Make Your Own Lip Balm
Article courtesy of: Mountain Rose Herbs
Lip balm is truly one of the easiest and most inexpensive products to create. Once that you have created your own homemade lip balm, it is almost impossible to muster up $3.00 for a tube of inferior stuff at the store. Plus, you can even make special blends with your favorite oils, butters, and other luxurious ingredients. You seasonal lip balms, and unique lip balms for friends and families. Lip balm may be made within 10-15 minutes, and you can easily make enough lip balm to fill 15 or more lip balm tubes for under $3.00!
Lip balm is almost fool-proof. The great thing about lip balm is that if it turns out too soft, then you can easily re-melt it and add more beeswax, and if it is too hard, then you can re-melt it and add more carrier oil. You really can’t mess up! You can also adjust your recipes with the seasons: harder lip balms are better for the summer, and softer lip balms are better for the fall and wintertime. As a general rule, use 3 parts of carrier oil to 1 part of beeswax (do not include butters in your calculations as they are already solid at room temperature). Add essential oils at your discretion, a good amount is 2 drops of essential oil per ¼ oz container, but this varies depending upon the essential oil used. Lesser is always better when it comes to essential oils, you don’t want to create anything that may sting or irritate your lips.
Basic Lip Balm Preparation
Coarsely chop or grated your beeswax (vegans may use Carnauba Wax as an alternative), and place it in a small pot or glass pyrex measuring cup with your butters and carrier oils in the top of a double boiler, and melt gently over heated water. Make sure that the water does not boil over into your oil mixture, 1 -2” of water in the bottom of your pot is enough.
Once that your beeswax mixture has melted, remove from burner, and add your essential oils. The essential oils will begin to dissipate with the scent, add more as needed.
Immediately pour the hot mixture into lip balm containers. If the mixture cools too rapidly while you are pouring, then heat the mixture back up over the double boiler.
Allow to cool completely (I usually wait overnight) before placing the caps onto your lip balm containers.
Below are some specific recipes for you to play with. Please note that these recipes are completely arbitrary, and the amount and types of oils, butter, essential oils, and other ingredients that you use is completely up to you. Experimenting with a recipe is the most enjoyable part of creation!
Lemon Coconut Lip Balm
This recipe will fill 8-9 lip balm tubes!
1 Tablespoon Coconut Oil
2 Tablespoons Sunflower Oil
1 Tablespoon & 1 teaspoon Beeswax
10 drops Lemon essential oil
Peppermint Cocoa Lip Balm
1 Tablespoon Cocoa Butter
2 Tablespoons Sweet Almond Oil
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon & 1 teaspoon Beeswax
5-10 drops Peppermint essential oil
Healing Herbal Lip Balm (Unscented)
1 Tablespoon Shea Butter
2 Tablespoon Calendula Infused Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Jojoba Oil
1 Tablespoon & 1 teaspoon Beeswax
5 drops Vitamin E Oil
All-Purpose Lip Balm
This large recipe will make 6 ½ oz, enough to fill 24 ¼ oz lip balm containers!
1 oz Sweet Almond or Apricot Kernel Oil
1 oz Sunflower Oil
1 oz Avocado or Olive Oil
1 oz Shea Butter
1 oz Cocoa Butter
1 ½ oz Beeswax
30-40 drops essential oil
For a lip gloss alternative, I use petroleum jelly and a bit of lipstick - I buy the wet and wild $1 lipstick in a shimmery peach shade. Mix well, no need to heat because the petroleum jelly softens the lipstick as it is mixed.
Quoting mamabear0791:For a lip gloss alternative, I use petroleum jelly and a bit of lipstick - I buy the wet and wild $1 lipstick in a shimmery peach shade. Mix well, no need to heat because the petroleum jelly softens the lipstick as it is mixed.
I know - unfortunately, I have so many allergies, the only other oil that I can use is olive oil, and it turns rancid so fast. I am allergic to coconut, bees, canola, and carnauba wax, so I have to be careful what I use. even most lipticks are not a good choice for me. I'm trying to avoid all allergens for the next year to help with desensitization, so maybe next year I can start adding some of those products I'd rather use.
I hope it works for you!
(P.s. sorry if my other answer sounded bitchy! I apparently should type answers too early in the morning!!!)
Quoting mamabear0791:I know - unfortunately, I have so many allergies, the only other oil that I can use is olive oil, and it turns rancid so fast. I am allergic to coconut, bees, canola, and carnauba wax, so I have to be careful what I use. even most lipticks are not a good choice for me. I'm trying to avoid all allergens for the next year to help with desensitization, so maybe next year I can start adding some of those products I'd rather use.
Recycle clothing!
- cemcnair
on Oct. 4, 2012 at 1:12 PM