There’s few things I loathe more than dry, flaky lips and this is because I like my lips moisturised, glossed and healthy-looking, thank you very much. But for some of us, keeping our lips supple can be a struggle due to several reasons, some of which include dehydration, excessive heat, cold weather or wind, and behavioral habits such as persistent licking or smoking.
Thankfully, the solution to dry lips is easy— lip scrubs, and this article takes it a step further by offering up DIY tips to ensure that even if you’re cash strapped, your lips will still remain soft and glossy.
Lip scrubs work by exfoliating the lips and removing dead skin cells to give you healthy, luscious lips thus, differentiating them from lip balms. Read on for surefire DIY tips that guarantees your lips staying fresh and of course, soft all day.
1. Sugar Lip Scrub:
For this particular lip scrub, you only need two ingredients; sugar (could be white or brown) and coconut or olive oil.
How to make
- Measure out one tablespoon of oil and 3 tablespoons of sugar.
- Combine both and mix very well
How to use
- Apply in a circular motion to your upper and lower lip for a minute or two.
- Rinse with cold water
Then, if you still feel some loose skin after doing this, use a toothbrush (a baby toothbrush is recommended) to gently brush the chaff off your lips.
Finally, apply a lip balm to lock in the moisture.
2. Brown Sugar and Petroleum Jelly Scrub
If you only have petroleum jelly available to you at the moment, then this is the perfect recipe for you as you’ll only need two ingredients, excluding the petroleum jelly which are: brown sugar and honey.
How to make
- Measure out 1teaspoon of petroleum jelly, ½ teaspoon brown sugar and 1 teaspoon of honey
- Combine everything and mix very well until smooth.
How to use
See the applications on sugar lip scrub above.
3. Coffee lip scrub
Good news coffee lovers, your favorite drink also doubles as a lip scrub, exfoliants and moisturiser when prepared correctly and according. For the purpose of this article, we’ll be looking at its use as a lip scrub.
Ingredients: ground coffee, ground sugar, oil (could be olive oil or coconut oil) and honey.
How to make
- Measure out 1 teaspoon of finely ground coffee, 1 teaspoon of finely ground sugar, 1 teaspoon of any oil of choice and ½ teaspoon honey.
- Combine everything and mix very well until a smooth consistency is achieved.
How to use
See the applications on sugar lip scrub above.
4. Honey lip scrub
If you’ve noticed, honey is included in almost all the DIY recipes I’ve mentioned in this article. This is because it a known humectant. Ingredients needed: sugar, honey, almond oil
How to make
- Measure out 2 tsp sugar, 1 tsp honey, 1 tsp almond oil.
- For this lip scrub recipe, simply combine it with sugar and almond oil for desired results.
How to use
See the applications on sugar lip scrubs above.
Lip Care Routine
Exfoliating the lips is all nice and good but this should be done mindfully to avoid stripping the oil from the skin on the lips.
With that said, when do you use a lip scrub?
- When your lips feel flaky more often than moisturised and
- When you find yourself reaching for your lip balm/ gloss quite frequently.
Aftercare
Make sure to apply lip balm (preferably ones containing honey or beeswax) to your lips and refrain from biting or chewing your lips to prevent further harm.
