25 Super Effective DIY Lip Scrubs to Make At Home + Xxxtra Lipcare Pro Tips

Lipcare : The Easy Way

As promised in my last article/blogpost, we are going to discuss about lip care today & also, I’m going to include detailed recipes of 25 easy DIY lip scrubs you can make at home, easily & effortlessly & most of which do not require expensive things, just regular stuffs available in our kitchen.

Since I’m from India, which is a tropical country, we do not get to lay our hands on things like strawberry, kiwi & all; I’ve used them in only a few of the recipes. I get them in our nearest supermarket however; anyone lacking them can easily substitute them with other fruits of their choice.

None of the ingredients mentioned in the lip scrubs are absolute, rather you can substitute any provided that the scrub contains atleast one exfoliant (even mild ones will do) & one emollient that is considered the general rule. An exfoliant, by scrubbing off the top dead cell layer can cause mild inflammation which is usually cooled down by an emollient. That is why an effective lip scrub usually contains two kinds of active ingredients. The term ‘scrub’ thus is a misnomer.

Fruits provide enzymes that do the job of scrubbing enzymatically. This is why some are used while I’m aware that not every fruit is available to everyone & thus, for simplicity’s sake, I always advise people to substitute the ingredients as they please as long as they fall into the same category (substituting a scrub for another scrub, emollient for another emollient etc.).

But before moving on to our lip scrub recipes, I’d like to answer a few common questions people have about lip care & then we shall move on to our principal topic. So let’s go on:

·         How to make a DIY lipscrub at home?

è Seriously, this is important & trust me; as per my experience, DIY Homemade lipscrubs can be as effective as the store bought expensive ones. You just need two main ingredients for an effective lip scrub: one scrub which can be anything consisting of gritty or rough texture & an emollient or moisturizing element like honey, olive oil, coconut oil or actually any oil that is safe. Since working with lips is actually harder than any other body part because anything you put there, has a chance of accidental ingestion or of exposure to mucus membranes orally.

That’s why we can’t use active ingredients we usually use on our body skin. We must stick to the things we feel are safe for consumption. That’s why I’ve minimized use of essential oils here (I’m big on them) since most are too concentrated to be considered safe & such high conc. can be rather toxic.

·         How often should you scrub your lips?

       à I’d recommend daily. Now this is not true for other body parts but I’ve seen lips accumulate a lot of dead skin cells within a day & so, to ensure a pink beautiful pucker, you should use one the DIY lip scrub daily & follow up with a lip balm.

·         My lips are dark. Can lip scrubs help? Or, my upper lip is darker than the lower one. How do I fix it?

       à Irregularity in lip color happens due to lack of daily care & dead cell build up. So, exfoliation becomes a priority. Lip scrubs described here can definitely help but you need to be consistent with the routine & have some patience.

Secondly, sun can wreak havoc on your lips just like your skin & may be because to most people, upper lips are less accessible than the lower one, the former tends to darken due to lack of regular exfoliation & sun damage. You should always choose a lip balm with SPF especially if its morning. Never keep your lips dry. Reapply the lip balm with SPF throughout the day in regular intervals, like every 2-3 hours.

Don’t go for a cheap lipbalm if you’re looking for high amount of SPF. Always stick to a high end & trusted brand.

Now let’s move on to our lip scrub recipes. I’m listing out 25, but you know you can always mix & match ingredients to make your own. When substituting, just keep in mind that you’re alternating a scrub for a scrub & an emollient for an emollient. That’s it.

25 Super Easy DIY Lip Scrubs You Can Easily Make at Home

1.       Olive Oil + Brown Sugar/Sugar

        Procedure:  Simply mix white or brown sugar (whichever is available) with olive oil & gently rub your lips with it & wash it off after 5-6 minutes. If sugar granules are too large, you can crush them in a mixer grinder to make the thing gentler & easier to handle. Sugar is a scrub & olive oil is an emollient.

2.       Crushed Coconut + Sugar

       Procedure: Crush coconut or you can buy desiccated coconut from the market & add some sugar to it. See, the coconut itself has its own oil as an emollient, so I’m not adding anymore but if you’re using desiccated coconut, I’d recommend adding a few drops of olive/coconut oil to this to act both as an emollient & as a binding agent.

3.       Rice Flour + Olive oil

       Procedure: Simply mix both & rub your lips gently. Rice flour is an excellent scrub both for skin & lips & being a starch, it also lightens dark spots. Olive oil moisturizes the lips.

4.       Rose Petal crushed + Sugar + Honey

        Procedure: Rose petals & honey are both lightening agents & thus this scrub is great for lips with dark sun spots. Sugar scrubs & honey provides excellent moisturization. If you want to lighten dark lips, keep this pack for 15-20 minutes after massaging gently on your lips. Doing regularly will show results provided you’re using a lip balm with SPF.

5.       Lemon + Bengal Gram Flour

       Procedure: Bengal gram flour is the mildest scrub I’ve ever seen & lemon lightens dark lips. But remember since this scrub does not have a moisturizing element, you must apply a lip balm after washing this off. Keep this scrub as a pack on for 10 minutes to get maximum lightening effect.

