Easy DIY Lip Scrub for Soft Lips
Exfoliating your lips on a regular basis is essential if you want beautiful, soft lips. This DIY lip scrub is made with all-natural ingredients and will help to keep your lips polished and hydrated. Get the recipe below!
DIY Lip Scrub Without Honey
Nobody wants dry, flaky lips. But not everyone wants to spend $10-$20 on a store-bought lip scrub either.
The good news is you don’t have to spend a lot of money to keep your lips soft and smooth.
This DIY lip scrub is super easy to put together, contains only natural ingredients, and costs less than $1.50 to make.
Keep reading to learn more about this DIY lip scrub and how to make it!
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Benefits of Exfoliating Lips
There are several benefits to exfoliating your lips with a lip scrub on a regular basis.
Removes Dead Skin
Lip scrub can help to gently remove dead, flaky skin from your lips and keep them looking soft and beautiful.
Hydrates Lips
Once the dead skin is removed your lips are better able to absorb moisture. The oils and butter in this DIY lip scrub help to hydrate the lips and restore moisture.
Are DIY Lip Scrubs Safe?
Diy lip scrubs are extremely safe to use. Possibly even safer than store-bought due to the fact that they typically only contain natural ingredients.
Many store-bought lip scrubs contain artificial colors, scents, and preservatives.
But with that being said lip scrubs (store-bought or homemade) should never be used if the skin on your lips is severely cracked and/or peeling.
Is Salt or Sugar Scrub Better For Lips?
There isn’t any major difference between using salt or sugar for your lip scrub. Sugar is typically less abrasive due to its finer consistency.
The skin on your lips is very thin so you should never use an abrasive exfoliator on them.
Some sugars can be just as abrasive as some salts though.
So it really just comes down to the consistency of the salt or sugar. The finer the better.
This is why I choose to use caster sugar in my DIY lip scrub. It has super fine sugar crystals.
What Oils are Good for Lip Scrubs?
There are a few different oils that are great for lip scrubs. I personally prefer to use oils that have many skin-nourishing properties and are very low in PUFAs.
In case you aren’t aware, PUFAs are polyunsaturated fatty acids. They are in so many foods, even in the so-called healthy foods. Foods high in PUFAs are listed below.
- Sunflower oil
- Corn oil
- Canola oil
- Fish oil
- Safflower oil
- Soybean oil
- Walnut oil
- And so much more!
PUFAs are also in many skincare products. Hemp oil, argan oil, rosehip oil, sunflower oil, grapeseed oil, and safflower oil are all commonly used in skin care products and are all very high in PUFAs.
PUFAs are highly unstable and begin to oxidize when exposed to light, heat, and oxygen.
You can read this post – What Are PUFAs & Why You Should Avoid Them – to learn more but my point is skincare products that are very high in PUFAs can actually do more harm to your skin than good.
Some of my favorite, low PUFA oils to use for DIY lip scrub are coconut oil, squalane oil, marula oil, and jojoba oil.
What Texture Should Lip Scrub Be?
Lip scrubs come in many different textures. Some are ultra creamy and some are chunky and abrasive.
As I mentioned earlier, the skin on the lips is very thin and fragile so it’s important not to use a lip scrub that is too abrasive.
I prefer my lip scrubs to be creamy with a slightly grainy feeling which is the exact texture of my homemade lip scrub.
Homemade Lip Scrub Ingredients
This homemade lip scrub contains only a few ingredients and they are all 100% natural! Learn more about each ingredient below.
Shea Butter
Shea butter is the base for this DIY lip scrub. It’s what also gives it its ultra-creamy consistency.
Shea butter is also filled with so many skin-loving properties. It is rich in vitamins A and E, both of which enhance skin cell regeneration and promote blood circulation below the surface of the skin.
Sugar
Sugar is absolutely essential to this DIY lip scrub. Without it, this lip scrub wouldn’t be much of a scrub at all. The sugar crystals are what polish and exfoliate the lips.
As I mentioned earlier, I prefer to use sugar rather than salt because sugar is typically less abrasive than salt.
My favorite type of sugar to use for homemade lip scrub is caster sugar. The sugar crystals are super fine which makes them perfect for the delicate skin on the lips.
Jojoba Oil
Jojoba oil is made from the nut of the jojoba plant. Jojoba oil is extremely gentle. It is also loaded with antioxidants and is very moisturizing.
Another cool thing about jojoba oil is that it may help promote collagen synthesis which is essential for young-looking, healthy skin.
You can click here to learn more about the skin benefits of jojoba oil.
Peppermint Oil
Peppermint oil is a completely optional ingredient. Although I do 100% recommend including it.
Its main purpose is to add a subtle scent and provide a refreshing, cooling, and invigorating sensation.
Homemade Exfoliating Lip Scrub Recipe
To make this exfoliating lip scrub you’ll need the exact measurements of each ingredient below.
