Tester-approved for pillowy-soft lips.
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Every lip balm aficionado knows the skin on your lips needs extra TLC. Unlike the rest of your body, your lips don’t have oil glands, making them more prone to dryness. This is especially true during the winter months when chapped and flakey lips can become an issue—not ideal when you want to wear your favorite matte lipstick. According to dermatologist Dr. Dendy Engelman, M.D., buffing away dead skin cells with a nonirritating lip scrub can help. “You want to use lip scrubs made with ingredients like sugar or natural exfoliants like citrus, which will be more gentle on the skin,” she tells Byrdie.
We tested 29 lip scrubs for a month, applying them at least two to three times a week to help find the best ones for all skin types. We evaluated each formula on texture, exfoliation, and hydration since you want something that removes flakes and replenishes lost moisture. After consulting a dermatologist, these lip scrubs stood out for consistently yielding soft, smooth, hydrated lips.
Best Overall
Poppy & Pout Lip Scrub
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Key Ingredients: Sugar, coconut oil, sunflower oil, beeswax, natural honey flavor oil, vitamin E | Size: 0.75 oz | Cruelty-Free: Yes
Using Poppy and Pout Wild Honey Lip Scrub was a delightful experience from start to finish. This handmade, natural scrub utilizes sugar to exfoliate and a coconut oil, sunflower oil, and beeswax blend to add slip and hydration. Our tester appreciated the scrub’s spreadable texture which gently smoothed dry patches, leaving her lips subtly hydrated (subtle is the key word here; she followed up with a lip balm for additional moisture). Natural honey oil adds to the sensory appeal here. It smells good enough to eat, and the same can be said of the brand’s other flavors including marshmallow creme, lemon bloom, and blood orange mint.
Best Budget
e.l.f. Cosmetics Lip Exfoliator
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Key Ingredients: Sugar, vitamin E, jojoba oil, shea butter, avocado oil | Size: 0.116 oz | Cruelty-Free: Yes
Our budget-friendly fave is also incredibly easy to apply. Swipe it on just like a regular lip balm and rub your lips together while its medium-grit sugar-based formula gets to work loosening rough skin. Meanwhile, nourishing vitamin E, jojoba oil, shea butter, and avocado oil condition the lips to leave them lightly moisturized.
When our tester wiped off the scrub, as per the instructions, her lips were super soft and smooth—the perfect canvas for lipstick.
Best Moisturizing
Grande Cosmetics GrandeBUFF Lip Scrub
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Key Ingredients: Sugar, shea and mango butters, coconut, avocado, argan and castor oils | Size: 0.53 oz | Cruelty-Free: Yes
Unlike many competitors, this scrub genuinely doubles as a rich, hydrating lip balm. It’s formulated with a laundry list of hydrating heroes, including creamy mango and shea butters, and argan oil, which left lips ultra-moisturized and protected against chapping. The scrub part is made from sugar-based eco beads designed to dissolve while they work their exfoliating magic, but our tester wound up using a wipe to remove the product completely. It did the trick—her lips were utterly smooth and primed for her favorite long-lasting red lipstick. She also appreciated that the jar comes with a little scoop for hygienic application.
Best Applicator
Makeup by Mario Perfecting Lip Scrub
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Key Ingredients: Sugar, coconut oil, sodium hyaluronate | Size: 0.43 oz | Cruelty-Free: Yes
By their very nature lip scrubs are a little messy, but this one simplifies the process thanks to its squeeze-tube applicator. It comes out like a thick gloss, distributing superfine sugar particles to help buff away dry, chapped skin, then rinses off without leaving a sticky residue. Our tester called the scrub “stimulating” and it left her lips smooth and plump, even improving the color and texture. Although the formula contains hydrating ingredients such as coconut oil and sodium hyaluronate, it’s not especially moisturizing, so an additional lip balm is key.
Best Gentle
Milani Supercharged Lip Scrub
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Key Ingredients: Sugar, castor oil, sweet almond oil, citrus, ginseng, turmeric | Size: 0.49 oz | Cruelty-Free: Yes
Milani’s Supercharged Lip Scrub proves that gentle formulas can still get the job done. It’s more like a balm than a scrub, but the silky consistency improves the feel of lips from the very first application, leaving them noticeably smoother and more moisturized. While our tester typically applies a balm over her go-to matte lipstick, this scrub kept her lips adequately hydrated all on its own, thanks to castor oil and sweet almond oil. She also loved its sweet citrusy scent/flavor. Her one complaint was that it comes in a jar when a tube would be a more hygienic option. c
Best Fragrance-Free
Bigger Than Beauty Skincare Pout Hero Exfoliating Lip Scrub
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Key Ingredients: Sugar, coconut powder, lactic acid enzyme complex | Size: 0.12 oz | Cruelty-Free: Yes
If you’re sensitive to strong scents and flavors, try this fragrance-free option from Bigger Than Beauty Skincare. The Pout Hero lip scrub combines physical (sugar and coconut powder) and chemical (lactic acid) exfoliators to reveal smooth, supple skin with every swipe. Our tester described it as light and gentle, coating his lips in buttery, long-lasting moisture.
FAQ
What are the benefits of lip scrubs?
“A good-quality lip scrub improves the overall texture and health of your lips by both exfoliating and hydrating,” explains Dr. Engelman. It works to add moisture while removing dead skin cells to stimulate cell turnover, improve texture, and help reveal soft skin. ”If you’re going to apply lipstick, lip scrubs can also be a great first step to ensure that you’re working with a smooth canvas that won’t crease, crack, or flake off over time.”
How do you apply lip scrubs?
Board-certified dermatologist, Dr. Geeta Yadav, M.D., advises grabbing a pea-sized amount with clean fingers. “Massage it onto your lips with medium to firm pressure for up to a minute for a thorough exfoliation,” she says. If you’re in a rush, you can also just rub your lips together, but doing it with your fingers will likely be more effective.
How often should you use a lip scrub?
Dr. Engelman recommends not using a lip scrub more than two times a week. “If you overuse a lip scrub, it may result in irritation or cracks on the lips.”