DIY Lip Scrub with Whipped Sugar

When it comes to dry lips, I find that no matter how much lip balm I use, it doesn’t matter unless I’m exfoliating as well. Fortunately, it’s super easy to make a delicious DIY lip scrub that keeps my lips exfoliated and moisturized at the same time.

A little lip scrub lasts a really long time, and this easy recipe makes plenty for you to use and to hand out as gifts for the holiday season. I love putting this natural exfoliant in a bunch of small containers for that reason.

The best thing is you only need 2 simple ingredients to keep your lips irresistibly smooth and soft – coconut oil and sugar! You can also add food coloring and some essential oils, but it’s not necessary.

I hope you enjoy having soft and smooth lips over the cold winter months as much as I do. Of course, lips can use exfoliating year round, so I always keep some moisturizing lip scrub on hand.

Supplies and Tools

• ¼ cup of solid coconut oil
• ¾ cup of granulated sugar
• 1-2 drops of pink food coloring
• 2-3 drops of your favorite essential oil
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Large mixing bowl
• Electric hand mixer
• Small glass jar

By the Numbers: How to Make a Homemade Lip Scrub

Follow these simple steps to learn how to make a good lip scrub to soothe dry lips over cooler months.

Step 1: Whip Coconut Oil.

Add ¼ cup of coconut oil to a large mixing bowl and use an electric hand mixer to whip up your coconut oil for about 30 seconds. This can also be done in a stand mixer. I don’t recommend a small bowl or it’s too difficult to whip the oil.

Step 2: Freeze Whipped Coconut Oil.

Place your mixing bowl with the whipped coconut oil into your freezer and allow it to chill for no more than 3 minutes. It will freeze if you leave it in there too long and make it hard to remix.

Take the bowl out of the freezer and use your hand mixer to whip it for another couple minutes. If it’s too firm, you can wait for it to thaw a bit.

Step 3: Whip Sugar Into Oil.

Add ¾ cup of sugar to the mixing bowl with the whipped coconut oil and whip with your hand mixer for another minute, or until the sugar and coconut oil are well combined.

Step 4: Scent and Color Lip Scrub.

Add a few drops of essential oil (or candy flavoring oil) to the bowl along with few drops of pink food coloring coloring, if desired, and whip with your hand mixer until everything is well combined.

Step 5: Package Homemade Scrub.

You can either store it in an 8-ounce glass jar or transfer smaller quantities to cute little airtight containers to gift. I like using smaller containers for lip scrub since you just use a little at a time, and friends love receiving a small container as a simple gift.

Tips for Making and Using a DIY Lip Scrub

Answers to all of your questions about making and using a DIY lip scrub with coconut oil and sugar, including tips and substitution ideas.

1. How to use homemade lip scrub for dry lips.

1. Using a circular motion, gently massage a small amount of the scrub into your lips with your index finger.
2. Rinse with warm water and pat dry with a warm washcloth.
3. Don’t press too hard or you’ll remove all of the nourishing coconut oil, which you need for moisturized, healthy lips.

2. Which essential oils to use?

I use essential oils from Rocky Mountain Oils in all of my homemade beauty products these days. They are really high quality and the scent is long lasting and amazing.

Some essential oil combinations I like to use in lip sugar scrubs are:

• Lemon and lime essential oil
• Orange and peppermint oil
• Vanilla extract
• Rose oil
• Lavender oil with peppermint or orange

If you want to stay away from essential oils, candy flavoring oils such as Watermelon and Strawberry are another fun choice.

3. Best way to color lip sugar scrubs?

The colorant is really just for fun, so feel free to leave it out. If you do want to color yours, I recommend food coloring since lip scrubs have a tendency to get tasted.

I used gel food coloring in my lip scrub because it’s highly pigmented, so a little goes a really long way.

4. Which type of sugar is best?

While I love using raw turbinado sugar in my cooking and brown sugar in some of my other sugar scrub recipes (like my DIY Hand Scrub), they’re not the best choice for making a sugar lip scrub.

I prefer a fine grain white sugar for my exfoliating lip scrubs since the skin on chapped lips is more delicate than the skin in other places of our body. The finer grain of the sugar crystals gently exfoliates away dry skin instead of irritating sensitive skin like larger granules can.

5. What if my coconut oil is melted?

If you’re making this simple recipe in the hot summer months and your coconut oil is melted, a great way to firm it up before whipping is to place it in the refrigerator until chilled.

6. Substitution for coconut oil?

If you don’t want to use coconut oil in your DIY sugar lip scrub, you can use cocoa butter or shea butter to still get that whipped feeling.

If you want to use another carrier oil like olive oil, you won’t be able to whip the ingredients together the same way, but it will still work to exfoliate lips.

Some popular carrier oil choices are:

• Jojoba oil
• Avocado oil
• Vitamin E oil 
• Sweet almond oil 

If you need help picking the right carrier oil for you, check out my post on the benefits of different carrier oils.

7. Storage and shelf life for sugar scrubs.

Sugar scrubs will last for a couple of months as long as you don’t get any water in them. Once you get water in them, stuff can start to grow and you don’t want that.

That’s one reason it can be better to store things like this lip scrub in smaller containers. If water gets in one, you can toss it and grab a fresh one.

Mountain Rose Herbs is a great place to buy containers for DIY beauty products. If you’re new to making beauty products, be sure to read my article on choosing the Best Containers for Homemade Beauty Products.

8. Other uses for this natural lip scrub?

You can also use this homemade lip scrub on any part of your skin where you’d normally use a natural scrub to exfoliate away dead skin cells. It feels really nice on dry skin!

9. More DIY Lip Recipes.

If you enjoyed taking care of your lips with this easy DIY Lip Scrub Recipe, give these other homemade beauty products try as part of your beauty routine:

• Peppermint Lip Balm
• Chocolate Lip Balm
• Roll On Lip Gloss
• Honey Cinnamon Lip Gloss

10. Buy Instead of DIY.

There’s no need to buy expensive lip scrubs when you can make your own homemade lip scrub. However, if you want to simplify life and buy a pre-made scrub, try this Fresh Sugar Lip Polish from Sephora that works amazing!

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