6.       Coconut oil + Crushed Indian Gooseberry/Amla

       Procedure:  Indian gooseberry or amla not only scrubs because it has a gritt & rough texture when crushed, but also acts as both, a skin lightening agent & an antioxidant as it is a natural reservoir of huge amount of vitamin C & coconut oil acts as a moisturizer. Keep the pack on after rubbing it gently to reap maximum benefit.

7.       Crushed Orange Peel + Honey + Argan Oil

       Procedure: Crush orange peel & mix honey with it. Orange peel not only exfoliates lips but also provides vitamin C & acts as a dark spot lightener. In short, it is a multi tasker just like honey which not only provides moisturization but also lightens dark spots. But the hero ingredient in this is Argan Oil which does everything from lightening hyperpigmentation on lips to providing moisturizer to act as a reservoir of vitamin E.

8.       Pomegranate Juice + Crushed Lemon Peel + Coconut Oil + Honey

        Procedure: Pomegranate juice provides fruit enzymes which mildly exfoliates & moisturizes; crushed lemon peel not only exfoliates due to its texture but also lightens lips & coconut oil moisturizes & honey does both: moisturization & skin lightening. First gently rub this scrub & then put some more on & keep this for 20 minutes before washing it off. Do apply a lip balm after it.

9.       Licorice Powder + Honey + Cinnamon Powder

       Procedure: Licorice/ Mulethu/ Yashtimadhu powder is a powerful skin lightening agent which unleashes its superpower when added to honey, another spot lightening element & a moisturizer & cinnamon which calms skin inflammation. Together it’s an excellent lipscrub. Licorice powder has a rough texture just like cinnamon powder & thus together they mildly exfoliate lips & this pack is also safe for daily use.

10.   Baking Soda + Olive Oil + Cucumber Oil

       Procedure: Add baking soda to the two kinds of oil mentioned. Baking soda alone is a powerful scrub, but to tone it down a bit to suit regular usage, I’ve added two very nourishing oils. You can always substitute any of the oils.

11.   Pasted Lotus Petals + Lime Oil + Coconut Oil

        Procedure:  Did you know lotus petals are an excellent bleaching agent? This is why I’ve added this to a lip scrub to not only help slough off dead skin cells due to its rough texture when pasted but also lighten those lips to a pink shade & lime oil acts as a damage control after sun exposure. But remember, since lime oil makes skin extra photo sensitive, you better use it in the evening & apply a lip balm with SPF in the morning thereafter.

12.   Vaseline + Milk Powder + Sugar

        Procedure: Because of Vaseline/ petroleum jelly, this lip scrub has a higher shelf life than others mentioned here. It can be stored in the fridge for real long & while sugar is an exfoliant, milk powder acts as a natural bleach to lighten lips.

13.   Ground Coffee + Olive Oil + Baking Soda

        Procedure: Ground coffee not only scrubs the dead skin cells off but also is a potent anti oxidant & thus this scrub is excellent as an anti ageing lip scrub. Remember, I’m not talking about instant coffee powder here; it is the ground filter coffee that is left after usage so there’s no way it is wasted. Drink your coffee & apply the ground precipitate on your lips. It’s such a multitasker. Add olive oil & baking soda (optional here, since coffee works as a scrub too) & gently rub your lips. There’s no need to keep this on, so you can wash it off immediately.

14.   Dead Sea Salt + Walnut Powder + Honey

        Procedure: Dead sea salt is famous for its detoxification action & as a reservoir of various minerals that aren’t bioavailable otherwise. This makes dead sea salt an excellent anti pollution agent. If the texture is way too gritty, you can crush them in a mixer grinder to suit your needs. Add walnut powder, which is a great scrub & honey as a moisturizer. Rub gently & keep this pack on for 20 minutes to make sure all the toxins are out. Wash it off with water & apply a lip balm. Its best when used after coming home from a polluted environment.

15.   Turmeric + Milk + Bengal Gram Flour/Besan

       Procedure: Turmeric is our age old skin lightening agent that also has anti-septic benefits & gram flour is a mild exfoliating agent while milk (I’d recommend the full fat version) provides moisturization. You can keep this scrub on as a pack for 5-6 minutes & wash it off thereafter.

16.   Crushed Vitamin C + Vinegar + Rice Flour

        Procedure: Take one 500 mg vitamin C tablet & crush it into powder. Add vinegar, which not only lightens dark lips but also even if it’s not rubbed, encourages blood circulation & rice flour directly scrubs off the dead skin cell layer. After a bit rubbing, put some more on your lips & keep it for 20 minutes & wash it off & immediately apply a lip balm since this scrub does not contain an oil because we’re using crushed vitamin C directly which is insoluble to oil & will precipitate if not shaken before every single use. However, make this in small batches because vitamin C gets spoiled very easily & turns yellow. So keep it in an air tight colored glass container, away from sunlight & finish this off ASAP.

