Every woman wants to maintain soft and beautiful lips but everyday routines like going to the office or school could damage or dry even the most moisturized lips. Hydration by drinking lots of liquids (especially water) is one of the best ways to make sure that your lips never stay out of shape but sometimes the food you eat, the environment (like pollution and air) could also affect the health of your lips and cause it to become chapped. Even with beauty products like Dr Jart, your skin and lips could still be prone to sun damage and lack of moisture.
There are a lot of cosmetic products available with moisturizing properties, but no amount of moisturizing lipstick can cover up or make up for chapped or dry lips. Actually, applying lipstick over dry lips can sometimes make the condition even worse. Fortunately, there are a lot of cost-effective ways that you can remedy dry and chapped lips without spending too much over cosmetic products. There are a lot of food products at home that can also be used for your lips.
Here are some of the organic and natural lip scrub recipes you can do at home:
1. Honey and Sugar Lip Scrub
Prepare an old small jar that you no longer use (like an eye cream container) for storage. You will need a tablespoon of brown sugar, a squirt of honey that’s enough to mix with the sugar to create a paste, and a drop of vanilla for flavour. Mix together all 3 ingredients and scrub gently unto your lips, leave on for one or two minutes then rinse off with warm water. For added protection, apply lip balm or petroleum jelly to moisturize.
You can do this lip scrub once or twice a week. You can put the mixture in the refrigerator for future use. In case you make too much, this type of lip scrub can be stored up to a month.
2. Lip Balm Sugar Scrub
If you happen to have a lip balm that has become mushy due to heat, you can use that as an ingredient to a scrub. You need one tube of your mushy lip balm, 2 teaspoons of granulated white sugar and 1 teaspoon of coconut oil at room temperature.
In a small bowl, preferably non-metallic, mash your lip balm with a spoon. Add sugar slowly until it becomes a granulated paste. Stir in coconut oil until the paste is slightly thinned. Apply a generous amount of product on your lips and massage gently, rinse off with warm water.
Use this scrub for 3 to 4 times a week. This mixture will last a month if stored in a tight-lidded jar.
3. Chocolate Lip Scrub
Did you know that you can also use chocolate as a scrub for your lips? You need 3 tablespoons of white granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon of almond or vanilla extract and a drizzle of honey to create the ultimate chocolate scrub.
In a small bowl, mix together all of the ingredients until it becomes a chocolate paste. If the mixture is too thin, add sugar to the mixture; and if it too thick then add a little bit of honey or olive oil. After mixing them together into a paste, apply on your lips and leave on for 5 minutes. You can rinse the mixture off with warm water and apply petroleum jelly or lip balm afterwards to protect your lips.
This homemade lip scrub will also make your lips smell delicious. The chocolate scrub will last for 2 to 3 weeks when stored in the refrigerator.
Important Tips to Remember
Your lips are very sensitive so over scrubbing could cause scratches or cuts. Lip scrubs should be used moderately since they’re not supposed to be applied on instances when there is nothing to scrub off (otherwise, you will be damaging your healthy lips). Use your ring finger in applying the scrub in order to make sure that you won’t be applying too much pressure on your lips.
Although your lips can heal quicker than most parts of your body, it’s very important to pay attention to its health and appearance. However, if your dry lips have an abnormal colour (too pale or too dark compared to its usual colour) then it could be a sign of a health problem and a lip scrub might not be the only solution for it.