The 10 Best Lip Scrubs to Exfoliant Your Lips in 2026

When your lips become dry and chapped, the lipid layers become unbalanced. Different areas of skin will begin to flake and peel off, and you’ll end up with rough, cracked lips. The longer that you leave your lips alone, the worse they may become. Dry, chapped lips are exposed to environmental elements that may penetrate into deeper layers of the skin and cause even more damage.

A lip scrub could be all that you need to heal your lips. This exfoliant will remove chapped, dead skin, so the moisturizing elements in your lip balm can further penetrate deeper into the skin for a more intense hydration effect. After using a lip scrub, you’ll be on your way to healthy, soft and smoochable lips!

A good lip scrub can also prevent premature aging and give your lips a more youthful complexion. It can create a smooth canvas for lipstick, lip gloss and other lip products.

How to Choose the Best Lip Scrub

Choosing the best lip scrub is a piece of cake once you know what to look for. While there are many factors that you should take into consideration, the three main factors that you need to consider include the ingredients that are inside the lip scrub, its fragrance and scent and whether it has any notable features.

Ingredients

When choosing a lip scrub, the most important thing is the ingredients that are inside the scrub. Most lip scrubs are made with three different types of ingredients: emollients, humectants and exfoliates.

Emollients, which will soften, smooth and moisturize your lips, are the creamy or oily base of the scrub. It’s essentially the foundation that every other ingredient is layered on top of. Choose an emollient that’s hydrating, moisturizing and soothing on your lips. There are many options to choose from. For example, avocado oil is really nourishing for your lips; however, if you have latex allergies, there’s a higher chance that you’re allergic to avocado oil, so you’ll have to be more cautious. Coconut oil has a higher chance of clogging your pores than avocado oil, but it has antibacterial and antifungal properties!

Humectants are ingredients that promote moisture retention by attracting water to your skin’s surface. These ingredients further moisturize and nourish your lips.

Exfoliates are tiny abrasive ingredients that scrub off dead skin. It’s always better to look for gentle exfoliators that are natural, as they are less likely to irritate the skin.

Ingredients to Avoid

Not all ingredients are good for your lips, especially if they’re chapped. If you want to heal chapped lips, some ingredients may irritate and dry out your lips, causing them to become even more chapped. According to the American Academy of Dermatology Association (AAD), you’ll have a difficult time hydrating your lips and getting rid of flaky skin if the lip scrub you use contains ingredients like:

• Camphor
• Eucalyptus
• Cinnamon
• Citrus extracts
• Fragrances
• Lanolin
• Menthol
• Mint extracts
• Octinoxate or oxybenzone
• Peppermint extracts
• Phenol (or phenyl)
• Propyl gallate
• Salicylic acid

If the lip scrub you use has any of these ingredients, you’ll want to be more cautious. Make sure that you’re not experiencing any irritation or dryness after applying the product.

Flavor and Scent

Most lip scrubs will have unique flavors and scents even if they are made from natural ingredients. Some of the emollients, humectants and exfoliates will naturally have a scent or flavor to them. For example, the Handmade Heroes All Natural Lip Scrub will naturally smell and taste like coconut, and it’s delicious. You can also find this product flavored with matcha powder or pina colada!

If you have sensitive skin, avoid artificially-scented and flavored products. In particular, you’ll want to avoid any products that have ‘fragrances’ in their ingredient list.

Notable Features

Look for products that have that extra WOW power! These products may be able to condition your lips in addition to exfoliating them. They may have SPF protection in them. The packaging can also be a notable feature. The Revlon Kiss Exfoliating Balm comes in a tube-like lipstick, which makes it a lot easier to apply.

With these three key factors in point, let’s take a gander at some glorious lip scrubs you can get a hold of today and cure those cursed, chapped lips.