Why your lip scrub could be doing more harm than good...

Everyone has heard of them and (unfortunately) a lot of people are using them. We are talking about lip scrubs. We asked Dr. Kaplan for the inside scoop on scrubs and what they actually do for our skin’s health.

What Does Lip Scrub Do?

Lip scrubs, generally made from physical abrasives such as apricot pits, sugar, or microbeads, work by manually removing dead or peeling skin from the lips. While the initial results may feel satisfying, the use of manual exfoliators on your delicate lips skin can have immediate and long-lasting consequences. For some, immediately after use, the dead skin that is ripped away can cause redness, irritation, or bleeding.

Long-term, these abrasives can cause damage through micro-tearing which prolongs your suffering with dry, chapped lips. Using a chemical lip exfoliator which includes ingredients such as fruit enzymes, organic extracts and hyaluronic acid is much gentler on your lips, and while it’s a more progressive way of treating chapped lips, it also addresses the underlying issues that can cause dry lips in the first place. Chemical exfoliation and lip masks, instead of lip scrubs, allow the skin to heal naturally, revealing softer, smoother lips.

How to Use Lip Scrub

Dermatologists and estheticians strongly recommend not using a lip scrub if you are experiencing dry, peeling, or flaking skin on the lips. In this scenario, gentle care goes much further than rough, harsh, abrasive exfoliators and lip scrubs. When you use a lip scrub, you are tearing away skin that may still be attached to your lips, as well as creating new tears that can cause scabbing, dryness, and additional skin issues.

How Often Should You Exfoliate Your Lips?

While lip scrubs cause more harm than good, that doesn’t mean you can’t keep the skin on your lips exfoliated and hydrated for a plumper, healthier appearance. By using a lip mask (like our Perfect Pout Lip Mask) 2-3 times a week, you will be able to proactively prevent any new damage to your lips, while leaving the mask on overnight helps to immediately repair the moisture barrier of your lip’s skin, and heal any dry, chapped skin you may have.

Are Lip Scrubs Good For Chapped Lips?

KAPLAN MD Perfect Pout Lip Balm

When your lips are chapped and dry, it can be tempting to want to scrub away any dead skin. This is why many people turn to lip scrubs when their lips become chapped. Scrubs by nature are abrasive. We all know what happens when we pull dead skin off our lips when they are chapped - our lips become raw and very sensitive.

Then when you use a lip scrub, this is essentially what is happening; an abrasive scrub on the delicate skin of our lips can make them raw and painful.

Why Are Lip Scrubs Bad?

A lip scrub exfoliates good and bad skin on your lips, and they then become dry and scabbed. This ultimately results in even more chapped skin. Using a scrub is not unlike taking sandpaper to your dry chapped lips! In addition to the damaging, abrasive effects that a scrub can have, most lip scrubs do not add anything nourishing or beneficial to your lips in the form of hydration or anti-aging benefits.

What is the Best Lip Exfoliator?

When developing your skincare routine, it’s important to not forget to maintain healthy and moisturized lips. By incorporating hydrating lip masks and lip balms, you can reduce the need for extreme exfoliation, which can make the issue of chapped, dry lips even worse.

If you are looking to use a lip exfoliator, avoid lip scrubs that contain physical abrasives such as apricot pits or sugar. Instead, look to chemical exfoliators that gently slough away dead skin over time, while simultaneously healing and moisturizing the healthy skin underneath.

How to Remove Dead Skin On Your Lips

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure - being proactive with your lip health by consistently using high quality, non-drying lip balm (like our Perfect Pout Lip Balm), and treating your lips to a specially formulated lip mask, you can prevent the buildup of dead skin and avoid the need for a stronger exfoliation. However, if you are already experiencing dead skin on your lips, hydration is your friend! The focus should remain on preserving the healthy skin underneath any flaking.

It is important to avoid picking, peeling, biting, or aggressively rubbing off this skin, as it can damage the healthy skin below. After using a hydrating lip mask, gently remove the mask with a damp washcloth, which will help remove any excess dead skin that is ready to be separated from the lips.

What is the Best Way To Heal Chapped Lips?

A healthy, effective solution for getting rid of chapped lips is using a lip mask and a hydrating lip balm. Lip masks use gentle chemical exfoliation to tackle dry skin while infusing your lips with long-lasting moisture. This solution allows you to both prevent and tackle dry, chapped lips, while helping lips to be naturally more hydrated and full.

In addition to a lip mask, ensuring you maintain your lip health by using lip balm or lipstick with SPF is critical to preventing any further damage, and stopping chapped lips in their tracks. Whether you're looking for a more natural look, or want to go bold without compromising your lip's health, KAPLAN MD's line of lip colour has you covered.

Looking for the ultimate lip-protecting pair? We recommend the Perfect Pout. The duo consists of a Lip Mask and a Lip Balm. The LIP 20 Mask instantly transforms chapped, dry lips into softer and smoother lips. The star ingredient in the LIP 20 Mask is papaya enzymes. Papaya enzymes help your lips to gently exfoliate away dry skin without harming or irritating the delicate skin on your lips. It also contains hyaluronic acid to rehydrate chapped lips. Marine Collagen will naturally plump your lips and fill in lip wrinkles to create a natural fuller-looking lip.

The golden rule in skincare is to apply a hydrating Lip Balm after exfoliating to seal in moisture. We recommend following up with the Lip Balmwhich also contains SPF 20.

KAPLAN MD’s Special Tip: For extremely chapped lips we recommend applying a thin layer of Lip Mask on overnight to wake up to soft, full, smooth and kissable lips!