Hey, baby. You have an amazing body.
Yes, you.
I don’t care if it’s fat or thin or missing a limb, your body is rollercoaster amazing. How do I know this? Because you’re reading this right now. Because you’re breathing. Because that bag of mostly water that carries “you” around is the vessel through which you experience everything. Everything.
Your body’s with you all the time, so it’s easy to take it for granted, or even hate it for not being what you think it should be. We’re going to start telling our bodies thank you for a while. Today, we’re going to start with the easiest part of our bodies to love.
Our lips.
This whole concept is behind one of the many and various books that I’m working on, but I don’t see this particular book coming to fruition any time in the very near future (unless some publisher out there wants to jab me with a hot poker in the motivation/organization center). So instead, we’re going to explore this whole idea – these little gratitude moments – here in the blog. You will like this, if you have any tiny amount of desire to love your body as an extension of how you experience the world.
How are we going to start feeling deep, abiding gratitude for the bodies we live in, love in, and often take for granted?
With homemade beauty recipes, of course. Food on your face. On your elbows. On your stomach. Underneath your fingernails. (Yum.)
Now, let’s talk about your lips.
You Owe Your Lips a Million “I Love Yous”
Today, just for a while, your task is to forget any negative feelings you have about your lips. Generally, maybe you think they’re too thin? They’re always dry. They’re getting wrinkly around the corners. Or, even more likely, you just don’t consider them at all.
The grand part about your lips is that they don’t ask to be considered. They don’t beg for gratitude. They’re just there, ready to accept a piece of chocolate. Prepared to blurt out “I love you” at the whim of your heart. Always positioned for a smile, if you so choose to use them that way.
So, as you’re doing this exercise, you will not even remotely consider how you’re dissatisfied with your lips, because no matter what they look like, they have allowed you to do and experience some really incredible things. Like kissing. Like catching honey from a spoon. Like slurping an ice cream cone on a hot, humid evening.
Did you know that the average human being says “I love you” approximately 5,849 over a lifetime? Or that you smile nearly 1.7 million times in your life?
No, you probably did not know that, because I just made those numbers up. But they seem plausible.
And all of that – all of the marvelous ways you get to express yourself – is because of your lips. So let’s show them some gratitude, yeah?
Meditate On The Miracle of Your Lips Using This Scrub
The point of doing this beauty treatment and small meditation is to really, really appreciate your body – and this one particular gorgeous part of your body – so that you have a better connection and appreciation for all that your lips do for you. (And, yes, they can do some pretty nasty things, too, if you choose to use them that way. Either way, they’re at YOUR beck and call, so use them wisely.)
The nourishing, softening scrub uses three ingredients every single one of you has in your kitchen right now, so there’s no need to delay. Here’s what you need:
1 tsp of sugar, 1/2 tsp honey, and 1/2 tsp olive oil. This is easy.
While you assemble your ingredients, let yourself get lost in memories of ways that your lips have served you in glorious ways, such as:
- The first time your lips cooperated with you in order to tell your significant other that you love them
- The most magically overwhelming kiss your body has experienced
- A time that a child told you something in concern, and you smiled reassuringly and made them feel better … and safe
- When you delivered a speech, or had a heart-to-heart with a friend, and incredibly amazing words fell from your lips and onto others’ ears, and you changed minds and hearts for the better
I’m sure you can think of several other instances in which your lips have served you, allowing you to experience some of the most incredible moments of your life. Think of them as you find your ingredients and mix them together.
And, above all else, SMILE as you consider these moments, while you mix your ingredients.
And that’s all you have to do. Just mix the 1 tsp sugar (which is exfoliating), 1/2 tsp honey (which is nourishing and delicious), and 1/2 tsp of olive oil (which is oh-so moisturizing) together in a small bowl. And you’re smiling as you do it.
Now that you’ve amassed great memories of what your lips have done for you over your lifetime …
Dip your finger in the scrub mixture and put a glob on those gorgeous puckers of yours.
Rub it around very lightly (you can use both of your middle fingers here, because it’s easier that way).
As you rub, think of those moments you came up with earlier, but also:
- Tell your lips “thank you”
- Consider the nourishing, gentle ways you’re giving back to your lips right now
- Through your sticky, gooey lip scrub, mouth the words “I love you” – You don’t have to say it to your lips; just remember that your lips are the reason you can say these three words out loud
Continue massaging gently for 3-4 minutes. You can leave it on after the massage for another few minutes, during which time you can take a picture for added lip-loving, messy-faced fun – something to remind you of how you CAN give back to your body, in gratitude:
After you’ve paid homage to your incredible lips, after you’ve considered all the wonderful things they have done for you, rinse this scrub off with a little bit of tepid water.
