How to Make Healing Homemade Lip Balm
Lips are extremely susceptible to drying out-much more so than other parts of our body, as they are always exposed to the elements, and really have only a thin layer of skin to protect them. This is why we turn to lip balm. By now you’ve probably heard that lip balm dries your lips out, which in turn makes you apply more, and then it turns into an addicting habit that isn’t doing you, or your lips, any favors. That is, to some extent, true. Certain lip balms do contain ingredients that feel good at first, but leave you with the need to put more on just an hour or 2 later as they dry up, and leave your skin even drier. They also act by creating a barrier than just sits on top of your skin, and locks out any moisture it might be getting from the air.
This homemade balm is designed to help seal in moisture and not just dry up and off, but actually sink into your lips. It also won’t leave a slick, exclusive barrier. Use with a homemade exfoliator to help slough off all the dead, dry, and peeling off skin that comes along with rough chapped lips and reveal the softness underneath. I have found great success with both of these (and I live in a place that can turn your lips into the Sahara if you’re not careful.)
Ingredients: Beeswax, Coconut oil, honey, vitamin e capsules, essential oil (optional).
Why Beeswax: Beeswax can act as an emollient (moisturizer) as well as protect your lips from the elements, but the most important role it plays is that it is what gives your lip balm its stiffness and body so that it can be easily transported and applied.
Why coconut oil: Coconut oil will not coat and smother your skin like petroleum based products, and moisturizes deep down. Its fatty acids hold onto moisture, and can help reinforce the skins lipid (fat) layer, which promoted hydration.
Why honey: Honey is a natural humectant, which means it attracts and holds onto water molecules.
Why vitamin E: Full of antioxidants, vitamin E can neutralize the effect of free radicals that damage healthy skin cells and lead to dryness.
Why essential oil (optional): I like to steer clear of fragrances when it comes to my lip balm, but if you like you can add in a few drops of your favorite scent.
You will need…
-1 tablespoon grated beeswax or beeswax pastilles
-1 tablespoon virgin coconut oil
-A dash of organic raw honey
-2 vitamin e capsules
-several drops of essential oil (optional)
Directions
In a double boiler, melt down the beeswax, adding in the coconut oil and honey when about half of the beeswax is no longer solid. After it’s all melted and blended together, stir in the contents of 2 vitamin E capsules. Pour into container or a tube and let cool. Apply as needed-but not in excess. Resist! There can always be too much of a good thing.
I live in Minnesota. I understand chapped lips. Cracked, dry and yes, even bleeding, lips are all too familiar to me. I don’t even care if it’s not the most appealing look in the world; I just hate how uncomfortable it is. As winter starts to set in-well fall is just starting technically, but one must be prepared here-I already feel the dryness beginning. Already I find myself digging through the black hole that is my purse to find my lip balm, and the familiar anger that comes along with taking 5 minutes to fish it out.
Watch out for…
The main culprits in chapstick or lip balm that can make your lips dry out even more include camphor, phenol, and menthol, which can lead your lips to ultimately cracking though they feel cool and refreshing. Then there is OL, as its listed on ingredients, which basically means alcohol, which dries out quickly. Finally theres salicylic acid, which is added to help flake off dry skin, but it can just leave you with lips that peel even more (I use homemade lip exfoliator for helping the dry skin instead.)
Are you hooked?
I read an interesting book once called “The Power of Habit” that talked about toothpaste companies, and how they figured out the hook to getting their product to sell was to make it foam. In all reality, the foam did absolutely nothing, but it made people think it was. If the toothpaste foamed, everyone thought, obviously there was some sort of action going on, and this resulted in them going back to that toothpaste again and again. The same thing goes for lip balm-if it feels cool and tingly, it feels like it’s doing something, which hooks you in. In the end though, there’s really nothing to it-except that it dries up and then you feel like you need more-which is why the industry is now making over $370 million a year.
