Education
March 18, 23

DIY Manuka Honey Lip Scrub

EDUCATION

7 minutes

Essential Takeaways

Lip scrubs are a great way to clear dead skin and deeply moisturise the sensitive lip area.

Natural ingredients like sugar and coffee are fantastic abrasives, and manuka honey is useful as a deeply nourishing and protective moisturiser.

You can make your very own manuka honey lip scrub using ingredients already in your pantry. Read on to find out how.

“Dry lips and chapped lips occur due to dehydration, dry environment, and a person's habit of licking the lips so that they can form a layer of keratin that peels on the surface of the lips.”

Coffee for dry lips, a study.

Nobody likes chapped lips.

They’re dry, uncomfortable, and don’t look great.

But sometimes, thanks to the seasons or simply genetics, they’re hard to avoid.

Fortunately, there’s a great natural way to keep chapped lips at bay.

By blending the incredible health benefits of manuka honey¹ with all-natural abrasives like coffee grounds or sugar, you can make your very own nourishing manuka honey lip scrub.

Here’s how.

In this guide to making your own manuka honey lip scrub:

Why make a manuka honey lip scrub?
The perfect honey lip scrub ingredients
How to make your manuka honey lip scrub
The best manuka honey for skincare and wellness

Why make a manuka honey lip scrub?

“According to the American Academy of Dermatology, exfoliation can leave your skin looking brighter and improve the effectiveness of topical skincare products by enhancing absorption.

Long-term exfoliating can increase collagen production. Collagen is key to glowing, vibrant skin. The protein also promotes skin elasticity, minimizing the appearance of fine lines and related sagging.”

Healthline.

Lip scrubs are great for clearing the skin of dead cells, dirt, and dry layers.

By buffing the surface of the lip, moisturisers can get in and rehydrate them, making your lips look and feel nourished.

And since we know so much about the beneficial compounds of manuka honey in skincare, it makes sense to create your own all-natural lip scrub at home.

Manuka honey has been linked to increased collagen production²; an important protein for the skin.

It also has anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and humectant properties³; locking in moisture and keeping out bacteria.

Packed full of beneficial nutrients⁴, manuka honey is ideal for topical use on skin:

“Honey-based cosmetic products include lip ointments, cleansing milks, hydrating creams, after sun, tonic lotions, shampoos, and conditioners.

In cosmetic formulations, it exerts emollient, humectant, soothing, and hair conditioning effects, keeps the skin juvenile and retards wrinkle formation, regulates pH and prevents pathogen infections.”

Honey in dermatology and skincare, a review.

Sounds great, doesn’t it?

Does that mean manuka honey is good for the lips?

Manuka honey is great for the lips and can be used as a lip balm after exfoliation.

By locking in moisture and keeping out bacteria, manuka honey can promote the healing of dry lips and may even boost collagen production.

Making a lip scrub with honey is a fantastic way to naturally nourish dry and cracked lips.

Keep reading to learn about the types of ingredients you could use for your lip scrub, or click here to skip straight to the recipe.

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The best honey lip scrub ingredients

There are so many natural foods and compounds that are great for our bodies on the inside and the outside.

If you're interested in learning more about the many ways you can use manuka honey, check out our 176+ Ways to use manuka honey mega guide.

Here, we’ll cover a handful of ideal foods that you can use in your very own honey lip scrub so that you can customise the step-by-step recipe in the section below.

Easy!

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Natural exfoliators

Here are some great abrasive ingredients that can be added to your DIY lip scrub.

Sugar

“Sugar is one of the best natural beauty ingredients to exfoliate your skin. Sugar has a natural anti-aging effect on the skin. It does not allow toxins to attack your skin cells, so it helps to slow down the aging process.”

Homemade sugar scrubs for skincare, Michigan State University.

Who doesn’t love sugar?

Turns out your skin loves it, too.

And like honey (which is mostly sugar and water), it has humectant properties that help to moisturise your skin. Win-win.

What to use: Any sugar you like. A brown sugar honey lip scrub would be the finest and least abrasive. Granulated sugar is next and just as effective, with organic sugar often being the most coarse.

Coffee

“Arabica coffee extract is known to have antioxidant activity so that it can provide a protective effect from free radicals when applied to the lips.”

Coffee for dry lips, a study.

As a natural abrasive and one that won’t dissolve in water, coffee is a great addition to your natural skincare routine.

With nutrients and antioxidants, it’s thought to be great for increasing blood flow and balancing skin pH levels⁵.