And to finish your Lip-Loving, Gratitude Meditation Beauty Treatment, you must now consider some very important things:
- How will you use your lips for the rest of the day?
- How will you, in gratitude, use them for all the beautiful things they can do for you?
- Vow, as you touch your soft, moisturized lips, to only say kind and gentle words – no matter how frustrated you get – at least for the rest of the day
- Pick at least one person to say “I love you” to
- Pick at least one person to kiss
- Eat something incredibly yummy (and healthy) and thank your lips as you catch the food into your mouth (I’m feeling strawberries with chocolate here, aren’t you?)
Do this lip scrub and meditation whenever you realize that you’ve either been taking your lips for granted or using them unwisely.
And each time, consider all of the breathtaking moments your body, and your lips, allow you to experience. Your body is not to be hated – it is to be cherished and nourished for the life-affirming vehicle that it is.
Now go scrub your lips!
Share Your Marvelous Lip Stories Here
There is NOTHING I (and so many other readers) love more than to browse through the incredible comments and stories y’all leave here. So share a story about your lips – the best moment you’ve had where your lips have served you well (keep it clean, people).
First kiss?
Something you’ve smiled at that touches you even to this day?
A memory of eating something – that moment – that sent you into spasms of bliss?
What moments do you have that you can use to consider all the gratitude that you have for owning a pair of luscious, working lips?
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Hi would love to make one but can you please tell me what is the shelf life on it? I am looking for a lip scrub recipie which has at least a month or two shelf life. can you please help?
Thank you lips for helping me eat peanut butter and give love to my friends and drink coffee and kiss cats and smile❤️
Crunchy Betty, I have noticed some people post questions to you that I am wondering myself, but I do not see replies from you. Am I missing something? Am I not seeing the posts clearly? I am very curious to know your answers.
Yeah, I kind of got over excited and now my lips feel somewhat raw, but it’s my own fault lol. It’s the thought that counts, right? I’m sure they feel how much I love and appreciate them. Loved the taste and next time I’ll go easy haha.
I think i just fell in love with you….and i mean that in the least creepiest way ever.
My lips have recently (my tongue came along for the ride, too) experienced my first french kiss. Something shared with the man I am ridiculously in love with. They’ve also kissed his hands and fingers. They’ve felt the tears of having to leave him drip down them, and said the words ‘I love you’ and ‘I miss you’ enough times for a whole lifetime.
They’ve also gently pressed against my baby sister’s own tiny pink lips, and sang soft lullabies as she fussed and cried.
Wow. Thank you so much for this article. I am determined to use my lips more as the gentle, healing things they are.
I use this on my lips, face and body. I substitute dark brown sugar for granulated – a bit easier on the face. My husband is convinced I am the softest woman on earth.
Snap! great great tips and recipe! i want to go home now and try it out. and i feel like i also have to talk to myself with all those affirmations too 😀
A sad but, very important kiss was to my mother right before she passed. I was 23 at the time, 27 now…and, it’s something I’ll never forget. She was my rock….She delighted my daughter….she was a wonderful friend as well. I kissed her hand and her cheek, and seconds later she was gone. While that serves to be one of the saddest days in my life, I treasure that moment with her dearly; it’s always close to heart. And how many times these lips of mine say, “I miss you”…I’ve lost count…..
I had to have wisdom teeth pulled before spending a year abroad in college. There was a risk of facial paralysis if something went wrong. It was a long ordeal and the anesthetic didn’t account for the emergency the doctor attended to. At the end, I paid my bill, drooling, and gleefully telling the receptionist ” I GOEE OO FANS! I KA SPEE FWEN- SEE? ZJE PEU PAHLAY! MA FES I A OA!”
I think that’s what she heard. I meant to express my gleeful anticipation of going to France and my utter joy at my continued ability to speak French and that my face, was, indeed, not paralyzed. My friend picked me up and drove me to get ice cream, cheerfully tolerating my gibberish.
I currently have this delicious mixture sitting on my lips. Apparently I am an odd one, because I had neither sugar nor olive oil…. but I used brown sugar and almond oil instead.
