How to: Make Simple, Organic DIY Lip Balm for 25¢

By: Potholesandpantyhose Feb 23, 2012

created at: 02/22/2012

Hi! I'm Rebekah from Potholes and Pantyhose where I share and photograph detailed tutorials of my DIY projects, recipes, photography tips and remodeling endeavors.

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I like to re-invent and create things around my home. And I like to do so inexpensively and with my own little flair. So today, I have a low cost, simple and organic recipe for DIY Lip Balm.

My hubby and I go through inordinate amount of lip balm. And at $3 a tube, it was beginning to add up. I wanted to find a way that I could circumvent the cost, the unnecessary added chemicals and the need for store-bought lip balm. For approximately $.25 a tube, I had my very own lip balm without the chemicals.

Here's what you'll need to make your very own simple, organic lip balm:

2 TBS Beeswax Pearls
2 TBS Pure White Refined Shea Butter (you can use unrefined shea butter, it just has a bit of an odor)
4 TBS Sweet Almond Oil
1/4 tsp "Essential" Peppermint Oil (or use Lavender, Cherry, Lime, Eucalyptus, oil)
Double Boiler (or a heat safe bowl set over a pot of simmering water)
Measuring Cup with pour spout
Paper Towels/Rags (15-20)
.15 oz new or recycled tubes or containers (I bought mine from bulkapothecary.com for $0.14 each)

Prepare the lip balm containers by placing in a bowl or pan, without the lids. Help tubes stay upright by wedging paper towels around them.

If using a Double Boiler, fill the bottom pan with water and bring to a slow boil. Place the second pan on top, and melt the beeswax. If using a heat safe bowl, set the bowl over a pot of simmering water. Stir continuously with a wire whisk while the next ingredients are added.

Add the 2 TBS of Shea Butter.

Add the 4 TBS of Sweet Almond Oil.

Once liquified, remove the top pan from the heat while continuing to stir.

Whisk in a 1/4 tsp of essential oil. (I used peppermint in my lip balm).

Working quickly, transfer the hot liquid to a room temperature measuring cup with a spout.

Pour the hot liquid into the lip balm containers.

Let cool for 15-20 minutes. Place the lid on the cooled container and enjoy.

I recommend wiping out all pans, measuring cups and spoons with a rag or with paper towels before attempting to wash them. Trust me, I learned the hard way....

Chris, thanks so much for having me here today! Please stop by my site, Potholes and Pantyhose, for more recipes, crafts and remodeling projects. I would love to hear from you

-Rebekah.

Tagged : organic, recipe, chapstick, Curbly-Original, lip, balm, makeup, fashion, style, DIY

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Comments

Cat
May 19, 2012

Thank you! I have vey sensitive skin and have wasted a lot of money buying lip balms I ended up not being able to use, I have made this with a couple of little changes and it is lovely!

Cat
May 19, 2012

Thank you! I have vey sensitive skin and have wasted a lot of money buying lip balms I ended up not being able to use, I have made this with a couple of little changes and it is lovely!

Pam
Mar 02, 2012

I'm wondering if this would have any SPF or if there is anything natural you could add.

Claudia
Feb 26, 2012

Fantastic article and really nice photos. It seems simple enough to make me want to try it myself.

I do have one question, though - how is this organic? Are the ingredients you listed only sold in organic forms (for example: are beeswax pearls always organic) or are you just subsituting the word "organic" for natural?

Stacie e
Feb 25, 2012

"I had my very own lip balm without the chemicals"

I hate when people misuse that word in order to prove a point or claim how amazing something is. Everything is a chemical. You have a homemade lip balm -- that's it. It still has chemicals.

T
Feb 25, 2012

One of the best essential oils to use that brings healing and calming would be calendula. otherwise known as marigold in the flower world. Helps reduce inflamation associated with chapped burning lips. Just thought I would share that.

Oh, and I had a little leftover as well so I poured it into tiny pots and voila! cuticle cream!

Hi Cindy, I just started experimenting with this and produced a fantastic batch of tangerine-scented lip balms to give out at Christmas. Friends are already asking for more! You need the wax (bees, carnauba or candelilla), the butter (shea is good but I use coconut, better melt plus anti-bacterial/viral/fungal) and the oil (sweet almond works best and there is no almond smell or taste! Many other carriers can be used though, olive, castor, safflower etc.). I upped my wax just a tad and added some vitamin E oil (healing properties plus a natural preservative) as well as Lanolin and/or Jojoba in small amounts.
I would caution against using too much peppermint oil (a little for scent is fine) because it's drying and can make you more sensitive to sunlight, same is true for the tangerine essential oil I used.
I also used this tray - http://www.sks-bottle.com/340c/fin77c.html - and it was SO easy to fill!
I'm getting ready to make my second batch soon and I'm having so much fun experimenting!

Thnks for the tutorial, Rebekah! I've been scouring every thing I can find about homemade bath and body products so I was happy to see this pop up in my reader. The wax pellets look SO MUCH EASIER than using the wax that comes in brick form. That stuff is crazy hard to cut or grate.

Jaymi-

This recipe makes about 25+ tubes of chapstick. I had a bunch leftover and ran out of tubes-so I started putting the leftovers in smaller jars!

Jaymi
Feb 24, 2012

How many containers will the measurements above fill?

Aurora-

Sweet Almond Oil is soothing to the ol lips, but I'm sure peppermint oil or something similar would work just as well. I haven't tried it myself, so I don't know for sure-however. I would recommend trying to make a very small batch using an oil you like and see how it fares! Good luck. (Maybe this is something I should try doing once I am out of my 25 chapsticks!) :)

Aurora
Feb 23, 2012

Can you use an alternative oil to the sweet almond oil? I'm not a fan of almond extract so I don't think I'll care for the oil. What purpose does the oil serve?

Cindy-

I bought a lot of my ingredients from:

http://bulkapothecary.com/

Hope this helps!