Struggling with DRY LIPS?
Are the dry and flaky pieces of skin driving you nuts? Look no further than this guide we’ve created for you!
Sugar is the best ingredient we recommend for your homemade lip scrub formula. It’s a natural physical exfoliator so you can smoothen out those dry patches.
Your road to those soft and supple lips you long for starts here! Keep reading for more lip scrub recipes.
What You'll Need to Make Homemade Lip Scrubs
They actually contain TWO main components:
- An exfoliant
- A nourishing agent or emollient
What do these two components do?
- The exfoliant is what removes dead skin cells from your lips. Its name is pretty much self-explanatory. This is what makes your lips smooth.
- The nourishing agent or emollient on the other hand is what provides a hydrating base for your exfoliant. Aside from making it easier to apply the scrub on your lips, it’s what makes your lips soft.
Put these two together, they MOISTURIZE and SMOOTH out your lips!
For the sake of our guide, we’ll highlight three ingredients that you’ll be using regularly in most of the recipes we’ll give you. They’re all very accessible!
1. Sugar
It’s a gentle exfoliant that rejuvenates your lips! Its small particles make it a great topical exfoliant and it’s used in some body scrubs too!
Sugar scrubs also have some advantages over salt scrubs:
- Their small granules are GENTLER than salt.
- It also has natural humectant properties, making them MORE HYDRATING than salt!
2. Coconut Oil
This will be your nourishing agent. Coconut oil rehydrates the exposed skin on your lips.
It has the following benefits:
- Increases hydration by bolstering your skin’s protective barrier. This is how it traps moisture!
- Also increases collagen production! Coconut oil contains lauric acid which affects collagen production positively. Collagen helps your lips maintain its elasticity!
3. Honey
This is another good nourishing agent.
Why is that? It’s because honey is rich in natural healing properties!
It has antibacterial and antiseptic properties. It’s a natural humectant too! This makes it a good ingredient for a homemade lip scrub!
4. Some Additional Ingredients
Essential Oils
First, essential oils are CONCENTRATED plant extracts. They retain the natural smells and flavors of their sources.
When applied directly, your skin absorbs some of the plant chemicals contained by these essential oils. These chemicals have the following benefits:
- They have SKIN-HEALING effects.
- They also have PAIN-RELIEVING effects.
These effects depend on which essential oils you use too. So make sure to learn about them first, especially if you have an affinity for sweet-smelling essential oils.
Fruits or Fruit Extracts
Secondly, fruits are widely used in beauty and skincare. They have natural vitamins and minerals which your skin greatly benefits from.
Add the fact that they help make a delicious lip scrub, they make a great addition to any lip scrub DIY recipe!
Now that you have an idea of what you need, we’ll just briefly give you the general instructions on which to apply for each recipe.
You’ll find that they’re all easy to make!
Some Reminders for Each Recipe:
These apply to EACH and EVERY DIY lip scrub recipe we’ve listed in the next section:
- Simply MIX ALL THESE INGREDIENTS together and remember to mix them well!
- Mix the ingredients FIRST in a medium or small bowl to avoid making a mess!
- Add and mix in the oils until you reach your desired consistency! Hint: More = wetter, less = drier.
- Transfer your finished DIY lip scrub to corresponding containers, big or small, depending on how much each recipe yields.
If you need something more visual, you can check out this video. Sounds pretty simple, right? Let’s move on to the lip scrub recipes!
Making DIY Lip Scrub: Our 14 Favorite Recipes
How did these become our favorites? Well, aside from the fact that they effectively exfoliate your lips, they taste great too!
Each lip scrub recipe here uses ingredients that are easily accessible so you won’t have a hard time making them!
1. Coconut and Honey Lip Scrub
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon organic honey
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon warm water
2. Brown Sugar and Honey Exfoliation Scrub
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon raw honey
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 5-6 drops lavender essential oil
3. DIY Sugar Lip Scrub
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil or olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon honey
- A few drops of your favorite essential oils
- A few drops of vanilla
4. Mint Lip Scrub
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons olive (or coconut oil)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 8-10 drops of peppermint oil (We use peppermint oil because it’s good for the skin in general.)
