How to Get Dead Skin off Your Lips: Lip Exfoliation Tips!

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Dry and chapped lips are a usual thing, especially in extreme temperatures. However, a flaky lip is annoying when you want to rock that lipstick or gloss. In this article, we’ll discuss how to get dead skin off your lips.

Exfoliation helps remove flaky dead skin from your lips. In addition, it moisturizes your lips, leaving them soft and plump. This article highlights how you can remove dead skin from your lips in three simple steps:

  • Get the right lip exfoliating scrub
  • Exfoliate the dead skin
  • Moisturize your lips

Read on to learn all about lip exfoliation and care!


Contents

How to Get Dead Skin off Your Lips. The Benefits of Exfoliating Your Lips

Removing dead skin from your lips comes with a lot of benefits. You can wear that lipstick or lip gloss confidently and beautifully. If your lips are chapped and damaged, your lipstick won’t go on evenly, as much as you try.

Removing dead skin from your lips comes with a lot of benefits. You can wear that lipstick or lip gloss confidently and beautifully. If your lips are chapped and damaged, your lipstick won’t go on evenly, as much as you try.

Exfoliation removes dead skin, white patches, and nastiness for better results when you apply your luscious lipstick.

Secondly, exfoliating helps smooth and moisten your lips. Who doesn’t want that?!

Once you remove the dead skin, your lips become soft. Moreover, the emollient in the scrub helps moisturize them.

If you have discolored lips, exfoliation can help even them out. When you scrub your lips, the discolored surface cells peel off. Thus, exposing new even-toned skin.

If you use lipstick often, lip exfoliation would be a good addition to your routine. It helps with discoloration, and ensures that your lipstick goes on evenly.

Lastly, exfoliation increases blood flow in your lips. Thus, promoting cellular growth for new and plump lips.


How To Get Dead Skin Off Your Lips

Even as you exfoliate, your lips remember that your lips are made of soft tissue, and you can easily bruise them. So be gentle on your lips!

Step 1: Get the right lip exfoliating scrub

The first step is to get a good quality lip scrub . Remember, you are dealing with a very sensitive area. Select a lip scrub with fine ground exfoliants. Also, ensure it is accompanied by sufficient moisturizing agents such as aloe vera, avocado oil, or olive oil. Avoid lip scrubs that contain irritants such as phenol, menthol, camphor, and alcohol.

Additionally, go for lip scrubs from established brands as they continuously improve their products.

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Step 2: Exfoliate Your Lips

Once you have the right lip scrub, it is time to get that dead skin off your lips. The first thing you want to do is to remove any residue from your lips.

Use a soft, damp cloth, preferably cotton. The damp cloth will also help wet your lips for a good exfoliation grip.

Use cotton wool to scoop the lip scrub and apply it to your lips. Next, gently scrub the exfoliant in small circles. Do this for about 5 minutes.

Lastly, get a soft cloth, wet it, and use it to wipe off the exfoliant.

Step 3: Moisturize Your Lips

Once you have exfoliated your lips, it is time to moisturize them. You can use lip balm or petroleum jelly. This is to keep your lips soft and hydrated and protect them from drying and flaking.


Care Tips to Observe While Exfoliating Your Lips

Your lips are fragile; below are things you should observe while exfoliating them.

1. Be Gentle on your Lips

Lips are made of soft tissue that easily breaks. Be gentle on your skin; softly scrub it in small circular motions. Also, be mindful of the tools you use.

If you use a cloth, go for the softest of fibers. Sometimes you may opt for a toothbrush. If you go the toothbrush route, use a soft one. A children’s brush would be ideal.

If you use a cloth, go for the softest of fibers. Sometimes you may opt for a toothbrush. If you go the toothbrush route, use a soft one. A children’s brush would be ideal.

2. Do it Once a Week

Over-exfoliation is not good for your lips. Remember your lips are made of thin layers, and regular scrubbing will make them irritated and inflamed. It is recommended you do it once a week. If you have sensitive lips, do it every two weeks.

3. Do not Use Exfoliants on Sore Lips

If you have sore chapped lips, do not use exfoliants. Lip scrub will add salt to the injury. In addition, you would want to allow your lips to heal before scrubbing them fully. This also applies if you have acne or blisters on your lips. Even lip balms can burn from time to time!

4. Always Moisturize After Exfoliating

Moisturizing your lips after exfoliating is essential. You have removed a layer of skin, which means your lips are subject to dryness.

So, go for lip balms rich in natural hydrating oils such as shea butter and coconut oil.

5. Go for homemade Lip Scrubs

If you have sensitive lips, homemade lip scrubs would be ideal. You can choose what to include in your exfoliant. This way, you avoid substances that will irritate your lips.


What Are Some Homemade Exfoliants?

If you love DIY recipes, you look forward to a homemade lip scrub. The commonly used homemade formula is honey and sugar lip scrub. However, you can go as simple as a soft toothbrush and a lip balm.

1. Honey Lip Scrub

Ingredients:

  • Honey
  • Finely ground sugar
  • Olive oil or Coconut oil

Mix 2 tablespoons of sugar and one tablespoon of honey in a bowl. Add a teaspoon of olive or coconut oil. Mix them until you get a consistent paste. Your lip scrub is now ready.

Here are steps to follow when you are exfoliating with the scrub:

  • Take some of the scrubs using cotton wool or a soft cotton
  • Apply it to your lips and leave it for about 3 minutes
  • Gently scrub your lips using a soft cloth or toothbrush. Go in in small circular motions.
  • Dip a soft cloth in warm water, squeeze out the water and use it to wipe off the exfoliant. Warm water is necessary due to the sticky nature of honey.
  • Moisturize your lips

2. Toothbrush

If your flaking is mild, a toothbrush and your favorite lip balm can do. But, first, make sure you choose a soft brush.