As I massaged my lips, I thought about all the things they make me grateful for. They used to kiss my beagle on the forehead every night, right up until the recent evening that she passed away. They’ve kissed my boyfriend every morning (and many other times) for the past three years. They let smile and laugh at said boyfriend’s terrible sense of humour. My lips even let me eat the most delicious of all foods…. stir-fry!
Without my lips, life would be so hollow and sad.
I know I have abusing my poor lips lately… I chew them when I am upset or stressed, and with my beagle’s passing, they have taken to bleeding lately. But I’ve been making an attempt to be nicer, and this scrub was a good idea. I just rinsed it off, and while my lips still have tooth grooves, they are definitely smoother and happier! Plus, they now taste delicious…Must…not….lick and chew……
I have a raging great cold sore right now, so it’s hard to love my lips. Still, it’s on the way out so another few days (god, it’s been a WEEK!!) and I might be able to smooch my girl again.
My lip story is about braces. I was an awkward-looking, plain teenager, and then my parents saw some sort of wisdom in the idea of inflicting braces on me (they did absolutely no good for my teeth’s alignment) and I became even plainer and more awkward-looking. I had dull skin, dull, thin hair of a particularly displeasing, drab mission-brown equivalent colour, I was the very definition of average height and ever-so-slightly over-average-weight. My eyes were the colour of mud, and I had a sticky-outy-nose.
I hated everything about having braces, but I bore it with good grace. And then came the wondrous day when I could finally get them off. I tell ya, I couldn’t stop smiling!!! Mostly because of the delicious feeling of the inside of my lips and cheeks sliding over those gloriously smooth teeth surfaces! But the strange, unexpected, and ultimately lone result of nearly two years of braces was…my lips were suddenly fuller, and shapely, and womanly. My cupid’s bow was pronounced and downright precocious! For the first time in my adult-ish life, I had something about my face to like.
I still love my lips. I think they’re one of my best features. (And my teeth are still one of my worst!)
I just got my braces off too! man, does it feel great.
I was probably twelve when I realized that the lips I hated had grown into exactly what everyone is getting plastic surgery for. that and the development of a roman nose definitely made my pre-teen years more confident. I now have three features I really like. (the third is my hair).
My 16-month-old niece to me she loved me for the first time last week. I’m thankful for her tiny, baby lips!
Great story! I use my lips to kiss “boo-boos” and help them feel better. It’s a magic trick my mother taught me years ago and I use it on my family to this day. Works every time. 🙂
Pressed together, they
are a powerful weapon,
but far better gift.
Thanks for the reminder to appreciate our bodies, right down to smallest details like our lips. The Bible says, “For you fashioned my inmost being, you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I thank you (God) because I am awesomely made, wonderfully; your works are wonders – I know this very well.” (Psalm 139:13-14) God doesn’t make mistakes. If He thinks I’m wonderful, who am I to say differently!
I love my lips because I sing through them, and they are the easiest part of my vocal mechanism for me to manipulate. Although I have to say, considering how long I’ve been waiting for my first kiss, it had better be a darn good one.
I really love this post, and if it’s going to be a series (it kind of sounds like it is?) I know I will really love to read them!
Excellent timing: I’m excited about the paralympic opening ceremony due to start in four hours. There’s something truely empowering about the whole world watching these extraordinary people who have not only overcome so much but achieved so much too. If I don’t love my own body and all it’s foibles (lips included) after that, then there’s something wrong!
Mmmm… tasty! I just did this and have left some olive oil on my lips for a bit of extra self lovin! Made my fiance do it too. He was less than impressed but I’m sure it’ll make us both extra kissable! So grateful to my lips for all the things they can and have done for me.
Recently, my husband’s treasured mum died. Soon before she stopped breathing, and then again after, I leaned over her quiet face and kissed her cool forehead. It felt like the right thing to do, when words just didn’t suit.
You know the phrase ‘fake it til you make it’? When I am upset or in pain (I have fibro, pain is an everyday occurrence…) I smile. The worse I feel the bigger my grin. It is true btw that the smile eventually changes your mood. If you know me well you can tell if I am annoyed or if I am in pain or if I am really happy but most people just think I am super perky. So my smile is how I keep my mood in check. And I am a far happier person for all my forcing smiles.
That being said activated charcoal and oil pulling are what I use for whitening and now all winter I will have super soft lips. Thanks crunchy Betty!
I love the blog write-up! I made a half-batch and still have leftovers. I’ll share with my neighbor when she gets home.
