Ah, there’s nothing better than having smooth lips that feel hydrated and healthy. Taking care of your lips by exfoliating and hydrating them provides many benefits worth noting. Let’s dig a little deeper into the benefits of lip scrub, how to use it, and which ingredients to avoid.

What Is Lip Scrub?

Lip scrubs usually contain two key ingredients: a rich moisturizing emollient and a grainy scrub that acts as an exfoliant. These lip exfoliants typically have a thick vaseline-like consistency.

Lips scrubs contain ingredients like sugar crystals and shea butter and are used to remove dead skin cells and moisturize your lips – leaving them soft and supple.

What Are The Benefits Of Lip Scrub?

Removing dead skin cells on the surface of your lips brings out new fresh layers, making them soft, smooth, and pucker-ready!

Smoothes Your Lips

Lip scrubs help remove dead skin cells, dry skin, and flaky skin from your lips. They also give your lips a nice, smooth, and hydrated feel for your pout.

Encourages Cellular Turnover

Lip exfoliating with a sugar scrub or other natural exfoliants helps encourage blood circulation in your lips. Increasing circulation helps promote cellular turnover, revealing fresh new skin cells and a plumper pout.

Helps Prevent Dried, Cracked Lips

Your lips have a poor barrier function, meaning they cannot retain moisture very well. Using a lip scrub, you help prevent dry, cracked dry lips before they happen.

How To Exfoliate Your Lips

To create a DIY lip scrub, you need an emollient and an exfoliating ingredient. Here’s what you need to create your lip scrub.

Emollients include:

• Shea Butter
• Honey
• Petroleum Jelly
• Coconut Oil
• Kukui Nut Oil

Exfoliants include:

• Brown Sugar
• Granulated Sugar
• Cinnamon
• Clean Toothbrush
• Coffee Grounds

How To Create Your Own Lip Scrub

1. Combine one-half tablespoon of the emollient and one-half tablespoon of the exfoliant in a small bowl. Dampen your lips with warm water.

2. Apply the mixture to your lips, massaging in small circular motions.

3. Wipe the scrub off with a clean cloth and lukewarm water.

4. Apply a lip mask, lipstick, or lip gloss.

You can always exfoliate your lips twice per week to keep them hydrated and smooth. But sure to never over-exfoliate as this can dry out your lips.

Lip Scrub Recipes

Making a DIY lip scrub recipe is simple, and it ensures you get to use natural lip scrub ingredients instead of chemicals.

Jelly Sugar Lip Scrub

• Mix one-half tablespoon of sugar crystals with one-half tablespoon of petroleum jelly in a small bowl.
• Next, dampen your lips with warm water and dip a cotton swab into the mixture.
• Apply the mixture onto your damp lips and massage in circular motions.
• Wipe the mixture off with a clean cloth and follow with lip balm or moisturizing lipstick.

Cinnamon Honey Lip Scrub

1. Mix a one-half tablespoon of cinnamon with one-half tablespoon of honey.

2. Next, dampen your lips with warm water and dip a cotton swab into the mixture.

3. Apply the mixture onto your damp lips and massage in circular motions.

4. Wipe the mixture off with a clean cloth and follow with lip balm or a moisturizing lipstick.

Ways To Care For Your Lips After Exfoliation

Don’t stop caring for your lips after exfoliation. Continue caring for your lips throughout the day, every day, to ensure they remain soft and moist. Here are a few ways to care for your lips:

• Apply a vitamin-rich lip moisturizer before bedtime. Nourishing lip balm helps moisturize your lips overnight so you awake with smooth lips.
• Apply SPF when you go outdoors to protect your lips from sun damage. Wear sun protection such as hats to shield your skin from the sun’s harmful UV rays.
• Don’t pick, peel, or continuously lick your lips. All of these actions lead to dry, chapped lips.

Which Lip Scrub Ingredients Should You Avoid?

The American Academy of Dermatology recommends avoiding this list of ingredients when your lips are chapped. These ingredients cause sensitive lips, burning, irritation, stinging, and tingling sensations around the lip area.

Here’s a list of ingredients to avoid:

• Eucalyptus
• Lemon Juice
• Camphor
• Mint
• Peppermint
• Oxybenzone
• Menthol
• Propyl Gallate
• Salicylic Acid
• Lanolin
• Fragrance
• Artificial Flavorings (Mint, Citrus, Cinnamon)
• Phenol/ Phenyl

Do Lip Scrubs Make Your Lips Look Flushed?

Using lip scrub increases blood circulation in the lips, resulting in a flushed or pink-lipped hue. This color is completely natural and makes your lips look healthy and plump.

Do Lip Scrubs Plump Your Lips?

Lip scrubs do not enhance the shape of your lips, but they do, however, increase blood flow, which may temporarily leave you with a more plump pout. Many lip balms and lip glosses promote healthier, plumper lips with hydrating ingredients. These products are marketed as lip-plumping cosmetics.

To Sum It Up

Lip scrub is a convenient and effective way to enhance your lips by removing dead skin cells and moisturizing your lips. You can easily make a lip scrub at home with the right ingredients.

The ingredients you choose in a lip scrub are essential to avoid lip irritation, so avoid substances such as camphor, eucalyptus, and lanolin. Some of the most beneficial ingredients include shea butter, coconut oil, and avocado oil.

Three Ships Beauty makes lip exfoliation simple with the 100% natural ingredients in our Vanilla Lip Exfoliator and Buttercream Hydrating Lip Mask.

Get silky smooth lips in just a few minutes with Three Ships Beauty.

Sources:

How to safely exfoliate at home | American Academy of Dermatology

Clinical Assessment of a Combination Lip Treatment to Restore Moisturization and Fullness | NCBI

Seven dermatologists' tips for healing dry, chapped lips | American Academy of Dermatology