Winter lips aren’t always the most kissable. Winter air can dry your lips out and even make them flaky. Ick. You can have kiss ready; or pout ready (depending) lips by Valentine’s Day though.

1. Exfoliate: Try one of the following treatments…

• You can use a small, soft, and slightly damp washcloth to rub your lips about twice a week.
• Take a dab of honey and a dab of white table sugar and gently use this to exfoliate your lips. I did this by accident once (I was doing a honey skin pat) but it works well for lips.

• Use an organic lip scrub treatment such as Natural Lip Scrub in Organic Cinnamon (organic, no petroleum – no parabens) or try NVEY ECO Organic Lip Exfoliator which sounds awesome – a blend of cranberry seeds and organic oils that help refine and smooth your lips.

2. Treat: Some people think using lip balm will dry your lips out more than using nothing; however, I think that using a bad lip balm might, but if you use a nice one, it can only help your lips. At least, that’s my experience. Grab a nice super rich lip balm, such as…

• I’ve noted before that I like the Burts Bees bees wax lip balm, but have been looking for a new brand. I’m thinking of trying Red Bee Real Lip Balm. Red Bee sound pretty nice; it’s handmade in small batches with only plant-based ingredients. No pesticides, alcohol, paraffin waxes, or preservatives and it’s available in peppermint, watermelon, strawberry and lemon.  At just $5 a pop, it seems insane not to try this balm.
• A reader here suggested All Good Lips – which I still need to try, but it sounds nice and soothing. Made by Elemental Herbs, All Good Lips is a combo of 100% natural essential oils and is available with or without sunscreen and in original flavor, tangerine or spearmint.
• Try some Homemade Natural Cranberry Lip Gloss.

3. Top your lips off: Of course choose a color that suits your skin, but go for a satin shine or rich glossy finish, not matte, not in winter when your lips need brightening, and absolutely not on Valentine’s Day. The general color rule is that darker, deeper red shades – raspberry and burgundy are good for very pale and dark skin, while bright reds and light berry (think strawberry) are good for medium skin tones. That said, I’m not much for rules. I know what looks best with my skin tone because I experiment and you can too. If you need instant tips, read Choosing Lip Colors, which is short and seems on target.

Sugar scrubs rock. Everyone I know loves them. Sugar scrubs make your skin super smooth and deliciously scented, but don’t have the same harshness as salt scrubs. You can make sugar scrubs for your own use or make bulk batches for great birthday or holiday gifts. Best of all, you control what goes into them (no icky chemicals, preservatives, or colors), you control the packaging (less waste), and they’re inexpensive to make. If you don’t already have essential oils on hand your start up costs will be more, but not more than it would cost you to purchase a ready-made boutique quality organic scrub.

I have tons of scrub recipes, but the one that always seems the most popular is the organic lavender vanilla sugar scrub, so I’ll post that. Later, I’ll post how to experiment with different scrub flavors

SUGAR SCRUB INGREDIENTS:

1. Natural or organic body oil: What you want is a basic carrier oil. You can also use light olive oil. My favorite carrier is apricot kernel, but I also like sweet almond and for scrubs I will use light olive oil; especially if I’m making a lot, because carrier oil is usually more expensive. Baby oil can work, but personally, I think it’s a tad slick. NEVER use cooking oils like vegetable oil – you’re not frying food. If you use any cooking oil besides olive, you’re going to get a scrub that one, smells funky, and two, can get rancid faster.

2. Sugar: You can use all plain white organic table sugar or organic coarse demerara or turbinado sugar. White sugar makes the lightest scrub, brown makes a more intense scrub, and you can also experiment with a mix of both. Never use soft brown baking sugar or powdered sugar – you’ll only get clumps, and no scrub appeal.

3. Organic lavender pure essential oil: If you’re new to essential oils, read the Essential Oil Buying Guide and the Essential Oil Safety Guide before you get started.

4. Vanilla choices: You have some different choices when it comes to vanilla…

• Whole Organic Vanilla Beans
• Natural Vanilla Bean Paste: This will darken your sugar mixtures, but it’s very concentrated and very vanilla scented. It takes less time to use than whole beans.
• Fair Trade Certified Organic Vanilla Extract: this, like paste, will also darken your scrub. You can actually get clear vanilla extract, but I’ve only seen clear in artificial, not pure, so I don’t recommend it. Using extract also may add an extra feel of oil to the mix, although, not too much.
• Vanilla Sugar: White in color, so it won’t darken your mix. However, depending on the kind you use, you’ll need to experiment with amounts. It won’t have quite as strong a vanilla scent as beans, paste, or extract.

HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE SUGAR SCRUB WITH WHOLE VANILLA BEANS:

1. Place 1 to 2 whole vanilla beans in 1 cup dry sugar. Cover and let sit for a week or two – the longer it sits the better the smell. You can experiment with vanilla bean intensity. I like strongly scented scrubs, so I err on the side of more, however, use less for a lighter scent. If you’re not using whole beans directions are posted below (after this recipe).
2. Remove your beans.
3. Saturate (but don’t over-saturate) your sugar with carrier oil. It should be totally moist, but there shouldn’t be a huge layer of liquid on top of the sugar.
4. Add two drops of lavender essential oil. Smell your mix, and add more lavender if you want a stronger scent.
5. Place in a container with a lid.

HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE SUGAR SCRUB WITHOUT WHOLE VANILLA BEANS:

If you’re using vanilla extract or paste, skip straight to step 3 above. After mixing in your carrier oil, add a tablespoon or so of paste or extract. Then continue with step 4.

If you’re using vanilla sugar, I’d start with a half and half mix – 1/2 cup vanilla sugar, 1/2 cup other sugar. I haven’t used vanilla sugar much, and the time I did it was not too strongly scented, so you’ll need to experiment. After you have the sugar scent you want go to step 3 and continue from there.

HOW TO USE YOUR SUGAR SCRUB:

• For hefty scrubbing action, stand in your shower with the water off. Scrub your dry skin down, then rinse in the shower.
• For basic scrubby action, use in your already running shower, after your skin is wet.
• Do not use on your face.
• Although it seems odd, you won’t be sticky after using this, all you need to do is rinse with warm water. No soap is necessary. This scrub will not dry your skin out and is perfect for troublesome dry areas.

SUGAR SCRUB SHELF LIFE & STORAGE:

• You can keep this in your bathroom. You don’t need to refrigerate it. It won’t mold.
• Make sure you keep it covered.
• I’d guess that this scrub keeps for 3-6 months well. I’m not totally sure because it never lasts that long. It’s so great, you’ll use it up before it goes bad.
• Oil does get rancid. It won’t kill you or anything once the scrub gets old, but it will start to smell funky. I once made this orange scrub, didn’t love it, threw it under the pantry, and forgot about it. I found it eight months later and you could tell that the oil had gone a little bad, so I tossed it. Since it’s biodegradable, you can throw old scrubs in the sink.

SUGAR SCRUB SAFETY:

• If you give a sugar scrub as a gift be sure to make a cute little label (like the one above) that lists all the ingredients on it. You don’t know if a friend is allergic to a specific essential oil or if she’s allergic to nuts (if you used a nut based carrier oil).
• Be careful in the shower because oil based sugar scrubs can make life a little slick. No big worry, just be careful.

Later, as noted, I’ll share some other scrub recipe ideas – including a few I made that bombed so that you won’t make the same mistake.

Let me know if you make this scrub and what you think…

If you’re going to use flowers or herbs in a homemade beauty product, follow these safety tips…

Basic flower and herbal safety tips:

• Use organic herbs and flowers when possible.
• Know your herbs and flowers. Get a good guidebook so you can recognize types. If you grow yourself, clearly label the plants.
• Using the wrong herb in a soap could be bad news if you’re allergic. Read Homemade Organic Beauty Safety Basics to learn about dab tests.
• Herbs and flowers work slower than essential oils because they’re less potent, depending on how much you boil them down. If you create a homemade product that also has healing properties it may take longer to work than products made with essential oils. Also, it may take longer for an allergic reaction to appear, so wait your dab tests out.

Also read:

• Essential Oil Buying Guide
• Essential Oil Safety Guide

Basic essential oil buying tips:

If you’re using essential oils in your homemade beauty products, you’ll want to follow these tips… for therapeutic, not just fragrance reasons, than follow these tips…

1. Essential oils can be therapeutic, but only if you purchase pure essential oils. You can easily tell if you’re getting a pure oil based on the oil price. For example, various oils, when pure cost various amounts. Orange, lavender, and geranium oils for example, differ widely in cost. If you see a shelf of essential oils that are all prices $9.99 skip it. These are likely just fragrances, not pure oils.
2. Purchase organic essential oils when possible.
3. Reputable sellers bottle in dark glass to protect the essential oil from sunlight.
4. If possible, take blotter paper with you when you shop for essential oils. Oils are not all that oily (odd but true). Most pure oils will quickly evaporate when dropped onto a bit of blotting paper, while a fragrance (fake oil) tends to leave an oily mark.

Also read:

• Homemade Organic Beauty Safety Basics
• Essential Oil Safety Guide
• Flowers & Herbs Safety Guide

Basic essential oil safety tips:

• Never use straight essential oil drops. Essential oils must be diluted in a carrier oil (often called the base oil in recipes). I like sweet almond oil as a carrier but if you’ll need to use a different carrier oil if you’re allergic to nuts. Apricot oil is a nice choice. Look for a light carrier oil that won’t clog your pores. In a pinch you can use olive oil as a carrier oil, but don’t use cooking oils (you’re not a turkey that needs basting!).
• Before using essential oils in a homemade beauty product be sure to read Homemade Organic Beauty Safety Basics to learn about dab tests.
• Hopefully you won’t be drinking your homemade body wash or toner, but just to be on the safe side, you should know that The National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy (NAHA) recommends that you never ingest essential oils when another application such as massage may be just as appropriate. There are some recipes with essential oils, say for a sore throat or mouth rinse that do involve swishing oils, and some health remedies involve essential oils in teas, foods, or other drinks. If you’re going to ingest an oil, weigh the risks, and make sure you know what you’re doing.
• Keep oils out of the reach of little ones. If your child (or even an adult) accidentally ingests an essential oil, treat it like any other medication or household product, and call poison control.

Also read:

• Essential Oil Buying Guide
• Flower & Herb Safety Guide