Natural Lip Balm

This creamy lip balm recipe is a lot of fun to make! You can make just one kind, or you can experiment and create several different flavors. Lip balm also makes a great addition to any gift basket!

Ingredients Needed:

1. Beeswax: This can be found at local health stores, craft stores, or candle-making supply stores. It is available either in its natural golden color, or it is also available in a bleached white color. It can be purchased either in blocks that can be grated with a cheese grater to get smaller pieces that are easier to work with, or it can also be purchased as small pellets. For this recipe you will need one tablespoon.
2. Cocoa butter: This can be found at many health stores, or any other store that sells soap or lotion making supplies. You will need about one-half tablespoon for this recipe.
3. Sweet almond oil: This can be found at many grocery stores and health stores. You will need 4 teaspoons for this recipe.
4. Honey (optional): This gives your lip gloss a sweeter taste and smell. You can use up to one teaspoon for this recipe.
5. Vitamin E (optional): This can be found either as capsules in most health and grocery stores, or it can also be found as a liquid in many drug stores. You will need either one capsule, or 3-4 drops of liquid for this recipe. Besides being an antioxidant, Vitamin E is also a natural preservative and will help your lip balm last longer.
6. Essential oils: These not only give your lip balm its own unique scent and flavor, they also add the benefits of the essential oil you use to your lip balm creation. Some favorite essential oils to use are peppermint (with or without honey), birch or wintergreen (with honey—add a drop of vanilla for a “rootbeer” flavor) or one of the citrus oils (such as orange, lime, lemon, or grapefruit) along with the honey (one caution about the citrus oils—they are photosensitizing and can increase the risk of sunburned lips if this lip balm is worn while out in the sun). Because lip balm is worn on the lips and might end up in the mouth, make sure the essential oils you use comes from a source that can be trusted to produce pure oils without any chemical additives. You will need about 5-10 drops of essential oil for this recipe.

Instructions:

1. Pack grated beeswax or beeswax pellets into a Tablespoon size measuring spoon until it is packed level with the top, then dump the beeswax into a heat-proof measuring cup (such as a Pyrex™ brand measuring cup).
2. Pack cocoa butter into a one-half-tablespoon size measuring spoon until it is packed level with the top, then dump cocoa butter into the measuring cup with the beeswax.
3. Add 4 teaspoons of sweet almond oil to the beeswax and cocoa butter. If a sweeter lip gloss is desired, add up to 1 teaspoon of honey.
4. Place the measuring cup in a large frying pan that is filled with 1″ of hot water.
5. Place the frying pan and measuring cup on the stove and turn the burner on low.
6. Stir the mixture in the measuring cup with a popsicle stick or bamboo skewer every couple of minutes until the wax is completely melted (about 15-20 minutes).
7. Turn off stove and carefully remove the measuring cup from the frying pan and place the measuring cup on a towel on a counter-top or table.
8. If desired, stir in the contents of 1 capsule of vitamin E (or 3-4 drops liquid vitamin E). Stir in 5-10 drops of your desired essential oil or blend.
9. Pour the mixture into lip balm dispensers, lip gloss containers, or any other small jar or container. This recipe will fill 4 or 5 containers. You may find it easier (and cleaner) to either use a small dropper to transfer the mixture into the small containers, or to use a small funnel to help pour the mixture into the small containers without spilling on the side.

Extra Ideas:

1. To make this lip balm into a softer, shinier lip gloss, try adding a teaspoon more sweet almond oil, and a teaspoon less beeswax (or experiment with your own proportions to find something you like).
2. Create fun labels for your lip balm creations using 2″ x 4″ labels. Set up your labels so that two labels fit side-by-side on each 2″ x 4″ label, then cut the label in half after printing so you have two labels that each measure 2″ x 2″. This size fits perfectly on our white lip balm dispensers.