Wearing a bold red lipstick is the easiest way to instantly look and feel gorgeous, but dry lips can make it difficult to do so. While lip balm can certainly help prevent dryness, really dry, flaky lips may need the help of a lip scrub. “A lip scrub is an exfoliant that softens and smooths the lips,” explains Howard Sobel, M.D., board-certified dermatologist and clinical attending cosmetic dermatology surgeon at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, NY.
Askme’s favorite lip scrub:
Best Overall: Fresh Sugar Lip Scrub, $21
Lightest: IS Clinical Lip Polish, $38
Best for Travel: Dior Lip Sugar Scrub Sweet Exfoliating Lip Balm, $40
Best Luxury Brand: La Mer Lipstick, $80
Best in Korea: COSRX Honey Sugar Lip Scrub, $19
Best Flavor: Sarah Happ Lip Scrub, $26
Best Cleaning Product: Burt’s Bees Conditioning Lip Scrub, $10
Your lips can become dry because dead skin cells accumulate on the surface, which can be worsened when you’re dehydrated, exposed to too much sun or exposed to harsh, dry air. To really rejuvenate your lips, you need to exfoliate and moisturize. That’s why a lip scrub is such an important step in your lip care routine: “A good lip scrub helps remove dead skin and provides much-needed moisture to your lips,” said Dr. Saeedi, Nazanin, Thomas Jefferson University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA. Of course, you can use a damp washcloth to remove chapped skin, but
in this article:
Do lip scrubs really work?
What should you pay attention to when using lip scrub?
How often should I use a lip scrub?
Meet the experts
Best Overall: Refreshing Sugar Lip Scrub
Why we love it: This recipe has been a longtime favorite among Sadies thanks to its comprehensive formula. “Brown sugar is a gentle exfoliant that helps remove dull, dry skin and a moisturizer that attracts moisture,” she says. The formula also includes powerful moisturizing ingredients like jojoba and shea butter to leave lips soft and smooth.
Key Ingredients: Sugar, Jojoba Seed Oil, Shea Butter
Size: 0.35 ounces.
Lightest: iS Clinical Lip Polish
Why we love it: Sobel believes this formula is a gentle option for soothing, softening, and relieving chapped lips. That’s because it contains powerful emollients like cocoa seed and shea butter, as well as vitamin E and jojoba oil, which work together to soothe and nourish dry lips.
Key Ingredients: Sugar, Cocoa Seed Butter, Shea Butter
Size: 0.5 oz.
Best for Travel: Dior Lip Sugar Scrub Sweet Exfoliating Lip Balm
Why we love it: This silky balm infused with superfine sugar comes in a stick package, making it convenient and discreet. “In addition to making the formula easy to use without the risk of contamination from fingers,” explains Sadie, “this design also helps prevent the unwanted effects of rubbing or scrubbing the lip scrub too vigorously.” The product is quite lightweight and can make lips appear plumper, says Evans, and if you can’t resist the feeling of freshly exfoliated lips, this gentle scrub may be suitable for more frequent use.
Key Ingredients: Sugar, Synthetic Wax, Mango Seed Oil
Size: 0.12 ounces.
Best Luxury Brand: La Mer Lip Gloss
Why we love it: This luxurious scrub features La Mer’s signature “Miracle Broth” ingredient complex, a blend of seaweed extracts, vitamins, and minerals that helps rejuvenate dull lips and contains… fine sugar crystals that remove dead skin. We also particularly appreciate that this product comes with an applicator for getting the formula out of the jar. It also has a lightly textured tip for double the exfoliating effect in just one step.
Key Ingredients: Sugar, Shea Butter, Algae Extracts
Size: 0.5 oz.
Best of Korea: COSRX Honey Sugar Lip Scrub
Why we love it: With ingredients like sugar, honey, and cocoa, this product sounds more like a dessert than a beauty product, but we can confirm it’s a treat for your senses and your lips. Honey is a natural humectant that draws moisture into the skin, while shea butter locks in moisture.