- 1 tablespoon of shea butter
- 1 tablespoon of sugar
- 1 teaspoon of jojoba oil
- 2-3 drops of peppermint essential oil
The measurements above will make approximately 15ml (around half an ounce) of lip scrub. I use these jars to store my lip scrub.
You’ll need to melt 1 tablespoon of shea butter using a double boiler. Turn off the heat once it’s about halfway melted and allow it to finish melting completely.
While the shea butter is continuing to melt combine 1 tablespoon of caster sugar, 1 teaspoon of jojoba oil, and 2-3 drops of peppermint essential oil in a small bowl and mix together.
Once the shea butter is completely melted allow it to cool slightly. You don’t want it to be super hot because it will melt the sugar. But you don’t want it to return to a solid form either until after the rest of the ingredients are added.
So allow it cool just slightly. After a few minutes, it should be cool to the touch but remain in a liquid state. That is when you want to add the shea butter to the jojoba oil, sugar, and peppermint essential oil mixture.
Mix everything together thoroughly and transfer the mixture to a small half-ounce jar like this one.
Allow it to fully cool and harden before using. You can place it in the fridge to speed up the cooling process.
Easy DIY Lip Scrub For Soft Lips
This DIY lip scrub is made with all-natural ingredients & will help to keep your lips polished & hydrated. Keep reading to get the recipe!
Ingredients
Instructions
- Melt 1 tablespoon of shea butter using a double boiler.
- Turn off the heat once it's about halfway melted and allow it to finish melting completely.
- While the shea butter is continuing to melt combine 1 tablespoon of caster sugar, 1 teaspoon of jojoba oil, and 2-3 drops of peppermint essential oil in a small bowl and mix together.
- Once the shea butter is completely melted allow it to cool slightly. You don't want it to be super hot because it will melt the sugar. But you don't want it to return to a solid form either until after the rest of the ingredients are added.
- Allow it to cool just slightly. After a few minutes, it should be cool to the touch but remain in a liquid state. That is when you want to add the shea butter to the jojoba oil, sugar, and peppermint essential oil mixture.
- Mix everything together thoroughly and transfer the mixture to a small half-ounce jar like this one.
- Allow it to fully cool and harden before using. You can place it in the fridge to speed up the cooling process.
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If you don’t have a double boiler you can warm up some water in a saucepan and place a mason jar inside the saucepan. Add the shea butter to the mason jar to melt it fully and continue the recipe as directed above.
Before I purchased a double boiler I used to use the microwave to melt down my oils and butters but I don’t recommend that at all anymore.
Microwaves destroy vital nutrients in the oils and butters (and also in food for that matter). We definitely want the nutrients to stay intact because that’s what makes this lip scrub so amazing.
How do you Properly Scrub Your Lips?
Always make sure your lips are free of any makeup (lipgloss, lipstick, lip balm, etc.) before applying lip scrub.
To properly scrub your lips with this DIY lip scrub – simply apply a pea-sized amount of lip scrub to your lips and gently massage into your lips using small circular motions.
Do not scrub aggressively. Gently massage using very minimal pressure.
Use a clean washcloth to wipe away the lip scrub. Pat your lips dry. Then immediately apply a moisturizing lip balm to your lips.
How Often Should Lip Scrubs be Used?
When it comes to lip scrub you don’t want to overdo it and over-exfoliate. Over-exfoliating can irritate the lips and cause redness.
A few times a week is my recommendation. Maybe a little more or a little less depending on the time of the year.
How to Store Homemade Lip Scrub
Homemade lip scrub should be stored in an airtight (preferably glass) container. It does not need to be refrigerated but doing so will extend its shelf life.
Always make sure your hands are clean before using a homemade lip scrub and never allow water to get into the lip scrub. This will prevent the lip scrub from being contaminated with harmful bacteria.
How Long do Lip Scrubs Last?
As long as you follow the directions above and don’t allow harmful bacteria to contaminate the lip scrub it should be safe to use for at least 3-6 months.
Keep in mind, this is assuming all the ingredients used are fresh. If they are not fresh then this lip scrub will expire whenever the ingredients you used are set to expire.
For example, if you used sugar from your pantry that is set to expire in 30 days then your lip scrub will expire in 30 days.
I hope that makes sense. It’s best to use fresh ingredients whenever possible when making homemade skincare products. That way you can ensure a long shelf life.
Final Thoughts
I really hope you like this DIY lip scrub. It is so easy to make and much more affordable than store-bought lip scrubs and polishes.
Keep in mind skin health starts on the inside. If you’re dealing with chronically dry, chapped lips, you might be suffering from some extreme vitamin or mineral deficiencies.
Retinol (vitamin A) is essential to skin health. I recommend checking out the posts below to learn more.
And if you like this post you might also enjoy the posts below.
Could the shea butter be substituted with raw shea butter?
Yes!