OK ladies (or gents if you’re reading this) it’s time to talk about our lips. We all know that our lips don’t have sebaceous glands, sweat glands or pigment. The color of our lips is due to the thinness of the skin on our lips which makes blood vessels more visible. The more thin the skin is the more colored the lips will be. It’s because of this fact that some people have more rosy or pink hued lips than others.

Since we have a very thin skin over our lips as compared to rest of our body, we need to take a special care of them.

Harsh environmental conditions bring about havoc over our lips. And when we neglect to take care of our lips they become dry, flaky and chapped (Ouch!). Some people have chapped lips all the year round and I thank (I mean THANK) God that I’m not one of them. My lips tend to be more dry and flaky than chapped. This might be because of my bad habit of biting and licking my lips for as long as I can remember. I know that licking lips is bad as the saliva dry out our lips and the enzymes in it breaks down our lips shielding barrier and still I can’t stop myself from doing it.

Because of this I have to always have lip balm on my lips. I can’t do without it. My hubby hates it 😛 He says why do you always have to wear it, it’s not kissable 😛

What do I do? I’ve become somewhat addicted to lip balms as they keep my lips soft and moisturized and also stops me from biting or licking my lips 😛 I always have a lip balm in my bag, without it I feel lost 😛

So when I don’t use lip balm then my lips become dry and flaky and lipsticks don’t look good on them. My lips are so dry that I have to apply lip gloss or balm over my lipstick to keep them soft and moisturized otherwise they would become chapped showing patches of colors which do look BAD!

But just keeping our lips moisturized doesn’t stop them from being flaky. They need exfoliation as well. We need to exfoliate them to get rid of the dead skin over our lips which make them peeling or cracked. It also makes our lips soft and supple.

I didn’t want to buy any lip scrub instead I decided to make myself one at home with the things that are easily available in everyone’s pantry.

Since I started to exfoliate my lips thrice a week they have become softer and absorb more moisture from the lip balm.

If you’ve dry, peeling or chapped lips, you got to try this scrub!

Let me first tell you the benefits of the ingredients used in this scrub:

Brown Sugar

• Natural exfoliant.
• Contains glycolic acid that fights bacteria.
• Hydrating, conditioning and nourishing.

Honey

• Contains anti-microbial properties and natural antioxidants.
• Aids the skin’s ability to revive and refresh worn out skin making it soft and silky. 
• Relieves, Moisturizes and smooth out the skin.

Olive Oil

• Rich in healing antioxidants.
• Hydrating, nourishing and moisturizing as it contains fatty acids.
• Makes lips smoother.

 

Brown Sugar Lip Scrub Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon of Brown Sugar (or White Sugar if you don’t have brown)

• ½ tablespoon honey

• ½ tablespoon olive oil or coconut oil

• Small glass container with lid (I’m using an empty jam jar)

• Food color and flavor (optional)

• Bowl & spoon

In a bowl, mix together sugar, honey and olive oil thoroughly.

You can add color and flavor to your lip scrub. For that you can add natural colors by using juices of different fruits like pomegranate, berries, etc., or you can use food color. I used Orange-red food color. But since I didn’t have any flavoring essence at hand at that time I didn’t add any flavor.  You can add essential oil or essence for different flavors.

Using a spoon, mix all the ingredients together.

Transfer your luscious lip scrub into any container with lid.

Make a small batch of the scrub which can last through a week because we are not adding any preservatives to this scrub. Also the honey tends to settle down after a period of time so the scrub may become hard to scoop out. This amount should last for about two weeks.

How to use this delicious lip scrub:

Dip a cotton pad or cloth in warm water and hold it over lips for few minutes so as to soften up the dead skin.

Take out generous amount of the scrub onto your finger and gently rub on lips in a circular motion for about 40-50 seconds. Don’t scrub too hard. Rub until some of the sugar dissolves. Rinse well with warm water. If you feel oiliness you can use your face wash after scrubbing.

Before Scrubbing

Pat your lips dry. Don’t rub as your lips are vulnerable at this stage.

Just after scrubbing

Apply your favorite lip balm. My favorites are Baby Lips from Maybelline, Eucerin and Nivea lip balms. You can use whatever balm you have or you can even apply Vaseline over your lips. 

When I applied lipstick afterwards, it never looked so good!!

After applying lip balm

Use this scrub twice or thrice a week to get soft and smooth lips. 

A concise pictorial guide

 

How do you like this DIY? Are you tempted to try it out? If you do then let me know how it turns out for you. I’d love to know what you think!

Ciao,