P.S. Make sure to take a look at the Everyday Roots Book with 350+ pages of the best home remedies, natural beauty recipes, homemade cleaners and diy household products. View Remedies
By Claire Goodall
Claire is a lover of life, the natural world, and wild blueberries. On the weekend you can find her fiddling in the garden, playing with her dogs, and enjoying the great outdoors with her horse. Claire is very open-minded, ask her anything 🙂 Meet ClaireWe Want to Hear from You! Let us know which remedies work and do not work for you, ask a question or leave a comment:
Just to clarify-the Aloe is in the pictures because it was originally in the recipe, but I took it out since I found it created a little liquid layer at the bottom.
Hi, I like the recipe! Will have to try it out as we have pretty cold winters up here in Quebec! In the picture there’s a bottle of aloe but I don’t see any in the ingredients list?
Wow thank you! Looking forward to making this. Where can I get the containers?
I got lipstick tubes and containers at Vitamin Cottage. I found all of my ingredient there too. It might be a little bit expensive, but the products are great and they last a while.
Can you add a few drops of thieves oil to give it an antibacterial component? How many drops would you suggest? – THANKS!
Thank you, more than you can know! I recently have developed some sort of allergy (?) to all lip balms, sticks I have, they make my lips throb with discomfort. I also just developed my first severe case of chapped lips of the year. I have resorted to pure Coconut Oil, but this is a bit messy for on the go. So very happy to have found this!
Could you recommend a coconut oil alternative? It’s in so many natural beauty products, but I’m allergic to coconut 🙁
You can try olive oil, sunflower seed oil, or almond oil, they should all be there with the coconut and vegetable oils in your local grocery store. I have used both coconut and olive oil and like the feeling of both. I think you can use any carrier oil.
Hi there! (: I was curious as to how much this recipe makes?
Your question is from a while back so you probably know by now. I just made the recipe as written above and it made about 3/4 of a shot glass.
I made it in the shot glass by putting it in a little water in a pot on the stove to melt and blend the ingredients. If you do this, keep the heat on the stove quite low… don’t want to crack the glass!
was wondering how large the vitamin E capsules are, as I have vitamin E in a bottle, not quite sure what the amount would be equivalent to? Also, what size are your containers that you have pictured and where do you get the little metal containers from? How much does the recipe make?
Well most vitamin E capsules are tiny from what I’ve seen. Try 1/2 teaspoon I mean, I can’t really eyeball 1 teaspoon so I don’t know if that is too much but I think 1 teaspoon might be too much.
I think you can get the tins nearly anywhere. Just go to cosmetic stores or even pharmacies should have small little containers. They can be plastic, metal, etc. You can even buy some candy that comes in tins. Basically anything that is heat resistant will do.
I realize you asked this a year ago, but whatever.
I like the recipe, it’s simple and rather common for balms (as in I find near similar recipes all over the web). I’m wanting to make a gloss rather than a balm so was wondering how I might go about this as most coconut oils will solidify at room temps. I intend to use it in either a wand application bottle or a roll on (like for scented oils). I have a wonderful local honey supplier so that is easy and I’ve got several essential oils I’d like to try. Due to allergies I’ve grown accustomed to breathing through my mouth rather than my nose all the time and this chaps my lips. The more exertion I do the more I breathe and in no time, my lips are as dry as the Sahara. So am looking for something more liquid. Hoping you can help. Have a Merry Christmas!
Michelle, you can make a nice lip gloss using glycerin (one part) and castor oil (two parts) together. If you use a tiny amount of beet powder in the glycerin, you can have a “lava lamp” type of effect, as well as adding a minute amount of color to your lips. Put the mixture in a glass roll-on bottle and you’re set! 🙂
I was asked to make some lip balm for a friend of mine – I’ve never done it before – LOL! but willing to try – as she told me her issues I kept thinking – coconut oil and honey – so I really want to try your recipe out. When would you add the essential oils? I didn’t see that step listed, and I’m glad you cleared up why the Aloe was in the picture. Also, do you think liquid vit E would work instead of the capsules?
Hi! I would like to try this recipe out, but I’m wondering what kind of beeswax is safely to use? Candles beeswax or …?
Thanks!
where do you find your tins for the lip balms and headache remedy
Great lip balm recipe. I’ve never seen a DIY lip balm recipe with honey in it. It’s a great idea though. Seems like it would add a touch of sweetness too. I’m adding this one to my list of recipes to try. Thanks!
