“Lip scrubs can be damaging to the delicate mucosa of the lip; they can cause a little bit of abrasion, micro-injury, and even some bleeding if you're not careful,” Devgan says. “If you're too rough with exfoliation, you can get hyperpigmentation, and your lips will look a little more brown than pink.”
Using a lip scrub helps you buff away dry skin to restore the smoothness and softness of your lips. Not only does an exfoliating lip scrub improve the appearance of your lips, it also helps improve the way your lips feel.
Scrubbing your lips 4-5 week can over exfoliate your lips and damage them. It's recommended you only use lip scrub 1-3 times, depending on how dry/flaky your lips are.
If you are looking to use a lip exfoliator, avoid lip scrubs that contain physical abrasives such as apricot pits or sugar. Instead, look to chemical exfoliators that gently slough away dead skin over time, while simultaneously healing and moisturizing the healthy skin underneath.
The bottom line. DIY lip scrubs are a great way to exfoliate your lips simply and affordably while also knowing exactly what ingredients are going on your lips. Make sure to always use very fine (not coarse) exfoliants such as finely ground coffee and sugar.
These range from lip balms, face and body balms to anhydrous sugar and salt scrubs and none of these have required a conventional preservative or a preservative efficacy test (PET) under EU law.
Long-term, frequent lip-scrubbing can cause micro-tears on the skin's surface, leading to frequent dry, chapped lips. Essentially, when a person scrubs their lips, they further irritate the skin, which prolongs the presence of dead skin and cracks on the lips, leading to a vicious cycle.
In fact, glycolic acid is the most effective, gentle exfoliant possible for lips.
Using a lip scrub is a safe, natural way to plump your lips. Exfoliating your lips also removes dead skin cells and makes your lips smoother (ahem: extra kissable).
What happens when your exfoliate your skin too much. Your skin gets red: This isn't the redness you get from having hydrated lips, this is redness showing that your skin is hydrated and needs to be calmed down.
Scrub your lips in a circular motion for two to three minutes—you can actually lick it off since it is completely edible.
The next time you're brushing your teeth, you may also want to try brushing your lips. Brushing your lips with a soft toothbrush can help exfoliate flaking skin and may help prevent chapped lips. It also has the potential to stimulate blood flow and may give your lips a smoother appearance.
Can I use AHA BHA on my lips? Lactic acid is the safest to use on the lips due to the fact it has a large molecule size, meaning it cannot penetrate the skin too deeply and cause irritation or other damage.
They state that people with chapped lips should avoid using any lip scrubs that contain ingredients such as eucalyptus, menthol, or salicylic acid. It is also important that a person avoids scrubbing too hard when exfoliating, as this can damage the lips and cause bleeding.
The COSRX AHA/BHA Refresh Vitamin C Lip Plumper volumizes, smooths and hydrates dry and chapped lips. It's a lightweight gel-cream that can easily be scooped with your fingertips and softly melts on your lips for an effortless, smooth application that turns dry lips hydrated and dewy.
Scrubbing skin that is already dry can lead to inflammation and cracks in the outer skin layer that actually makes the dryness worse in the end." The key takeaway: Skip the scrubs on your lips and opt for deep moisturizing serums and balms instead.
Try mixing coarse salt or sugar with almond oil or coconut oil and gently massaging the mixture into your lips once a day. You can also use a soft bristle brush or washcloth dipped in oil to exfoliate. Use a moisturizer or lip balm after each treatment. Shop for almond oil and coconut oil.
Vitamin E oil and rosemary antioxidant oil are good examples of natural stabilizers. We will often include these in homemade serums, massage oils, and lip gloss recipes to help preserve the integrity of the finished product. They are best added after the oil base has been mixed together with melted waxes and butters.
Sodium benzoate: A food and cosmetics preservative that has the Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) status given by the FDA [6]
Phenonip and Germaben II E are two preservatives that can be used for oil-based scrubs.
The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) recommends using white petroleum jelly throughout the day and before bed to moisturize and sooth dry, cracked lips. Petroleum jelly seals in water longer than oils and waxes. It's also inexpensive and easy to find online and in drugstores.
Honey can help moisturize your lips and protect cracked lips from infection. It also works as a mild exfoliator and can help remove dry, dead skin from your lips. Choose organic honey, and apply to your lips throughout the day using your fingers or a cotton swab.
Exfoliating is a great way to lighten lips. Try mixing sugar, honey, and olive oil and rubbing it gently over your lips. Honey is a natural lightener. Why do I have dark lips?