- 1/2 teaspoon grapeseed oil
5. DIY Coffee Sugar Lip Scrub
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon coffee grounds
- 1-2 tablespoons coconut oil or olive oil
- A few drops vanilla
6. Lemonade Lip Scrub
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon petroleum jelly (Original Vaseline)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
7. Sea Salt and Sugar Lip Scrub
Ingredients:
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 teaspoons coconut oil
- 1-2 drops lavender essential oil (Optional)
8. Shea Butter Sugar Scrub
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon shea butter
9. Rose Petal and Mint Lip Scrub
Ingredients:
- 6 tablespoons caster sugar
- Handful dried rose petals (Any color)
- 1 ½ teaspoon jojoba oil (Adjust according to your preferences)
- 3 drops peppermint essential oil
Additional Instructions:
- Before mixing everything together, place the rose petals into a blender or food processor and blend for a few minutes.
- Do that until the petals are chopped into fine pieces.
- Mix everything together afterwards.
10. DIY Lavender Lip Scrub
Ingredients:
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 to 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 4 drops lavender oil
- 1 teaspoon dried lavender (If desired)
11. Strawberry Daiquiri Lip Scrub
Ingredients:
- 6 tablespoons white sugar
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil
- 4 drops strawberry extract
- 2 drops lime essential oil
- 1 drop vitamin E oil
Additional Instructions:
- In a small bowl, melt the coconut oil in your microwave for 10-20 seconds. Coconut oil heats very fast so be careful.
12. Raspberry Lip Scrub
Ingredients:
- 1/8 cup + 2 tablespoons raw sugar
- 1 tablespoon fractionated coconut oil
- 4 raspberries, mashed
13. Copycat Lush Popcorn DIY Lip Scrub
Ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons almond oil
- 1/2 teaspoons buttered popcorn flavoring
- 3 drops vitamin E oil
14. DIY Vanilla Latte Lip Scrub
Ingredients:
- 1 teaspoon unbrewed coffee grinds
- 1/2 teaspoon honey
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sugar
How to Use Your Homemade Lip Scrub
General instructions on how you should use your homemade product:
- Wet your lips first! (preferably lukewarm water) It prevents abrasive friction.
- GENTLY massage your DIY lip scrub DIRECTLY onto your damp lips.
- Wash it off with LUKEWARM water.
- Exfoliating your lips is good for softening and smoothing your lips BEFORE applying a matte lipstick or lip gloss.
Pro Tip: Some advice from the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD):
- When applying your lip scrub with your fingers, use a small, circular motion for about 30 seconds.
- Use short light strokes if you’re using a brush or sponge.
In general, just be GENTLE and exfoliate as needed. Overdoing it can cause unwanted irritation.
Follow Up with Lip Balm
After scrubbing and exfoliating your lips, it’s important to use a repairing lip balm.
“Why should I do that though?”
Well, your lips may feel sensitive after using lip scrubs.
You can easily soothe them. Just gently rub a natural lip balm like coconut oil or simply apply your favorite lip balm!
A good example to use would be pure petroleum jelly. This seals in moisture to soothe, soften, and rehydrate your skin’s outer layer.
What are Lip Scrubs?
Just think of them like body scrubs, except they’re for your lips.
Lip scrubs are usually a semi-liquid or a soft-solid base that contains particles to get rid of flaky and dry skin from your lips.
They’re a type of mechanical exfoliant. This means it removes dead skin cells physically rather than chemically.
Benefits of Homemade Lip Scrubs
Simply put, they’re meant to moisturize and smoothen your lips!
Aside from exfoliating, it also nourishes your lips making them look fuller and healthier. You can say GOODBYE to those chapped lips!
The biggest benefits of homemade lip scrubs, however, are the facts that they’re accessible and inexpensive!
The ingredients are readily available and they’re budget-friendly!
All of these benefits combine to make homemade lip scrubs a great addition to your beauty routine!
Ready to Make Your Own Homemade Lip Scrubs?
We’re sure you are!
Before you go off and make yourself a great exfoliant, we’ll wrap things up by highlighting some points:
- Lip scrubs have TWO main components! An exfoliant and a nourishing agent.
- Sugar is a GREAT exfoliant! It’s gentle and has humectant properties.
- Great nourishing agents are easily ACCESSIBLE! Ingredients like Jojoba esters and honey have numerous healing effects.
- Always GENTLY rub your homemade lip scrub on your lips!
- Always wash your homemade lip scrub off with WARM water!
- Apply a REPAIRING natural lip balm after exfoliating!
- Lastly, making these homemade products is BUDGET-FRIENDLY!
Now you’re all set. Good luck! We’re sure what you make will turn out great!
Regularly doing a lip scrub session can help in making your lips look plumper!
CHANGELOG:
September 6, 2021 – Updated article formatting and content
August 16, 2021 – Updated article videos and links
July 19, 2021 – Reviewed and updated article links
