide off a stuck ring. It can be painful to get a ring 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 afterward -- just rub the balm into your hands! It's a great moisturizer.

8) Protect minor cuts. Dab a bit of chapstick onto minor, clean abrasions (shaving cuts, paper cuts, etc.) to stop the bleeding and protect the cut from dirt.

9) Heal a sore nose. Sometimes the worst part about having a cold is the sore, red nose we get from using tissues so often. Dab chapstick on the raw areas around the nostrils to soothe the pain.

10) Keep your home dye-job neat. Dab a generous amount of lip balm around your hairline while dying your hair to stop the dye from coloring your skin. Make sure you don't rub the balm into your skin as you want it to form a protective layer.

Chapstick is such a useful little product. Always keep some in your bag because you never know when it might come in handy. Soft lips are just the beginning!