Lip scrubs are a divisive product category. We all know that exfoliating your lips is necessary — especially in colder months, if you want your lipstick to look smooth and supple — but is it really worth it to buy an entire lip scrub product? Don’t those DIY treatments suffice?
The real deciding factor is if you’re willing to hand over that cash. But there’s also this to consider: Not all dry lips need a scrub. In fact, using lip scrubs incorrectly can make matters worse.
“There’s a difference between chapped lips and flaky lips,” says Sara Happ, founder of her eponymous lip-care brand. According to Happ, chapped lips indicate dehydrated skin, while flaky, cracked, or bleeding lips indicate damaged skin. “Chapped lips should be scrubbed daily, but flaky lips need to heal,” she says. “Exfoliating isn’t going to give [flaky lips] the love and rest they need.”
Dennis Gross, MD, a NYC-based dermatologist and founder of Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare, agrees. “Because the skin is thin on the lips, it is a fine line one might walk when exfoliating,” he says. “Over-exfoliating lips will throw them off balance and, in turn, make them more dry. This can make them prone to cracking.”
So what’s the final verdict? If your lips are cracked and flaky, stick to soothing balms and treatments; if they’re chapped, feel free to buff, but don’t go overboard. Check out our favorite scrubs and treatments ahead.
At Refinery29, we’re here to help you navigate this overwhelming world of stuff. All of our market picks are independently selected and curated by the editorial team. If you buy something we link to on our site, Refinery29 may earn commission.
Beauty Bakerie Sugar Lip Scrub
Treat your lips to a little bit of dessert any time a day by swirling this scrub in circular motions before applying your favorite lip balm this winter. Though it may look (and taste) sweet, it’s packed with highly effective ingredients like castor oil to ensure the most supple lips imaginable.
Beauty Bakerie Beauty Bakerie Sugar Lip Scrub, $, available at Ulta
Bybi Lip Buffer
Packaged in a biodegradable tube made of sugarcane, this 100% natural and vegan lip scrub uses a cocktail of sugar and strawberry extract to slough away dead and dry skin, and sweet almond oil to help restore moisture.
BYBI Beauty Lip Buffer, $, available at Credo
e.l.f. Cosmetics Lip Exfoliator
This gritty scrub comes in a lipstick-style tube filled with raw sugar granules, vitamin E, shea butter, and avocado oil to hydrate and exfoliate. Buff it on straight from the bullet, then wipe off the excess sugar and oils with a tissue before following up with your favorite lip balm.
e.l.f. Cosmetics e.l.f. Cosmetics Lip Exfoliator, $, available at Ulta
Milani Keep It Sweet Sugar Lip Scrub
This is another lip scrub with a price tag that won’t make you squirm. Found at the drugstore and packed with enough product to last you a year, this one balances just the right amount of grit to scrape off dead skin and plenty of nourishing ingredients like coconut and jojoba oils.
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Milani MILANI Keep It Sweet Sugar Lip Scrub, $, available at Walmart
Burt’s Bees Lip Treatment Lip Scrub
With exfoliating honey crystals, Burt’s Bees’ 100% natural lip scrub formula buffs away rough skin and gets rid of long-lasting liquid lipsticks. The brand recommends using two to three times a week, when needed.
Burt’s Bees® Burt’s Bees Lip Treatment Lip Scrub, $, available at Ulta
Dior Addict Lip Sugar Scrub
Dior’s scrubbing bullet not only feels soft and indulgent on lips, but it also has special melting sugar crystals so you don’t have to deal with any mess. The luxury matches the price, though.
Dior Lip Sugar Scrub, $, available at Sephora
Sara Happ The Lip Scrub
While we wouldn’t recommend you regularly ingest Happ’s heavenly lip scrubs, we can’t blame you for sneaking a lick every now and then. They’re insanely delicious and come in flavors that’ll satisfy your sweet tooth.
Sara Happ sara happ The Lip Scrub [Vanilla Bean], $, available at Amazon
Tarte Lip Facial Lip Scrub
This crayon-style tube is a balm and scrub in one. Once you’re done buffing your lips with the sugar-infused tip, blot off the excess sugar and leave the hydrating balm on to soothe and hydrate.
Tarte Lip Facial Lip Scrub, $, available at Tarte
Lush Mint Julips
Scour the rabbit hole that is Lush product reviews on YouTube and you’ll find this minty scrub pop up more than once. Bonus: The food-grade product is actually good enough to eat.
Lush Mint Julips, $, available at Lush
Frank Body Cherry Bomb Lip Scrub
Inside this tub you’ll find a cherry-scented blend of coffee, raw sugar, and beeswax to keep lips healthy and plump.
Frank Body frank body Cherry Bomb Lip Scrub in, $, available at Revolve
Bliss Fabulips Sugar Lip Scrub
This scrub smells like a sugar cookie, and keeps lips soft long after it’s wiped off.
ChapStick Total Hydration Conditioning Lip Scrub
The holiday season may be over, but this peppermint-flavored drugstore pick — with vitamin E and coconut oil — is a refreshing take on the limited-edition lattes we love.
ChapStick Total Hydration Conditioning Lip Scrub, $, available at Ulta Beauty
Kopari Coconut Lip Scrubby
Volcanic ash, brown sugar, and coconut oil gently buff away dead skin and keep your lips soft at the same time. The best part? The tube packaging makes it easy to apply directly to your lips, versus scooping some out every day.
Kopari Coconut Lip Scrubby, $, available at Sephora
Bite Beauty Agave+ Intensive Lip Mask
Now, onto lip treatments. This vanilla-scented leave-on mask has soothed our wind-whipped lips for three consecutive winters thanks to its antioxidant-, jojoba oil-, and agave-infused formula. Fair warning, though: It’s thick and sticky, so save it for when you’re binge-watching TV in bed at night.
Bite Beauty Agave+ Intensive Vegan Lip Mask, $, available at Sephora
Sara Happ The Sweet Clay Lip Mask
This lip mask is made with bentonite clay, but it won’t dry out the skin like a traditional clay mask might — in fact, it does the opposite. Smooth on a layer of the bubblegum pink paste to your mouth and let it sit for up to 20 minutes. Then wipe it off to reveal smoother, more hydrated lips.
Sara Happ sara happ The Sweet Clay Lip Mask, $, available at Amazon
Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask
Like a balm with superpowers, this thick mask is packed with hyaluronic acid and vitamin C, so you’ll wake up with the softest, smoothest, plumpest lips ever.
Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask, $, available at Sephora
Kiehl’s Buttermask Intense Repair Lip Treatment
With coconut and mango oil, this buttery lip treatment works to repair the moisture barrier overnight.
Kiehl’s Since 1851 Kiehl’s Since 1851 Buttermask for Lips, $, available at Ulta
Biossance Squalane + Rose Vegan Lip Balm
Consider this balm the ultimate skin-care treatment for your lips, with ceramides, hyaluronic acid, and Wakame algae to nourish and hydrate dry, lackluster skin. Pro tip: Feel free to swipe onto your lids or cheeks for a hit of non-sticky shine.
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Biossance Biossance Squalane Rose Vegan Lip Balm, $, available at Amazon
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