10 LIP SCRUBS TO BE POUT PRETTY

Chapped lips could be fading your look. Here are some natural remedies to get their health back.

Homemade remedies are slowly becoming my forte. And I am not complaining. I love every bit of using DIY recipes for my beauty needs. I have tried and tested body scrubs, face scrubs, hair masks and my recent experiments have been with lip scrubs. Lip scrubs easy to make and so much fun that I rather stir them up at home than buying them from the stores. My interest in taking care of lips is for creating the perfect base for my favourite lipstick. So here are some of the best concoctions that I stirred up in the guidance of aesthetician and makeup artist Ruby Biswas and her time-tested remedies:

1) Sugar lip scrub: Mix 1-2 tsp of brown sugar, 1 tsp honey, 1 tsp olive oil/coconut oil (whichever is available at home) and 2-3 drops of your favourite essential oil or vanilla essence (this is optional just to add flavour and smell to the scrub). Sugar is a natural exfoliator which gets your lips rid of the dead peeling skin. Honey is a humectants that keeps the lips moisturised.

2) Lemon lip scrub: Squeeze out juice of lemons and take 4 tbsp of it and mix with 2 ½ cup of brown sugar and 1 cup of olive oil/coconut oil/almond oil. Apply the lip scrub and massage it for few minutes. Wash off with water or remove using a damp cloth. Lemon will remove dead cells and make the skin smooth and lighter. Avoid using lemon scrub if you have severely chapped lips with cuts.

3) Coffee lip scrub: Topical application of coffee is beneficial for the skin. Take ½ cup ground coffee, 2 tbsp olive oil and ¼ cup brown sugar. Mix them all into a paste form and apply on lips, storing the remaining quantity for future use. The coffee would scrub away the dead skin from your lips bringing back the smooth and healthy pout.

4) Sea salt lip scrub: Take 1 tsp sea salt, 1 tsp granulated sugar and 4 tsp coconut/olive oil. Mix them well to form the scrub and if you want then you can add your favourite essential oil to make it smell good. Sugar and salt are exfoliators which remove dead cells and reveal the healthier and softer lips from beneath.

5) Papaya lip scrub: The over ripe portion of papaya that we tend to throw can be used as a lip scrub. Just scrap out the ripe portion and mix it with little brown sugar and olive oil. The paste formed by mixing these ingredients can be applied to the dry lips. And with a cloth wrapped on the finger massage the lips for about 5 minutes. Wash off with water afterwards. The papain present in papaya dissolves the dead skin cells leaving the lips soft and smooth.

6) Mango lip scrub: Summers are coming and so are the mangoes. And if you are not able to get your hands on mangoes then apple would also do. Whichever fruit you take just peel the fruit and take the pulp of the fruit which is next to the peel. This pulp is rich in AHA (alphahydroxy acid) which acts an excellent exfoliator for the skin, breaking down the bonds of dead skin. Mix this pulp with little bit honey and apply the scrub on lips for 5 minutes and rinse off.

7) Sugar and oil lip scrub: Take 1 tsp of brown sugar, 1 tsp petroleum jelly and 2 tsp almond/jojoba oil. Mix it into a paste and massage some on lips for 5 minutes. Wash off with lukewarm water.

8) Fresh cream lip scrub: Mix fresh cream, brown sugar and honey to form a lip scrub. Sugar would exfoliate while the fresh cream and honey would moisturise the lips making them extremely soft after exfoliation.

9) Rose petals lip scrub: Roses are not only good to smell but are good for skin as well. Grinding fresh rose petals with little bit of almond or jojoba oil could give you the sweet smelling lip scrub that would instantly moisturise your lips.

10) Coconut lime lip scrub: Mix 1 tbsp coconut oil, 1 tbsp lime juice, 1 tsp honey and 3 tbsp brown sugar and form a paste. Take small quantity and apply on lips while storing the remaining for future use. Coconut oil not just moisturizes the lips but also clear up dirt and removes dead cells.

The right way to massaging these scrubs is either wrapping a cloth on your index finger and then massaging the lips or using a soft tooth brush to do that. Once a week exfoliating the lips will solve the problem but in winters you need to do this after every two days. Always apply a lip balm after exfoliating the lips.