Tuesday, May 19, 2015

How to Make Your Own Lip Balm

Making your own lip balm is very simple and rewarding. You only need two ingredients: oil and beeswax. In this post, I will provide directions on how to make your own lip balm, accompanied with photos to illustrate the process.

Homemade Lip Balms
Photos are numbered in the same steps as the directions.

Homemade Lip Balm Recipe

Ingredients:
  • 3 oz. oil
    • Such as almond oil, apricot kernel oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, olive oil, and more. Or, a combination of oils.
  • 1 oz. beeswax
  • Essential oils (optional, adds fragrance and prolongs the shelf-life of the lip balm)
    • Such as cinnamon, lavender, and peppermint
  • Empty lip balm tubes, jars, or containers for the lip balm
    • Contact lens cases are also a perfect size!
Directions:
  1. Fill a pot a few inches high with water on the stove over medium-heat, to make a hot water bath.
  2. Combine the beeswax and oil in a heat-proof measuring cup.
  3. Put the measuring cup in the hot water bath. Occasionally stir the oil and beeswax well with a spoon. Take off the heat immediately once all of the beeswax is melted. (Do not turn the heat up to high, because you do not want the oil to go rancid).
  4. Slowly and carefully pour the oil and beeswax mixture into your lip balm containers. 
    • Optional: If you would like to use essential oils, they should be added at the last step. Because essential oils are volatile, they evaporate easily. After pouring the oil and beeswax mixture into a container, add the essential oil and cap the container immediately. I usually add 1 drop of essential oil per lip balm tube (0.15 oz) or ~5 drops per 0.5 oz lip balm.
  5. Let the lip balm containers sit upright, until they cool down to room temperature.
Finished lip balms
You can also make red tinted lip gloss using the same methods above with 3 oz. alkanet-root infused extra virgin olive oil, 1 tbsp. castor oil, 1 oz. beeswax, and optional essential oil.

Red tinted lip gloss 

A few suggestions on where to purchase ingredients:
Recipe inspired by Earthly Bodies & Heavenly Hair, my Boston School of Herbal Studies courses, and personal experience.