What to use: freshly ground coffee beans.

Salt

“Salt acts as a mechanical exfoliant and scrub, removing dead skin cells. This leaves the skin feeling smoother, softer, and brighter. Through osmotic actions, salts absorb toxins and draws out dirt and oil.”

Washing your face with salt water, Healthline.

Salt can be a great exfoliator for the skin.

Whilst it has similar benefits to sugar and coffee, it can sometimes irritate oily or acne-prone skin.

So if the area around your lips is sensitive to these things, it may be best to opt for another ingredient.

What to use: Natural sea salt and Himalayan pink salt is less processed than table salt, so this is better for a natural skincare solution.

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Natural moisturisers

Making your lip scrub dry without honey might not give you the moisturising effect you’re after.

Here’s why manuka honey is ideal, plus some other moisturising ingredients you could use with it.

Manuka honey

Surprise!

We love using manuka honey in skincare and the science backs it up⁶.

Topical use can clear acne, protect wounds, help to heal scars and burns, and generally aid your skin’s natural barriers and processes.

And the best part?

Making a DIY honey lip scrub is far from the only way you can get the best out of your manuka honey.

Here are just a few of the other beauty and wellness products you can make with manuka honey at home:

Read more: 176+ Ways to use manuka honey.

Coconut oil

“There is plenty of vitamin E in coconut oil, which is essential for healthy skin. Vitamin E repairs wear and tear and protects the skin from cracking. It can also help premature aging.

The protein in coconuts and coconut oils also helps keep skin healthy by contributing to cellular health and tissue repair.”

Homemade sugar scrubs for skincare, Michigan State University.

Coconut oil exploded onto the skincare scene a few years back and people used it for everything from moisturisers to toothpastes.

At the time of writing, scientific evidence doesn’t necessarily back up these uses⁷.

But coconut oil has been popular in the world of wellness for centuries, so it must be doing something right!

Natural fragrances and flavours

Why not add a little extra flair to your honey lip scrub with these popular natural ingredients?

Turmeric

Turmeric is known to offer a wide range of skincare benefits, including⁸:

Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties
Wound healing
Collagen production
Relief from psoriasis and acne

Just watch out for the temporary yellow lip stain and avoid getting it on your bench top and clothing.

Simply add a few pinches of turmeric to your lip scrub with honey for an extra nutrient boost.

Love turmeric? Try our manuka honey turmeric face mask.

Pomegranate peel

That’s right, the peel. Don’t throw it away!

Pomegranate peels are high in antioxidants and polyphenols which protect our bodies against oxidative stress and inflammation⁹.

Dry out your peel for a few days before grinding it down and mixing into your manuka honey lip scrub.

(You may also find dried pomegranate peel available in your local health foods store or online, if you’d prefer a shortcut!)

Avocado

Packed full of healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals, avocado is a fantastic topical skincare ingredient¹⁰.

Make a sumptuous, deep moisture mask using manuka honey, avocado, and coconut oil.

Or add it to your lip scrub with honey for extra vitamins and creaminess.

Cocoa

Cocoa is believed to be great for the skin due to its fatty acids which hydrate, nourish, and promote skin elasticity¹¹.

Plus, it smells and tastes great too.

The perfect combination for using on your lips!

How to make your manuka honey lip scrub

Now for the fun part.

Here’s a simple recipe to make your lip scrub with manuka honey.

1. Pick your exfoliant, moisturiser, and additional ingredient(s)

Are you going to combine your manuka honey with coffee, salt, sugar, or something else?

Think about what you want to achieve with your honey lip scrub and your skin type to help you decide.

2. Mix your exfoliant and moisturiser

Combine your exfoliator with your moisturiser (manuka honey).

How much you use is up to you.

Try out the consistency and adjust the ratios of each ingredient until it feels balanced.

You want to feel the coarser texture but you don’t want your lip scrub to feel too rough on the skin.

3. Add your additional ingredient(s)

It’s easy to add a little extra nutrient punch to your lip scrub.

Choose one or more of our ingredients above based on their potential skin benefits.

4. Decant into a container

Find a small container for your lip scrub and decant your mixture. It’s best to use a glass or airtight container to keep your natural ingredients fresh.

Remember to sterilize your container before use. You can put it through the dishwasher, or clean with detergent and hot water. Make sure that your container is dry and free from moisture before decanting.

5. Use and take with you on the go!

That’s it!

Your manuka honey lip scrub is good to go.

Enjoy.