Lip Scrubs and Taking Care of Your Lips

Lipsticks, lip stains, and lip glosses won't look fabulous if you're applying them on top of flaky, dry, and cracked lips. It is important to take care of your lips just like you would take care of the rest of the skin on your face and body. Here's what to do to keep your lips in tip-top shape!

EXFOLIATE
Lip scrubs are products made to exfoliate your lips. Usually you take some of the scrub and rub it over your lips much like a face or body scrub. The most common lip scrubs use sugar as the main exfoliant and are mixed with oils or butters to help moisturize. Like body scrubs, some lip scrubs may also contain fruit seeds or nut shells as exfoliants-so if you are allergic, read the labels! Many cosmetic brands offer lip scrubs such as Lush, Tarte at Ulta, Bliss at Sephora, or Fresh. My personal favorite and bank account friendly lip scrub is the one offered by ELF. This one is shaped like a lipstick, making it easy to use, and has a slight vanilla scent (because there is vanilla in it).

You can also make your own lip scrub with a few simple ingredients. Some good tutorials with lip scrub recipes are Lauren Conrad's and Honestly WTF's.

TIP: Exfoliate your lips regularly but listen to them! Some scrubs may be too harsh on your skin. You can always use a clean, damp washcloth to gently exfoliate too. Pay attention to the seasons as well, you may find yourself with more dry skin in the winter than in the summer.

MOISTURIZE
Lip balm should be applied immediately after exfoliating your lips to re-moisturize them. If it is in the morning you will want a lip balm with SPF in it to help protect your lips from the sun. If it is at night the SPF is not as important since you won't be in the sun (the same goes for your other moisturizers-SPF can clog pores and should not be worn at night). Lip balms use a variety of ingredients to moisturize your lips including shea butter, petrolatum, beeswax, and paraffin. There are many options to choose from so you should be able to find one with the ingredients you want in a flavor you like! Many lip balms also give you a touch of color so you can wear them as is without putting on any other lip products. Some good ones are Burt's Bees' Hydrating Lip Balm, classic Chapstick, and Rosebud Perfume Co' Rosebud Salve at Sephora.

When my lips get really dry in the winter I reach for C.O. Bigelow's Night Balm because it is a thicker formula that I can slather on at night and wake up with refreshed lips in the morning.

TIP: Buy in bulk and keep tubes of lip balm around wherever you spend the most time this way you can always moisturize whenever you need it. Also, you can layer your lip balm under your other lip products. I have a few cheaper lipsticks that I like the color of but they tend to dry out my lips so I wear a light layer of lip balm underneath.

Do you have a favorite lip balm or lip scrub? Comment and share below!