Let’s face it, dry, flaky lips are unsightly and not the canvas we want to work with when applying lip gloss or lipstick. But before we start scrubbing away that layer of dead skin, it’s important to learn how to use a lip scrub and what lip scrubs to use, so we don’t damage the delicate skin, that is our lips.
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Best Lip Scrub
French Girl Rose Lip Polish is my favorite lip scrub. It removed the dead, flaky skin on my lips and left my lips feeling soft and hydrated. This lip scrub didn’t dry out my lips so I didn’t have to add a lip balm or mask after using it. Plus, it was easy to remove the sugar granules and there was no sticky residue as is the case with some lip scrubs.
A lip scrub is a physical or mechanical form of exfoliating dead skin cells from the lips.
Benefits of Using A Lip Scrub
There are many benefits to using a lip scrub. Here are some of my favorites:
- Lip scrubs by removing dead skin can even out lip color.
- Lip scrubs can help lipstick or other lip products have staying power.
- Lip scrubs remove dead, dry skin, revealing smooth, soft lips.
- Lip scrubs improve blood circulation and promote cellular turnover, creating a supple pout.
- Lip scrubs can help lips retain moisture more effectively by preventing your lips from getting dry and cracked in the first place.
Lip Scrub Ingredients
As with all beauty products, especially one that is going on my lips, there are some ingredients I will avoid in a product.
Ingredients To Avoid
- Menthol and Phenol – they can provide an initial cooling effect but end up irritating and drying out lips.
- Alcohol – can further dry out lips.
- Parabens – artificial preservatives and endocrine disruptors that can lead to dry, cracked lips.
- Petrolatum – can be contaminated during the refinery process and prevents your lips from being able to breathe.
- Salicylic acid – beta hydroxy acid acts as a chemical exfoliant.
- Synthetic fragrances – a blanket term that can hide a multitude of harmful chemicals such as phthalates, which are known hormone disruptors.
- Artificial colors/dyes – many times the dyes are sourced from heavy metals or coal-tar.
Ingredients You Want In A Lip Scrub
You will find both exfoliants and emollients in your lip scrubs. You want these made of non toxic, nourishing ingredients!
Exfoliants
- Organic Sugar – naturally exfoliates while also polishing the lips. Granulated or brown sugar or can be gentler on the lips than raw sugar.
- Ground Coffee – naturally exfoliates and with its grittier granules can be a little more abrasive but effective at removing dead, flaky skin.
Emollients
- Coconut Oil – a fatty acid that’s rich in antioxidants, and it’s antibacterial and antifungal.
- Olive Oil – hydrates and nourishes the lips and can help keep acne causing bacteria away.
- Jojoba Oil – rich in vitamin E and very moisturizing.
- Avocado Oil – rich in essential fatty acids and can help prevent loss of moisture.
- Shea Butter – rich in vitamin A and E and provides both moisture and protection along with aiding in skin cell production.
- Mango Butter – rich in fatty acids that hydrate and nourish skin and can soothe irritation.
- Cocoa Butter – its high fat content and essential fatty acids protect the skin and its moisture barrier and contribute to soft and smooth lips.
- Honey – adds moisture and can protect against infections and can act as a mild exfoliator.
- Beeswax – with moisturizing and healing properties that don’t clog pores.
How To Use A Lip Scrub
- Clean: Remove any lip products with water and a cotton pad to ensure a clean canvas then lightly pat dry.
- Exfoliate: Gently massage a pea size amount of lip scrub in a circular motion on damp lips.
- Remove: Take lip scrub off with a warm washcloth or cotton pad.
- Moisturize: Follow up with a hydrating lip balm or lip mask to promote a protective barrier. My favorite lip treatment is Alpyn Beauty’s Willow & Sweet Agave Plumping Lip Mask (use code GURLGONEGREEN15 to save 15%). It leaves my lips buttery soft and it can be used as an overnight lip mask or whenever you need an extra dose of hydration.
Related Content: Best Natural Lip Balms
Best Natural Lip Scrub Products
Three Ships Lip Exfoliator
This vanilla scented lip exfoliator gently sloughs off dry, flaky skin with its fine sugar crystals and hydrates lips with shea butter and avocado oil.
Key Ingredients
- Sugar
- Shea Butter
- Avocado Oil
Size
.5 oz
Price
15.00
What I Like
- The vanilla scent
- The fine sugar crystals that weren’t overly abrasive
- Traceable ingredients
- No artificial or synthetic ingredients
- Comes in glass
What I Don’t Like
- Lack of prolonged moisture
- It doesn’t state that the sugar which is derived from sugar beets is Non-GMO.
Review
This is a solid lip exfoliator. My only issue with it was that my lips initially felt soft and moisturized but it seemed to wear off pretty quickly. Normally, I would follow up with a lip balm or lip mask so that isn’t a deal breaker for me. I just wish the sugar was Non-GMO.
Beauty By Earth Organic Lip Scrub
This organic lip scrub is infused with vanilla and nourishes and moisturizes lips with olive oil, coconut oil, beeswax, and jojoba oil.
Key Ingredients
- Sugar
- Vanilla
- Olive Oil
- Rosemary Extract
- Beeswax
Size
.7 oz
Price
$14.99
What I Like
- I like that it contains organic ingredients including sugar.