17.   Vitamin E + Olive Oil + Flour

       Procedure: Prick a vitamin E capsule & take out the sticky substance inside & add olive oil. Vitamin E, in its raw form has a very bad aroma but I guess this little wouldn’t hurt. Vitamin E is oil soluble & thus I’m using olive oil as a moisturizer here. Plain Flour will gently exfoliate lips & as a starch, it’ll also lighten your lips while vitamin E, not only moisturizes but also acts as an anti oxidant. So keep this pack on for 10 minutes on your lips before washing it off. Also keep this in a colored glass container, away from sunlight since Vitamin E is degraded upon sun exposure. Thus I’d also recommend using this only in the evening.

18.   Almond Paste + Grapes Juice + Kiwi Paste + Rice Flour

        Procedure: Almond is an excellent emollient itself & thus this scrub is best suited during the winters. Grapes & Kiwi provide fruit enzymes & anti oxidants that nourish & lighten lips & flour is a mild exfoliant. Keep this on for 10 minutes for maximum benefit.

19.   Orange Juice + Vinegar + Sandalwood Essential Oil + Licorice Powder

        Procedure: This is a multitasker, one all lip scrub. Orange juice & Vinegar provide bleaching benefits to lighten dark lips & sandalwood essential oil not only lightens spots but also works as an antiseptic & moisturizer. Licorice, as mentioned earlier due to its gritty texture, gently scrubs & also acts as an excellent lightening agent. Orange juice also provides vitamin C. So, better apply this in the evening & keep it on for 20 minutes before washing it off. Since we’re using vinegar in this pack, it’s better to immediately apply a nourishing lip balm after getting this off.

20.   Yogurt + Strawberry Paste + Rose Petals Paste

       Procedure:  Yogurt lightens dark lips & strawberry along with rose petals, lighten & nourish lips. Strawberry, when pasted has a rough texture & thus also scrubs your lips. Keep this on for 5-6 minutes.

21.   Nutmeg Powder + Milk + Rice Flour

        Procedure:  Nutmeg removes scars from skin, so if it works as a bleaching agent on your skin, it’ll also work on your lips. That’s why to remove a bad tan from lips I’ve added this to milk which is moisturizer & rice flour, a potent scrub & a skin lightening agent. Better keep this on for 10 minutes.

22.   Manjistha Powder + Honey + Lemon Peel Paste

        Procedure: Because of its wooden texture, manjistha powder, which is a skin lightening agent on its own, also acts as a gentle scrub & when lemon peel paste is added to this, its benefit as a lightening agent gets doubled up & honey moisturizes & lightens. So this is an all rounder lipscrub. Keep this on for 20 minutes & then wash it off.

23.   Saffron + Milk + Baking soda

        Procedure: Saffron has been used from centuries to lighten dark spots & milk is the match made in heaven for it. Baking soda is simply added to this age old skin lightening recipe to work as a scrub. This will not only scrub lips to reveal fresh skin underneath but also lighten dark spots on it.

24.   Pineapple Juice + Rice Flour + Argan Oil

       Procedure: Pineapple juice is a super effective bleaching agent & rice flour is a scrub while Argan oil provides vitamin E, which acts as an antioxidant thus making the lipscrub a multi tasking hero. But pineapple juice tends to dry out the skin a bit, so immediately after washing it off, wear a lip balm. Also consider wearing a lipbalm with SPF the next day & so on (apply this in the evening).

25.   Tomato Juice + Lemon Juice + Honey + Sugar

        Procedure:  Except for sugar which is a scrub, all the other ingredients  here lighten dark lips along with chemically exfoliating it. Citrus ingredients like that also provide alpha hydroxy acids naturally & thus it safely exfoliates & lightens dark & chapped lips.

One Pro Tip To Remember: Most lip scrubs mentioned here contain some amount of citrus ingredients to treat dark lips or lip discolorations & thus as I always say, citrus makes skin more photo sensitive. So, if you truly want to reap the benefit of them, use it in the evening & always apply a lip balm with SPF in the morning to protect your lips from sun damage & to prevent further darkening.

Another thing is vitamin C & E, both get degraded as soon as they’re exposed to sunlight, even ambient light. So always keep them in an airtight colored glass container, away from sunlight & this is also applicable to lipscrubs with argan oil which has a high amount of vitamin E & those with citrus ingredients like tomato, lime , lemon, pineapple etc which have significant amount of vitamin C (count amla in although it’s not really citrus).

Do not forget to report me back on how it went if you use any of the lipscrub mentioned above.

For now, this is my last article of the month August & since I'll be preparing for Janmashtami celebration at home, which is scheduled on 2nd September,so I'd not be able to make it before that.


So, we'll meet with a new article only after 2nd Sep' 18.

Love me or hate me, just let me know in the comments section below & it’d be amazing if it’s the former & don’t forget to follow me on social media (buttons on the collapsible sidebar ß)

Thank you for reading.

Cheers!!!

Koyel M.