Don’t Use Lip Scrub to Heal Chapped Lips

Think a lip scrub is the secret to baby-soft lips? Think again. While scrubbing away dry flakes might seem like the fastest way to heal chapped lips, it can actually backfire. From irritating your delicate skin to disrupting its natural barrier, lip scrubs can leave your pout worse off.

Don't worry — we'll break down why scrubbing isn't the answer and share smarter, dermatologist-approved ways to keep your lips smooth and healthy.

Sloughing away dead lip skin might be tempting (who doesn't want smooth lips?), but it can do more harm than good.

Most lip scrubs use gritty exfoliants that can be too harsh, causing tiny micro-tears in the delicate skin on your lips, says Lindsey Marie Zubritsky, MD, FAAD, a board-certified dermatologist based in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.

This weakens your skin's natural barrier, leaving it vulnerable to irritation, dryness and even bacteria that can cause infections, Dr. Zubritsky adds.

In other words, scrubbing may not only make your lips ‌more‌ chapped, but it can also lead to bigger lip problems.

The lips are sensitive, thin and easily irritated, Dr. Zubritsky says. Using a lip scrub when they're already dry or chapped may just multiply this problem. Here's why:

"Typically lip scrubs contain irritating ingredients like fragrances and peppermint oil, which can lead to things like allergic contact dermatitis," she says. Contact dermatitis is an itchy rash that happens when you come into contact with something that irritates your skin or triggers an allergic reaction. And it can be very uncomfortable.

On top of itchy lips, you can also get bumps and blisters (sometimes with oozing and crusting), dryness, scaliness, swelling, burning or tenderness, according to the Mayo Clinic. Ugh, not fun.

All this to say, if you're sensitive or allergic to an ingredient in your lip scrub, using it will just trigger "a vicious cycle of dryness and cracking," Dr. Zubritsky says.

The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) recommends avoiding the following (possibly irritating) ingredients while your lips are chapped:

• Camphor
• Eucalyptus
• Flavoring (cinnamon, citrus, mint, and peppermint flavors can be especially irritating to dry, chapped lips)
• Fragrance
• Lanolin
• Menthol
• Octinoxate or oxybenzone (found in some SPF products)
• Phenol (or phenyl)
• Propyl gallate
• Salicylic acid
• Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS; a common ingredient in toothpaste)

No one loves dry, cracked lips, but lip scrubs for chapped lips aren't the answer. When you want to heal dry lips, Dr. Zubritsky recommends a three-pronged strategy of hydration, protection and prevention:

• ‌Hydrate‌: Use products with humectants like hyaluronic acid to draw in and retain moisture. And sip on plenty of water to hydrate from the inside out. To combat nighttime water loss, Dr. Zubritsky also recommends sleeping with a humidifier, which increases moisture in the air.
• ‌Protect:‌ Apply soothing, moisturizing emollients (like ceramides and shea butter) to help rebuild the skin barrier.
• ‌Prevent:‌ Opt for occlusive ingredients (like petroleum jelly) to prevent more transepidermal water loss.

The AAD also recommends products with the following ingredients to help heal chapped lips:

• Castor seed oil
• Dimethicone
• Hemp seed oil
• Mineral oil
• Sun-protective ingredients, such as titanium oxide or zinc oxide (found in lip balms with SPF)

Dr. Zubritsky recommends these two products specifically to help cure chapped lips fast:

• ‌Aquaphor Lip Repair:‌ "With ingredients like glycerin and shea butter, this fragrance-free ointment can soothe even the angriest lips," Dr. Zubritsky says. ($4.76, Amazon)
• ‌Remedy for dry lips:‌ "Created by a dermatologist, this product contains peptides, ceramides, squalane, petrolatum and more," Dr. Zubritsky says. ($16, Remedy)

Reapply these lip ointments as often as needed. "The more often, the better," Dr. Zubritsky says. And remember to slather on a thick layer at nighttime, she adds. At night, our skin barrier becomes more permeable and tends to lose moisture.

Lip scrubs aren't the best fix for chapped lips. Alternatively, soothing, hydrating ointments are the way to go. Just reapply liberally and often, and in a few days, your kisser will be as good as new.

If you really need to tackle those pesky flakes, try gently wiping them away with a warm washcloth, Dr. Zubritsky says. It's kinder to your lips.