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Here are the steps you will follow:

  • Take your toothbrush and put a generous amount of lip balm
  • Scrub your lips using the brush, and go in softly for about five minutes. When you rub your lips, you will feel the exfoliated skin.
  • Wipe off the exfoliating balm using a soft cloth
  • Apply fresh lip balm to keep your lips hydrated

You can use petroleum jelly instead of lip balm. This method is simple and quick; you can do it in the morning before going to work.


What Are the Best Lip Moisturizers?

Moisturizing your lips even after you have exfoliated them is essential. Adverse weather conditions such as cold, winds, and heat will cause your lips to dry. Moisturizers hydrate and protect your lips from these conditions.

So, what are some of the best lip moisturizers to use?

1. Avocado butter

Avocado contains a lot of essential oils that help moisturize your lips. In addition, the oils are easily absorbed into your lips, making them a great moisturizer. Go for lip balms or creams that have avocado as their main ingredients.

Alternatively, get an avocado fruit and crush it until it is soft and consistent. Scoop some of it and apply it to your lips. Allow the paste to set in for some time, and then use a damp cloth to remove the residue. Be keen not to wipe off the oils.

2. Aloe vera

Aloe vera forms one of the best lip moisturizers that protect your lips from the adverse effects of the sun. In addition, it has great healing properties for chapped lips.

You can purchase aloe vera gel, or if you have an aloe vera plant in your home, you can easily obtain aloe gel by slicing one of its leaves. Then, store the gel in a clean container and apply it to your lips once or twice a day.

Apart from healing your chapped lips, the aloe vera will help exfoliate the dead skin.

3. Coconut oil

Coconut oil is ideal for moisturizing chapped lips because of its pain-relieving properties. In addition, it is anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial, which helps prevent your dry and cracked lips from swelling and infections.

Coconut oil also helps keep the lips moist by trapping moisture in your skin. It is good for lips, especially because it easily loses moisture. Apply it on your lips as often as you can for soft skin.

4. Honey

Honey is one of the best emollients. Its numerous properties are useful to the lips. It triples up as an anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and wound-healing agent.

Honey moisturizes your lips, protecting them from cracking. In addition, it protects your chapped lips from infections.

Apply organic honey on your lips once a week and leave it for some time before washing it off. You will notice that the honey will strip some of the dead skin from your lips apart from moisturizing.

5. Petroleum jelly

Another great lip moisturizer is petroleum jelly. It locks in moisture, protecting your lips from drying and cracking. In addition, it soothes and heals cracked lips. Apply it to your lips as soon as you feel that drab dryness.

Petroleum jelly is cheap! You can double it up as your body and lip moisturizer.


Why Bother With a Lip balm?

Lip balms are specifically formulated to nourish and keep your lips hydrated. They are also built to act as a protective barrier to the lips preventing them from drying. In addition, they contain ceramides which prevent water loss from the lips.

Good lip balms contain hydrating agents such as hyaluronic acids and sodium hyaluronate, which help draw moisture into the lips. In addition, they have natural oils such as shea and jojoba oil which soften your lips.

It is recommended that you always moisturize your lips using lip balm. Also, invest in a lip balm that has sunscreen to protect your lips from sunburns.

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What Ingredients Should You Avoid in a Lip Balm?

Avoid those with substances that irritate your chapped lips when purchasing a lip balm. These substances include cinnamon, hot pepper, camphor, salicylic acid, phenol, alcohol, propyl gallate, lanolin, and menthol.

If you must buy balm with these substances, avoid using it on your chapped lips. Use petroleum jelly instead.


What are Some of the Causes of Dry Lips?

Some factors and habits might cause your lips to dry. Therefore, it is good to avoid them to protect your lips from drying.

1. Licking your lips

You might be tempted to lick your dry lips to keep them hydrated. However, the more you lick your lips, the dryer they get!

Saliva temporarily moisten your lips, but it will evaporate quickly. Your drips will become even drier than they were.

In addition, the saliva contains digestive enzymes which are harsh on your soft lips. So if you continue licking your lips, they become dry and start to crack.

2. Not drinking water

Your body needs water to stay hydrated! When you don’t drink enough water, your body becomes dehydrated.

For example, lips have soft and thin tissue that easily dry compared to the rest of the body. Therefore, you should drink plenty of water to keep your skin and lips hydrated.

3. Extreme weather conditions

Extreme weather conditions such as cold and hot weather cause your lips to dry. Cold weather is known to strip your skin of essential oils, subjecting it to dryness.

Your lips will be most affected because of their tenderness. Therefore, always moisturize your lips with balms rich in essential oils during winter.

Cold weather is known to strip your skin of essential oils, subjecting it to dryness.

On the other hand, sunlight is associated with heat that dehydrates your lips, leaving them chapped. Sunburns can even make it worse! If you’re headed out into the sun or to a tanning bed, be sure you protect your lips.


Conclusion

You can remove dead skin from your lips with a homemade or commercial lip scrub. In either case, be gentle on your delicate lips to prevent them from further chapping.

Remember to always moisturize your lips after exfoliation. Go for moisturizers rich in natural oils that will moisturize your lips and protect them from dehydration.

In addition, avoid licking your lips as this contributes to chapped lips. Instead, drink plenty of water and always armor up with a lip balm.

Written by Kayla Young

Kayla is the founder of LuxeLuminous. She has worked professionally in the tanning industry for years. She has been interested in esthetics since childhood, and has tried every hair, skin, and makeup product ever produced (more or less).