- The vanilla scent
- The small container
What I Don’t Like
- A little too gentle for my dry skin
- Comes in plastic (although it’s recyclable)
Review
While there’s a lot to like about this lip scrub, the sugar granules were too fine for my lips. The fine sugar granules were no match for the flaky, dry skin on my lips, however, it could be a perfect match for someone else!
Olio-E-Osso Lip Scrub
This waterless lip scrub is easy to use with its compact stick form and uses olive stone grounds to exfoliate and caffeine to minimize irritation from exfoliation.
Key Ingredients
- Olive Oil
- Olive Stone Grounds
- Coffee Grounds
Size
.35 oz
Price
$20
What I Like
- I like the stick form
- The coffee is locally sourced and makes for a delicious scent!
- Made in small batches
- Moisturizing
What I Don’t Like
- The price
- Doesn’t exfoliate well
- Comes in plastic
Review
I really love the unique nature of this lip scrub however, the olive stone grounds don’t seem to do the job of really exfoliating my lips. This lip scrub has a lip balm consistency with some coffee and olive stone grounds mixed in.
Henne Organics Lip Scrub
This organic lip scrub is both an exfoliator and a moisturizer, using sugar crystals for polishing lips and coconut oil and jojoba oil to moisturize lips.
Key Ingredients
- Sugar
- Coconut Oil
- Beeswax
- Jojoba Seed Oil
Size
.43oz
Price
$26
What I Like
- It’s certified organic
- Love the lavender mint scent
- The bigger sugar granules
- Comes in glass
What I Don’t Like
- The price
Review
This lip scrub worked well on my lips in removing the dead skin due to the bigger sugar granules. However, the consistency of the lip scrub is drier than other scrubs so the application of it can be a little more difficult.
Eco Lips Lip Scrub (vanilla bean and brown sugar flavors)
Both of these organic lip scrubs nourish and soften lips with sugar, coconut oil, olive oil and jojoba with 60% Fair Trade Certified ingredients.
Key Ingredients
- Sugar
Size
.5 oz
Price
$10.99
What I Like
- It’s certified organic
- Both the vanilla bean and brown sugar flavors taste great!
- The price
- Comes in glass
What I Don’t Like
- They are stickier than most lip scrubs
Review
This is a great option for a lip scrub especially if you don’t mind your fingers getting a little sticky. Once I removed the sugar granules, my lips felt like they had a thin layer of gloss on them – which I loved.
Kari Gran Lip Whip Perfector
This lip scrub is a gentle lip exfoliator with its whipped, non-abrasive texture and uses organic sugar along with a blend of oils to create smooth lips.
Key Ingredients
- Jojoba Oil
- Avocado Oil
- Chamomile Powder
Size
.32 oz
Price
$19
What I Like
- I like that all the ingredients are organic
- Simple ingredient list
- Comes in glass
- Has a peppermint flavor to it
- Exfoliates but isn’t too harsh, feels moisturizing at the same time
What I Don’t Like
- I don’t like the price. While it’s not as expensive as some, it’s still $20 for a lip scrub
- It’s not as exfoliating as some of the other lip scrubs. There’s not as much sugar in it, more of a mix of oils and butters
Review
I really like this lip scrub as a whole! It makes my lips feel so smooth and soft. The peppermint flavor is so good too. I love how clean the ingredients are too. The only thing I would say is that it’s not quite as exfoliating as the other lip scrubs. It is a little lighter, which some people might like. If you really want a lip scrub with lots of sugar, this might not be the scrub for yo
French Girl Rose Lip Polish
This organic lip scrub smells delightful but is tough on dry, flaky, even peeling skin, using organic sugar, nourishing butters, and fruit oils to keep lips hydrated.
Key Ingredients
- Shea Butter
- Wildcrafted Candelilla
- Rose Geranium
- Cocoa Butter
Size
1.0 oz
Price
$22
What I Like
- It’s organic
- Waterless formula
- The invigorating scent of the Rose/Mint Essential Oil Blend (free of synthetic fragrances)
- Comes in glass
What I Don’t Like
- The bigger size
Review
Despite the size, this was my favorite lip scrub. It effectively sloughed away my flaky, dry skin and left my lips feeling smooth and moisturized long after the scrub had been removed. Plus, it’s a waterless formula meaning it contains higher levels of the active ingredients instead of water diluting the concentration and there’s less chance of bacteria contaminating the product. Plus, it smells amazing!
Lip Scrub FAQ’s
1. How often should a lip scrub be used?
It is recommended that lip scrubs be used once or twice a week to avoid unnecessary irritation or drying of the lips.
2. Do you use lip scrub on wet or dry lips?
Use lip scrub on damp, soft lips for best results.
3. How long do I leave a lip scrub on?
A lip scrub can be removed immediately after massaging it into the lips or you can leave it on for 30 seconds or so and then rub it in. It is dependent on the state of your lips, if they need some extra moisture, then perhaps letting the scrub sit for a bit before scrubbing might produce better results.
4. Can I leave lip scrub on overnight?
If you want to use a lip scrub overnight, just remove the exfoliating granules first, and for extra moisture, add a lip mask.
What’s your favorite lip scrub? Share below!
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