Key Ingredients: Sugar, Shea Butter, Honey
Size: 0.7 ounces.
Best Flavor: Sara Happ Lip Scrub
Why we love it: This nourishing formula contains a lightweight yet powerful blend of moisturizers, including jojoba oil, grape seed, and vitamin E. “Vitamin E is a key ingredient that helps moisturize lips,” says Sobel. This scrub also comes in delicious flavors like pink grapefruit and vanilla bean to add an extra kick to your lip care routine.
Key Ingredients: Sugar, Jojoba Seed Oil, Grape Seed Oil
Size: 0.5 oz.
Best Cleanser: Burt’s Bees Conditioning Lip Scrub
Why we love it: “It’s great because it’s formulated with honey, which helps relieve dry and rough skin,” says Sobel. This is due to the crystallized honey, which doubles as an exfoliant and moisturizer. It’s also enriched with moisturizers like castor oil, lanolin, and (of course) beeswax to prevent dryness.
Key Ingredients: Honey, Castor Oil, Lanolin
Size: 0.25 oz.
Yes, definitely. “They exfoliate the dry, flaky, and cracked skin that causes lips to dry out and crack when exposed to cold, wind, or sun,” says Sobel, leaving them soft and smooth, like a soft, even canvas. Using a lip scrub can also make your lips look pinker and fuller temporarily, since exfoliation increases blood circulation.
The most important aspect of a lip scrub is the actual “scrub,” the exfoliant used in the formula. While you may be tempted to look for products that contain chemical exfoliants found in your favorite exfoliants, Dr. Tracie Evans, board-certified dermatologist and medical director of Pacific Skin & Cosmetic Dermatology in San Francisco, California, recommends this. “Look for a gentle exfoliant like sugar or salt rather than harsh acids like alpha- and beta-hydroxy acids,” she says. The skin on your lips is very thin and delicate, and those active ingredients can be very irritating.
You’ll find that most lip scrubs on the market (and all of the recipes featured in this article) rely on sugar to remove dead skin. Sugar is great for use in lip scrubs because its particles range from coarse to fine, allowing for more vigorous or gentle scrubbing, and unlike sand or crushed peels found in body scrubs, if you lick your lips after exfoliation, you can safely consume sugar. (Yes, salt is an effective lip exfoliant, but it’s not as tasty.) Additionally, you’ll want to look for ingredients that will moisturize and hydrate your lips. Sobel suggests honey, jojoba oil, shea butter, and vitamin E as effective options.
If a lip scrub isn’t giving you the soft, velvety lips you’re hoping for, chances are your chapped lips aren’t just a sign of dehydration. “The skin on your lips is delicate and can easily become irritated, just like the skin on your face,” says Saedi. Irritation on the lips can manifest as dryness and is often caused by ingredients like harsh colors or fragrances. In this case, apply only pure petroleum or lanolin for a week to help your lips heal, then slowly (one product at a time) reintroduce lip balm, lip gloss, and lipstick, paying close attention to whether any of your products are causing irritation,” Saedi suggests.
While we all love the instant gratification that comes with using a lip scrub, you might not want to use them over and over again when you want soft lips. “Don’t over-exfoliate, as this can cause irritation and contact dermatitis,” warns Evans, who recommends using a scrub once a week. If your lips can tolerate it, you can add a few more scrubbing sessions: “I recommend using a lip scrub two to three times a week,” says Sobel. Remember, irritation can cause lips to dry out — don’t rush into it. Saedi also recommends being gentle when using a lip scrub. “It’s easy to overdo it by rubbing too hard or vigorously, which can injure or damage the skin,” she says. “Apply lightly to avoid damage.”
Dr. Howard Sobel is a board-certified dermatologist and clinical cosmetic dermatology surgeon at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York State.
Dr. Nazanin Saedi is a board-certified dermatologist and clinical associate professor at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Dr. Tracy Evans is a board-certified dermatologist and the medical director of Pacific Skin & Cosmetic Dermatology in San Francisco, California.
