Though I do come from a DIY minded family and have been encouraged and supported in my ventures sometimes ideas are born out of medical necessity more than creativity. Such is the case of how I began making lip balm. If you take a look at most lip balm ingredient labels you’ll see far more listed than expected even in the more touted “natural” brands. That’s not in its entirety a bad thing but it causes certain complications for us sensitive folks. Many ingredients used serve no function in skin health. They are added to achieve an appealing texture, color, fragrance, or act as a preservative. Some of these additives can be quite irritating and if they aren’t needed well why bother?

For instance most lip balms are wax and oil based not something that when made and used within a reasonable time frame of six months to one year needs any preservative. There is no water or sugar to feed microbial growth and oils have a naturally limited shelf life when it comes to their beneficial properties. Does the olive oil your using for cooking have preservatives added? I hope not! So why is it in you lip balm?

In mass market products things such as vitamin E oil or rosemary extract are used as antioxidants to protect the product from the temperate fluctuations, light, and air they will be exposed to while awaiting your purchase. While ingredients such as these are generally benign they can cause issue if for instance you are allergic to wheat or soy which vitamin E is commonly derived from. Aside from being able to have a fresh product and sense of pride in self sufficiency the ability to customize is one of the major benefits of making your own product.

For instance in my case some of the things I must avoid include all nut oils, peanut oil, wheat sourced items, soy sourced items, petroleum, neem, chamomile and other members of the daisy family, artificial fragrance oils, preservatives such as parapens, and I must limit all sources of latex which includes shea butter and avocado oil.

So you can see why the DIY route simplifies my life. Below is the formula for my basic lip balm, though first a few things to understand. In the recipe you’ll notice I give no specific ingredients. This is because as long as you follow the ratio of ingredients you can get a consistent result no matter what oils you choose so its entirely customizable! One caveat to this is if you are vegan or otherwise choose not to use beeswax. Alternatives such as carnauba or candelilla wax are much firmer in texture and you will need significantly less. I have not experimented with these ingredients personally but I have been advised to start with 1/3 the amount of beeswax in the recipe in this case that would be 2.5 grams.

Now for the oils. As I said you can use any blend you like but for ease of use in maintaining a consistent result I have divided them into two categories. The first “hard oils” consists of anything solid at room temperature. This includes cocoa butter, shea butter, kpangnan butter, mango butter, and in some cases coconut oil. The second “soft oils” is anything liquid at room temperature. Which includes oils such as olive, grapeseed, avocado, apricot, hemp, babassu, or in some cases coconut oil. Coconut oil is the crossover ingredient as its melting point is 76 degrees Fahrenheit. So depending upon your climate or proclivity for leaving things in hot cars you may want to consider how you want to use it in your blend if at all. Now onto the recipe!

This recipe results in a firm protective balm that will make approximately five lip balm pots or three tubes depending on size.

  • 15 grams Hard Oils
  • 7.5 grams Beeswax
  • 7 grams Soft Oils
  • Optional: Essential oils 5 to 15 drops

Directions –

  • Place a small container on the scale. Switch the mode to grams and tare the scale.
  • First measure out your hard butters and add to a microwave safe vessel, repeat with the wax. Then measure and reserve the soft oils.
  • Take the mixture of the hard oils and wax place in the microwave at 30% power for approximately 3 minutes or until fully melted.
  • Once the hard oils and wax have melted you can now add your reserved soft oils and optional essential oils.
  • Stir to thoroughly combine, then pour into container of choice. It should set firm within about 30 minutes. Please refrain from refrigerating or freezing as the different melting point of the oils will cause them to separate upon rapid cooling resulting in a lumpy oily texture.

That’s it super simple and quick as can be right in your microwave! If you prefer not to use a microwave you can use a candle lit fondue/butter pot or a double boiler on the stove.

Now that you’ve covered the science and the formula lets talk creativity. Some of the ingredients you use have a natural odor or flavor that can work for or against you. One of my favorite blends is to use cocoa butter and coconut oil for my hard oils and scent with peppermint oil for a minty cocoa vibe. Coffee essential oil also pairs quite lovely with cocoa butter for a mocha option. If using more neutral options such as shea and olive oil citrus oils are delightful, my most recent batch was scented with ginger and grapefruit essential oils.

Along with scent and flavor considerations you can also turn this into a tinted balm with simple iron oxide pigment or if you don’t mind altering the texture to a softer consistency you can melt in a little lipstick at the end when you add the soft oils. Be aware with pigment the color of your base impacts the outcome. For instance kpangnan butter has a naturally deep yellow tint and if you use hemp oil the balm with have a greenish hue. This doesn’t preclude coloring the balm but it will alter the outcome.

Now your probably thinking this is a darn long post for a basic lip balm but I firmly believe in knowledge is power and I want you to have multiple tools at your disposal. So lastly I leave you with a list of potential suppliers for the various ingredients mentioned in this recipe as you may not be able to find everything you wish locally.

Enjoy and please come back to share your creativity in making your personal blend!

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