My 11 year old DD joined me in the scrub action. I was on my own for the walk down memory lane and affirmations. 😉
My lips are amazing and awesome and I am so grateful to have them! <3
“I’d be so sad, I’d call my dad…” Now I’m singing Veggie Tales. This is a heavenly lip treatment. And what a great exercise to remind us to be thankful. Thank you!
Oh my goodness, I can’t believe I didn’t think of that! Hahahaha! We are a Veggie Tales saturated household.
Tonight I had a ball playing with boats with my 13 month old son in his bath. He recently started making motor boat sounds (thank to his lips!) and it was such a delight to do it with him and play together. The cuteness of it all made my lips stretch into a huge grin I could barely contain.
I want to thank my lips because when I look at my 8 month old daughter and smack my lips together she smiles at me and smacks her lips together too. Makes my whole day better! Great post!!
What a great post to read this morning to start my day. I use my lips to kiss my two beautiful children every day and tell my husband that I love him – how blessed am I!
I love this article! A very easy recipe, meditation and thought provoking! Thank you
My story: I nearly cry thinking about it. It was this year, my first valentines day married to my husband. I had to work and came home really late. He had for me on the table, a beautiful glass swan with small roses in it, a little lemur like stuffed animal with big eyes and a purple tail, and a very cute heartshaped bowl filled wth Raspberries drizzrled in chocolate and his attempt at making chocolate dipped strawberries. I don’t care if they were fancy, they were the most delisious things of my life so far! Then I made spagehtti for him and we watched lady and the tramp while sipping our favorite wine 🙂
Oh, and a hand made card with a d20 die on it saying I crit’d his heart! Geekery to the Max, so awesome
that is super-geeky-gamer sweet!
i cant wait to try this!
I take a heaping tsp of coconut oil in a hot cup of either green tea or coffee every day. What floats on top goes on my lips and I rub it in…before applying my make-up. Daily nourishment. Makes a lot of difference! My first kiss was so hesitant and frightened….Kenny was his name. A drummer. Of course. The best kiss I’ve ever seen was when Shemar Moore guested on Ellen….which is available on YouTube. Yummy!!
You’re quoting Star Trek! I knew you were my kinda gal…
I love it when my heart is warmed! Thanks, Crunchy Betty. I want to thank my lips for smiling at my 6 month old daughter, because whenever they do, she gives me the biggest smile in return
My lips have sweetly kissed my dearest husband as we got a “do-over” and found each other after both having had 20 years of first marriages end and its the most awesome relationship! They have kissed my fabulous children at birth and throughout their lives. They have given kisses to my wonderful daughters gained by marriage. They have kissed and nuggled our beautiful and oh so sweet grandchildren. They have offered prayers in behalf of my father who passed away from cancer 1 1/2 years ago. My lips have cried in sadness as I said “goodbye daddy; and they have whispered lovingly as I still talk to him. They kissed my mother on the cheek as she buried him. The 51 years that my lips have helped me voice what is in my heart have been such a ride of so many emotions and experiences. Thank you for helping me realize their importance to my daily life experiences and how blessed i am for having the ability to speak.
Oh my gosh! I have the same marriage story!! Almost made me cry! So happy for you!!!
OH MY GOODNESS! ALLL YOU PPEOPLE WITH YOUR LOVE STORIES NEED TO STOP!!! I’M GONNA CRY! <3 ;(
Two best kisses of my life: when they handed my daughter to me for the first time, I instinctively bent down and kissed her forehead – she hadn’t been cleaned off at all, and I absolutely didn’t care. A minute later, my husband told me how beautiful we both were and kissed me. I’m not even a mushy type person, but yeah, that was a good one.
Moments after giving birth to our son, as I started feeding him, my hubs leaned over and gave me a kiss… our first kiss as members of a trio instead of a duo. Thanks, lips. That was an amazing moment. I shall go scrub and pamper them in gratitude right this instant.
I love a good lip scrub…and this one is pretty “no mess” cuz you can just lick it right off. 😉
A wonderful reminder to reconnect with the experience of our bodies rather than focusing on how they appear! I love this.
I love how I can use my lips to blow raspberries on the tummies of all the babies I love and to kiss the fat folds of their cheeks and nuzzle their sweet necks! Fun post!
How long will this scrub keep? It doesn’t look like there’s too much in there that will spoil really fast, like, say, in less than a week. It would be nice to make a handful of applications. And how often is TOO often? {That’s a lot of questions! LOL}
This is making me smile so much, such a lovely thing to read at the end of a frustrating day at work. My lips are happier already! 🙂