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Homemade Lip Balm

You've stumbled upon one of my most popular posts. You might also enjoy let's talk lip balm.

After making my own lip balm I will never buy it again.

It's easy, cheap, 100% natural and good for your lips, especially this time of year. I tried to figure out the actual cost of this recipe but it wasn't worth counting up the pennies. Let's just say Burt's Bees makes a killing on lip balm!

Ingredients

  • 1/2 oz. (approx. 3 tsp.) grated or roughly chopped beeswax
  • 1 oz. (approx. 6 tsp.) coconut oil
  • 1 1/2 tsp. lanolin
  • 3/4 tsp. vitamin E
  • 2 tsp. hard honey
  • 3/4 tsp. peppermint essential oil

Directions

  1. In a small pot over medium low heat melt beeswax, coconut oil, lanolin and vitamin E. Use chopstick or other small, longish stick to stir (chopstick is perfect).
  2. Remove from heat and add honey and peppermint oil. Whisk well with chopstick and try to distribute oil throughout the mixture - this is tricky.
  3. Pour quickly into tins or jars. Let cool on counter till hard.

This recipe makes enough for 3 - 3/4 oz tins (see photo for size) and one 1 1/2 oz jar. I reuse cosmetic jars I've saved from years ago when I actually bought hand lotion and such.

Notes

I prefer to measure kitchen cosmetics with a scale but I included the approximate tsp. measurements for those without a scale.

All ingredients can be found at a natural food store or ordered from an online store such as Mountain Rose Herbs. The initial investment is large but these same ingredients can be used for making soap and skin care products.

Some people are allergic to lanolin. If you're making these for gifts you may want to label them.

I always use solid honey, that's just the kind of have. From my experience liquid honey will make the recipe too runny and will cause it to separate. If that's all you have try using less than 2 tsp.

This recipe makes enough to last our family of 5 several months, plus I usually give away a tin from each batch I make. After awhile if the honey in the lip balm starts to crystallize you can melt and re-pour it. Good as new. The photos in this post are actually from that process.

​Bulk organic herbs, spices and essential oils. Sin

Resources: 

2 February 09

Comments

Ok, this shouldn't happen.

Ok, this shouldn't happen. My mom needn't buy lip balm! You can ask me to make you some mom - really. Supporting a small cottage business is good, but next time you can get some free.

Found your site through

Found your site through StumbleUpon. I have to say that I loved the mom-daughter conversation as much as the recipe! I'd call it,"Moms in the age of social media."

Great recipe! Like Rachel, I

Great recipe! Like Rachel, I came through StumbleUpon and I love the exchange with your Mum! =)
However, I am highly allergic to Lanolin in creams, etc. Which limits me a lot as you can imagine! Any alternatives or can I just follow the recipe without adding it in?
Thanks!

This is very similar to a

This is very similar to a recipe I've used in the past. Mine didn't have any essential oils, though, and it smelled a little too much like lanolin (you know, that earthy, sheep-y smell?) I haven't made any balm in a while... So maybe I'll try this one! Thanks!

I'm sure these recipes are

I'm sure these recipes are fairly easy, but sometime after I get a vehicle I want to come watch/help you make some so I can be more confident at doing it myself. I've been getting interested in making herbal remedies, starting with the comfrey I have growing in my yard, and I think this might be similar.

The girls and I just made

The girls and I just made this balm together. It went together very easily and firmed up to a nice uniform color even though we noticed as I was pouring that we hadn't mixed it as well as I'd hoped! It filled six 1 oz tins. We didn't use as much peppermint as your recipe and found it was stil plenty for our noses! Great recipe - thanks!

Cori's last blog post... link of the day

I'm still struggling with my

I'm still struggling with my skin care routine! My derm told me to purchase the Aloe Soothing Day Cream from the Body shop because I have really dry skin which looks flakey and feels rough to touch.

Here's probably a really

Here's probably a really idiotic question, but what is hard honey? I've never heard of it. And where do you get such? Also, where do you buy your beeswax and lanolin?

I'm really ready to try these things out, but I just am too ignorant as of yet. Lol... heaven help us.

Alisha's last blog post... Surfin' USA

Hard honey is not liquid. The

Hard honey is not liquid. The raw honey I buy is firm, not runny. That's the best way I can describe it. You could use liquid also but I'm not sure how much, just experiment. Beeswax and lanolin I get at our health food store.

Just curious if you thought

Just curious if you thought (or have tried) using crystalized honey. It melts well anyway, and would be for lack of a better term, stiffer... (have no hard honey, plenty of local crystallized honey!) And curious to know if anyone's played with other forms of extracts?

I've moved since I wrote this

I've moved since I wrote this post and don't buy raw honey anymore, have only found liquid. I've adapted my recipe a bit with success (just made a batch) and will be posting it soon. So stay tuned...

