Today there’s a massive industry to prevent and soothe flaked, cracked or dry lips. But like almost all store bought cosmetics they contain harsh chemicals that may harm your body and are often tested on animals. Why not choose for a homemade lip balm?

So to be entirely sure of treating your lips with the best care, making them yourself is the best option. It’s fun, easy, personal and cheap. It allows you to control the ingredients and makes a great gift for family and friends.

If you’re new to the DIY beauty product world, don’t worry… Making a homemade lip balm is the easiest of them all and a perfect introduction to the wonderful world of making your own eco-friendly beauty products.

How To Make Your Own Homemade Lip Balm

Vanilla & Honey Lip Balm

There are many recipes out there… After a lot of trial and error, I must say this recipe is truly amazing and became my favorite. But let’s not forget that we’re all unique creatures with different needs. That’s the fun of DIY cosmetics; they are personal and adjustable to your liking.

Equipment

• 12 standard lip balm tubes (or use small lip balm jars)
• Digital kitchen scale
• Small pot or double boiler

Ingredients (recipe for approximately 12 tubes)

• 2 Tbsp. (1 oz.) sweet almond oil or coconut oil (olive oil works as well, but I prefer the smell and taste of coconut or sweet almond oil on my lips)
• 2 Tbsp. (1 oz.) shea butter (or cacao butter if you like the chocolate flavor)
• 1 Tbsp. (½ oz.) beeswax
• 1½ Tsp. (¼ oz.) raw organic honey
• ½ Tsp. (¼ oz.) vanilla fragrance oil

How To…

• Melt, over low heat, the coconut or sweet almond oil, shea butter and beeswax in a small pot or double boiler under constant stirring.
• Remove from the heat and cool down for a few minutes (the mixture should still be warm to dissolve the honey), add the raw honey and vanilla oil. Whisk until well combined.
• Pour the mixture into the lip balm tubes or tiny jars.
  Note: The trick is to stir and pour while filling up the tubes or jars to avoid the honey and oil to separate again)
• Cool on the counter.
• Cap and label.
• Store like a regular lip balm and keep away from extreme heat.
• Use within 2 years.

This recipe will make you around 12 lip balm tubes and should keep you and your family stocked for a few months.

Recipe notes

What I often do is, add the honey but leave out the vanilla fragrance oil, stir well and then divide the mixture into 2 batches, one with the vanilla and one with chocolate extract or peppermint essential oil. But actually, it is up to you which flavors you want to add. A good rule of thumb is to use 3% of your total product’s volume to come from the flavor.

If you want to add some color to your lip balm, just add a broken lipstick piece of your favorite color to the warm oil mixture and stir until dissolved. A small piece will do the trick; the only aim is to tint the balm not to make a lipstick.

You can also play around with the other ingredients, experiment with your favorite base oils. The more coconut oil you use, the glossier your lip balm will get. If you don’t like the glossy effect reduce coconut oil and use more beeswax. Lip balms with a lot of beeswax are matte and densely packed.

I’ve added shea butter for its moisturizing and healing effect, but again all ingredients are adaptable. If you don’t like shea butter, just leave it out and use more coconut oil or beeswax.

See easy, cheap, and it is so much fun to be able to personalize your lip balm.

Where To Buy Your Ingredients?

All ingredients and/or materials can be found in some grocery or food health stores, but I always order them on Amazon, though. The same products are often cheaper, and they are delivered to your doorstep within a few days. So why make it more expensive and difficult?

What’s your favorite lip balm? Have you ever tried to make your own? Please share your favorite recipes and experiences with us in the comment box below!