How to make your own, homemade lip balm using just a few natural ingredients.
Why mess around with making your own lip balm when there are so many awesome natural choices available at the store for very little money? Because it’s fun, that’s why! I approach making body care products the way I do cooking – I read a bunch of recipes and then do it my way!
That’s the cool thing about lip balm (and a lot of other body care products) – the recipes are very adaptable to different ingredients and of course you can flavor them with the essential oils of your choice.
Simple Homemade Lip Balm Recipe
Here’s how to make your own batch of homemade lip balm:
1 Tablespoon shea butter
1 Tablespoon beeswax
1 Tablespoon sweet almond oil
20 drops peppermint essential oil
In the top of a double boiler, heat the shea butter and the beeswax together until melted. Mix in the sweet almond oil. Remove from heat and mix in the essential oil. Working quickly, pour into tins, jars or tubes. This recipe filled up 4 small containers. It’s easy to double or quadruple if you want to give lip balm as gifts!
Other recipes I’ve seen use cocoa butter, coconut oil, jojoba oil and vitamin E oil…so feel free to experiment. The beeswax gives the lip balm it’s ‘sticking’ power so I’d keep that ingredient in but I have seen recipes without it. (unbleached beeswax pellets look like yellow split peas by the way) I’m lucky that my local co-op carries all these ingredients in bulk so I didn’t have to spend a fortune. They sell the tins and tubes too. If you don’t have a store nearby that carries these things, check out Mountain Rose Herbs – they carry lots of ingredients and containers.
I did another little experiment that didn’t quite work out. I had heard that you could color lip balm with beet juice – sounded fun to me! So I pureed my beets (from my garden no less!) and strained them and added the juice to some of my lip balm mixture. It turned the lip balm a lovely shade of pinky red and I thought it was the bees knees. Until….a couple weeks later when I realized that my pretty pink lip balm had gone moldy! Maybe there’s a better way to do it but for now I’m certainly not recommending the beet juice coloring!
Have you ever made your own lip balm?
P.S. Here are some more beauty products you can make at home.
Green Me says
I wonder if you could add some powdered citric acid or vitamin E to the beet juice, since they are supposed to be used as preservatives?
I’ve never tried my own body care products as it usually sounds so complicated; however, this post is so simple, maybe I’ll give it a try someday!
Summer says
I have a friend that makes lip balms and sells them (among other things), I’ll have to ask what she used to keep them from getting moldy. I know she only used natural ingredients.
organic cosmetics says
With all of the different types of make up being sold all over the world it is hard to know which one is safe enough to apply to your face. I have always used mineral make up and will continue to use them. Organic cosmetics are safe to use on any skin type as well as sensitive skin types. Do not poison your face one more time with chemicals and animal tested products.
azala says
Use only organic skin care products for your lips. Thanks!
Dee says
Wow Shea Butter does amazing things. Love it !!
T@ aseedinspired says
Okay 2 questions and maybe I missed it as I was reading fast:
where do you get the lip balm tubes?
Why does everyone use a double boiled instead of a mini crockpot?
Thanks
T
Good Girl Gone Green says
Great recipe Micaela! I so have to try this! 🙂
Micaela says
Hi T – good questions! I found my lip balm tubes at my local co-op but you can get them online: http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/supply/misc.php#cont_msc_lip
Double boiler vs. mini crockpot? – I'm sure you could use either one!
Micaela says
Hey GGGG – homemade lip balm makes a fun stocking stuffer!
Teri Tripp-Lanciault says
When I had a soap and toiletry business (which I just might restart this year!) I used Grapefruit Seed Extract as a natural preservative. I MIGHT have kept your beetjuice-tinted lipbalm fresh longer. You might wish to try that some time. Sounds so pretty…what a shame it molded!
Micaela says
Hi Teri – thanks so much for the grapefruit seed extract tip. I had heard of it as a preservative but never thought to add it to my lip balm!
Allie Finch says
I was searching for tips on using beet juice, because I recently made some that also started growing things. This is how I came across your blog. I just loved the balm & color, but it didn’t even last a week. Maybe the heat sped up the molding process. Have you had any luck experimenting with beet juice again & using preservatives? I’d love to figure out a natural tint.
Henda says
You can dehydrate beets and grind them to a powder for colouring. I did this and it didn’t get mouldy. Sometimes the podwer settles on the bottom however so you may want to skim that out before filling tubes.
Micaela says
Good to know – I might have to try that!
Micaela says
Hi Allie – So sorry to hear about your lip balm experience. I never did try the beet juice again after that one time. I have a feeling it would take chemical preservatives of some sort to keep a food product from spoiling. Too bad, huh?
Phoenix says
You could use alkanet root to tint the lip balm, however I am still experimenting with not having the lip balm turn moldy. I’m going to try the grapefruit seed extract and/or vitamin E addition to the next batch I make.
Micaela says
Hi Phoenix – I’m not familiar with alkanet root. You definitely need to be careful not to add anything that could spoil over time since there are no preservatives in the formula!
Gina says
Could the ingredients be melted in a microwave? I don’t have a double boiler.
Mindful Momma says
Yes, just heat in small increments – you don’t want the mixture to boil.