When you go out in the evenings, are you more of a dark eyes or dark lips kind of woman?
Generally, I choose my eyes.
But occasionally, when I feel like being totally vintage glam and changing it up a bit – I like to rock a bright, red lip.
For me, doing a smokey eye is carefree. I know how to do it. It’s a look that works. I like my eyes.
But the red lip creates a bit more stress … will I leave lip marks on all my drinks? Will the lipstick end up on my teeth? Will I eat off part of the lipstick leaving a strange red lip-liner looking ring around my lips?
And most of all … where did all these little flakes on my lips come from?!
Flaky lips? What?
Your lips can get rough at any time of year – but it seems to happen especially in the dry air of winter, and during the hot summer months. It makes sense – your lips are always out there, exposed to the elements. And if you exfoliate the rest of your body (do you??) to keep it smooth and fresh … why not your lips?
I’ve heard from a lot of readers that you wantanti-aging solutions. Well, it may not be revolutionary, but exfoliation is a great place to start!
As we age, our skin regenerates more slowly (you may notice that your hair and nails grow more slowly, cuts take longer to heal, and your skin doesn’t have that same glow… that’s because our skin cells have slowed down a bit!).
By exfoliating, we gently scrub off the top layer of dead skin cells to reveal the new, fresh skin cells underneath. This gets rid of gray, dry, flaky skin anywhere on your body. In this case – on your lips!
Homemade Lip Scrub Recipe
This homemade lip scrub is so super simple. It only uses 2 ingredients, which you probably have in your cupboard already. (If you’re already in the coconut oil fan club, that is. And if you’re not in love with coconut oil yet – go buy yourself a jar of it and get ready to love the tasty food & skincare options it provides, including my Coconut Lime Deodorant!)
I’ve seen other recipes that make lip scrubs like body scrubs, using liquid oil with sugar inside.
But wouldn’t it be convenient to have a more travel-friendly lip scrub? Something with a good, creamy texture that wasn’t going to melt everywhere?
Enter: Coconut Oil & Brown Sugar Lip Scrub.
As you know, Coconut oil is solid at room temperature. (At least, at room temperature here in London! If you live in a hot climate, you may get different results. In that case, just store this lip scrub in the fridge!)
Love coconut? Use organic, cold-pressed coconut oil so you maintain that gorgeous coconutty fragrance.
Hate coconut? Use ‘deodorized’ coconut oil, which has no smell! (Or simple substitute for a different oil, and have a liquidy scrub – ie, Olive Oil or Sunflower Oil.)
Sugar is a gentle exfoliant. I used brown sugar in this recipe, but you could also use white sugar (or any kind of edible sugar you have on hand.)
This recipe is completely edible, which is a good thing, since it’s going on your lips!
Coconut & Brown Sugar Lip Scrub
- 1 tsp. coconut oil (organic,cold pressed or deodorized – depending if you want the coconut smell)
- 1 tsp. brown sugar (or any sugar you have on hand)
- Stir the coconut oil and brown sugar together with the back of a spoon and put into a little lip balm container. If the coconut oil is too hard to stir, gently warm it in your hands, or in the sun (or in the microwave, if you use one), to slightly soften the coconut oil before stirring.
That’s it! This scrub should last for 6 months. But this is DIY, so we need to use common sense! If the lip scrub starts to smell funny, or if you see any mold growing on it, just throw it out and make fresh.
To Use:
Just rub a little lip scrub on your finger, apply to your lips, and gently scrub with your fingertip. Lick, wipe or rinse off. If you’re applying lipstick afterwards you’ll want to wipe off the coconut oil residue from your lips, so it doesn’t make your lipstick run!
