Say Goodbye to Dry, Flaky Lips with These Exfoliation Tips
Our first reaction when our lips get chapped is to reach for more lip balm. But really, you might just need to exfoliate your lips. That'll help slough off dead skin to smooth out your lips and will help lip treatment products soak in better. Plus, your lipstick will go on smoother, look nicer, and stay on longer. Here are three ways to do it:
1. Make your own scrub
This is a good option because you're almost guaranteed to already have what you need in your kitchen. Just mix a tablespoon of sugar with a tablespoon of either olive oil, coconut oil, or honey. It's important to use sugar and not salt because salt granules are sharp and sugar granules are rounded. The skin on your lips is delicate and the salt could be too harsh. Once you have your mixture ready, rub it all over your lips in small circular motions and then rinse it off.
2. Use a toothbrush
This is a super easy way to exfoliate your lips. All you need to do is apply a layer of moisturizer on your lips and then gently brush them with a toothbrush in small circular motions. Rinse off the moisturizer and you're done. If your lips are especially sensitive, a baby toothbrush is the most gentle option.
3. Buy a product
The benefit of buying a product is that they often contain extra ingredients to nourish your lips. We give this Hanalei Sugar Lip Scrub ($20, shown in the picture) a thumbs up because it contains rich Hawaiian botanicals to really moisturize your lips. Another popular option is Fresh Sugar Lip Polish ($23) because it contains meadowfoam seed, jojoba seed, and grapeseed oils to nourish and shea butter to moisturize. You just use these products in the same way you use the sugar lip scrub above.
Exfoliate your lips twice a week to get the best results. You don't want to do it too much or your lips could end up feeling raw.