I cannot wait to try this

I cannot wait to try this recipe (as well as your lotion recipe). Just wondering if the tin of lip balm will melt if left in the car on a hot summer day? I would really hate to have a liquid, sticky mess in the glove box or my purse!

I'm off to the health food store as soon as it opens!

Thanks for such a great blog. :)

Speaking from experience...

Speaking from experience... yes it might melt on a really hot day.  I've never had a huge mess but have had to deal with leaky containers. Keep upright if at all possible (smile).

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[...] Lip Balm - You had to expect this. My lip balm post is one of the most popular pages at FIMBY. It gets good reviews from other people who have made it. [...]

Maybe this is a silly

Maybe this is a silly question, but does the recipe call for vitamin E OIL or is there a different product that is simply vitamin E? I'm not sure what to purchase. Thanks!

I love your site. Use to

I love your site. Use to visit it once in a while.
I translated the lip blam recipe into portuguese and posted it in my blog, with a link to your site. Hope you don't mind, if so let me know please.

Thanks for the amazing

Thanks for the amazing recipe! I tweaked it a little since it turned out a little sticky for my taste, and added less spearmint (not good when it BURNS!!!), and put it on my website. So far it's a big hit!! A word of caution to people wanting to make this and use different essential oils - citrus oils make the skin photosensitive (meaning your lips will sunburn more easily).

Love your site :-)

Hi, I am so glad I stumbled

Hi, I am so glad I stumbled onto your site, this is our first year homeschooling so I will be checking out the rest of site! Do you think this balm would work in a tube? It's just a little neater for my kids for now. Thanks for the sharing the recipe.

Quick question: does lip balm

Quick question: does lip balm go bad? I have never used it, but I'd be interested in making it for someone else. If I made this entire recipe, would it last? If not should I half the recipe? Quarter it? Thanks for your help!

I've never had lip balm go

I've never had lip balm go bad. Even after one year. But to be safe you could keep the extras in the fridge or freezer.

I think it would actually be hard to measure and mix really well (the essential oil doesn't like to mix into the other ingredients) with less ingredients. I've never attempted to make less than this recipe. I'd make the whole thing and give it as gifts if you don't plan to use it yourself.

I happened to stumble upon

I happened to stumble upon this fabulous post and wanted to say thanks for trying to save us lip balm addicts from ourselves! I used to make all my own bath and body supplies but it got overwhelming time wise. I do however work with brides who are practicing Practical Planning and I would love to share this with them on my site. Please let me know! Thanks and all best, Mellissa

I'm one of those people that

I'm one of those people that have stumbledupon your site! Thank goodness! Such a fan of natural diy tutorials for beauty products. And of course, being a lip balm junkie, this was right up my alley.

I still need to try making

I still need to try making this. I've tried soap before, but never lip balm. I should. My favorite thing that I buy for my lips is actually Burt's Bees Res-Q ointment, in the little green tin. It works so well on my lips, but it IS expensive. I'll have to try this.

I also love this recipe!

I also love this recipe! Instead of trying to find lanolin, I used Lansinoh ointment (intended for breastfeeding mothers) because I had that on hand. It worked great. I thought that might be easier for people to find. I can usually get it in the baby department and Wal-Mart or Meijer.

I just made this using

I just made this using Lor-Ann Strawberry flavoring instead of essential oil, at the request of a friend who wanted strawberry flavored lip balm. This is a much better recipe than the one I've used before! Thank you so much for posting this and what a wonderful 'accident' to stumble upon! Do you really use that much peppermint essential oil? I've only used a few drops for my balms before.

I think I'll try making some

I think I'll try making some of these to give to my gold party guests the next time I host a party. I always try to make it memorable and what better way than to send them home with some great lip balm!

OMG! I'm so glad I found

OMG! I'm so glad I found this! I make and sell lip balm and everyone loves it, but I'm not satisfied because it starts to seperate a little after a month or so. I prefer to pour into tubes over tubs and I can't with my current recipe. I've tried altering my portions over and over! It's the honey!!! I only use a small amount but that's all it takes I guess! I'm going to try it again without the honey and hopefully I can let my recipe be for good. Thanks so much!! Jenny

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[...] Homemade Lip Balm | FIMBY Feb 2, 2009 … I translated the lip blam recipe into portuguese and posted it in my blog, with a link to your site. … [...]

Pingback

[...] Homemade Lip Balm | FIMBY Feb 2, 2009 … I translated the lip blam recipe into portuguese and posted it in my blog, with a link to your site. … [...]

I an looking forward to

I an looking forward to trying this after picking up the ingredients. What would you suggest using instead of Lanolin? After being allergic to it have not used it in years.

Is there something I can use

Is there something I can use instead of lanolin? That stuff makes my lips itch, I had made due with Chapstick Naturals mint because it didn't have any but now they don't sell it anymore.

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