How to Use a Lip Scrub

While body and facial scrubs are commonplace, lip scrubs are still somewhat obscure. The often – and unjustly – overlooked product definitely deserves a place in your skincare routine though. What is a lip scrub, what does a lip scrub do, and how to use a lip scrub? We dive into all these questions and more below.

What Is a Lip Scrub?

A lip scrub is an exfoliating formula specifically made to be gentle enough on the delicate lip skin but effective enough to remove dead skin cells. Lips need this extra care because they work overtime. They help us accomplish innumerous tasks, including eating, talking, breathing, and kissing. All that effort means they’re constantly in motion, which can quickly take a toll on your pout. Add to that the fact that the skin on the lips is one of the most delicate on the entire body and you have a recipe for disaster—aka dry, flaky, and dehydrated lips. An instant solution for these flaky lips? A lip scrub. A lip scrub is an exfoliating formula specifically made to be gentle enough on the delicate skin but effective enough to remove dead skin cells.

Almost all lip scrubs are composed of two ingredients: an exfoliant and an emollient. The physical exfoliant – which can be made from multiple sources including sugar, coffee grounds, ground fruit seeds, or other natural ingredients – buffs. While the emollient hydrates and softens lips, and the most common emollients are oils (like coconut, avocado, jojoba, and grapeseed) and butters (including shea, coconut, and cocoa). When the two base ingredients are combined, a lip scrub can accomplish several things, from the appearance to the health of the delicate lip area.

How To Use a Lip Scrub

So you’ve found a lip scrub you love and want to enjoy the beautifying effects of lip exfoliation? While using a scrub is a fairly simple process, there are a few tricks that take it to the next level. Follow this four-step process for how to use a lip scrub and achieve a perfect pout every time. 

Step One: Wet Lips

The friction of an exfoliant on dry lips can be too abrasive. So wet your lips first before applying your scrub to ensure a more gentle experience. While it might feel tempting to get the most intense scrub possible, wetting lips beforehand helps prevent ripping or tearing delicate dry skin.

Step Two: Get Scrubbing 

Apply a generous amount (a pearl-sized is ideal) of your lip scrub and work in small circular motions, softly massaging the product into the skin with a finger. Some products even have an applicator that doubles as a massager to encourage this step. Aim for about 30 seconds of exfoliation for best results, working it into every inch of the lips.

Step Three: Rinse 

Some scrub formulas are so effective that they can be a bit burdensome to remove. To get the scrub quickly off, we recommend removing the product with a damp cloth in short, light strokes. Take care with this step as lips are in a fragile state, so aim for gentleness over quickness when removing a scrub from the skin.

Step Four: Moisturize and Protect

The skin has just been exfoliated, so lips crave moisture immediately after. Lock hydration in your freshly exfoliated lips by using your favorite lip balm, treatment, or mask. Is it still daytime? Add the additional step of sunscreen protection for the lips, too—an often overlooked yet vital step.

The History of Lip Scrubs

It’s natural to assume clever beauty products are modern inventions, but lip scrubs’ history goes back centuries. In ancient Japan, intensive treatments with natural ingredients were crafted with care to restore lips to their ideal soft, plump condition. Fast forward to modern Japan, where these beneficial lip care ingredients are still beloved, all in the name of achieving puru-puru lips (which means to jiggle and bounce like jelly).

Why Should You Use a Lip Scrub?

A lip scrub buffs away flakiness and dryness, plain and simple. However, it can also have multiple other benefits, too, which will become noticeable after you learn how to use a lip scrub appropriately.

• Helping Other Lip Products Apply Better

Just as a facial scrub clears away dead skin cells and debris, thus helping the following products absorb and work more efficiently, a lip scrub works similarly. Using a lip scrub can help your lip treatment, mask, or balm work even deeper and more effectively.

• Temporarily Plumping

A scrub can stimulate blood circulation to the lip area, giving lips a temporary plumped appearance. Plus, this additional blood flow can also give your pout a flushed appearance, temporarily mimicking the look of a lip tint.

• Smoother Lipstick Application 

Speaking of lip products, a lip scrub can help you achieve a more even lipstick (or lip tint, etc.) appearance. After all, dry lips can make a lip tint or lipstick appear bumpy, so using a lip scrub before a colored lip product can create a perfect base for better-looking and longer-lasting results.

• Removing Stubborn Lip Products

While all of the above benefits are great before a night on the town, a lip scrub can also be helpful in your evening lip care routine. Stubborn, long-lasting lipstick not budging? A lip scrub can work like a lip makeup remover, especially because it usually contains both an exfoliant and an oil component. It can work its way into every single line, crevice, and corner of lips to remove all obstinate lip products.

How Often Should You Use a Lip Scrub?

With great power comes great responsibility. You can use a lip scrub as much as needed, but if lips are compromised in any way – whether they are sunburnt, raw from wind or cold exposure, or have open cuts – skip until lips are completely healed.

Best Lip Scrub

There are many worthy lip scrubs on the market, but we’re especially partial to a brand-new option. Meet The Kissu Lip Scrub, Tatcha’s first foray into lip scrubs. We were inspired by ancient Japanese practices, harnessing the power of timeless natural ingredients to create a simple daily ritual that polishes, plumps, and protects lips.

The Kissu Lip Scrub gently scrubs with two exfoliating ingredients: konjac and peach seed. Konjac refines and smooths skin for a brighter appearance, while peach seed removes flakes for more hydrated and refined lips. When it comes to the emollient, we selected one of the most extraordinary and treasured ingredients available, and one that’s a Tatcha signature, too: Japanese camellia oil. The intensely hydrating oil seals in moisture, while also soothing tired lips. Together, The Kissu Lip Scrub effectively sloughs away flakiness and removes dullness while sealing in moisture for smooth, supple lips. The new scrub basically provides puru-puru lips on demand.