How to properly exfoliate your lips
What to use:
A soft toothbrush. If you have particularly sensitive skin, a children’s toothbrush will work well. Keep this one specifically for this purpose, not to be mixed up with your usual.
Pair this with a lip scrub. You can make your own at home by mixing bicarbonate soda with a small amount of water to create a paste, or try brown sugar mixed with coconut oil.
If you’d prefer something pre-packaged try Fresh Sugar Lip Scrub. It contains actual brown sugar crystals that will slough off dead skin but are still soft enough to avoid irritation. It also contains natural humectants, meaning it prevents moisture loss, so your lips won’t feel dry post-use.
How:
Apply your chosen scrub onto your lips or the toothbrush, then with your toothbrush use a circular motion to firmly, but not roughly exfoliate your lips. A good scrub will contain moisturising as well as exfoliating agents so let the scrub absorb into your lips by leaving on for a minute or so. Use a damp wash cloth to wash off.
How often:
In winter you will likely want to do this more often but any more than twice a week can be risky. The skin on your lips is delicate, so you shouldn’t be applying the same rules as you would to the rest of your body or you risk exacerbating the original problem.
What to avoid:
Don’t use your toothbrush on your lips dry. If you don’t have a scrub, dab your lips with a balm first so you don’t scrub off too much skin and create redness and irritation.
Look out for lip products that contain salicylic acid. Though it works to exfoliate lips it can cause irritation if used too often.
If you do feel irritation from any of your products, stop using it. No amount of application will undo the damage you might be doing.