Hey umm where did you get your containers at?
I buy my tins from mountain Rose Herbs , The tin in the picture looks like a 1/2oz
I too make a homemade lip balm and when I saw honey in your recipe I had to try it!!! Unfortunately, the honey separated from the other ingredients 🙁 I used a raw, organic honey. I am wondering what you use because I’d like to incorporate it in my recipe.
Hi Keri, did you find a solution to the honey separating? I too have that issue, but found that if I add it when the oils are cooling it stays together, but by then is not pourable. Let me know if you found a solution.
Sorry I missed this-I thought I had covered it but apparently not! It does work best if you add it as things are cooling, but you need to strike a balance between it getting too solid and not being too warm. A lot of times i’ll pour the mixture (sans the honey) into the tin while it’s hot, add the honey, and then occasionally stir with a toothpick as it solidifies. If you find the honey is seeping out of the solid balm, try adding a little less. And while I like adding honey, it’s really not the end of the world if you decide you’d rather not mess with it and leave it out 😉
Thanks for the tips… I could’t figure out what was sitting at the bottom of my tubes until i pushed a few out… 🙁 I added it while it was heating, and now everything is cooling so hopefully i can stir it up then pour it in while it is a little thicker.
Any tips for using tubes compared to tins?
Hi! This looks like a really good recipe! I’m literarily allergic to every lip-balm, lipstick, chap… you name it and my lips explode with bumps! Right now I’m sitting here with coconut on my lips… so we’ll see how that goes!
Thanks for the awesome idea! 🙂
I love this recipe! I had a bit of trouble making it, though. Somehow I missed that the beeswax needed to be grated and it took FOREVER to melt! Also, I don’t have a double boiler and used a stainless dish dropped into a larger pot of boiling water. I quadrupled the recipe and ended up with 15 containers of balm. I got my containers at Michael’s – a 24 pack of “bead” containers was about $10. They’re plastic with screw on lids and I’d guess they hold about 1/2 oz. I used five different essential oils so I added the oil after I poured the lip balm into the containers. I wouldn’t recommend this. You’ve gotta be really fast and stir it, cuz the stuff solidifies very quickly. I hope this helps some of you 🙂
Thanks Claire! U rock
Thanks Jenna 😀
I am going to try this recipe out. Well, actually my ten year old granddaughter is going to try it out. She is trying to make and sell hers to help raise money that she needs for open heart surgery in about 2 months. Anyway, someone may have asked this and I missed the answer, but she wants to add a tint of color to hers. Can this be done with your recipe and if so what would you use. She probably wants colors like pink, peach, red, etc. Thank you
Yes, there are a number of ways to tint it. You can add mica powder, natural dyes (such as beet root powder) or (in my opinion the easiest way) shave a few flakes of lipstick into it and melt it down with everything else. If you prefer you can pour it into little chapstick tubes as well, adding slightly less beeswax for a bit softer final product. I hope this helped some, and best of luck to your granddaughter-sending lots of positive vibes your way.
You can add beetroot to the balm that will give a nice color add a little at a time until you get the color you like.
Bulkapothacaries.com has containers, I found the link scrolling down the page
Does this lip balm bother you now? I was advised to stay away from beeswax with the Balsam of Peru allergy.
I *just* made this lip balm and I am in LOVE! I recently found out that I am allergic to all fragrance and a few other nasty things like menthol and balsam of Peru. I found your recipe and decided to try it – I liked the small batch size – why make a ton of something you may not like? Good thing I doubled the recipe, because it feels great on and does not irritate my lips in the slightest. From my double batch I got 4 tubes of lip balm, 1 1/8oz pot and two 1/4oz pots. Thank-you so much for this recipe. You certainly made my day, week, and most likely month too! 🙂
Hooray! I am so glad you like it! I am quite a fan myself 😉
Hi!
I am about to make this, and I am doing a large batch for Christmas gifts. I am wondering what you mean by “dash” of honey. What measurement do you use?
Much appreciated!
Lisa.
One more! What size are the vitamin e capsules that you are using?
Just wondering if there is a trustworthy organic beeswax supplier on Amazon?
Love this recipe! Just wondering what you think the shelf life on this would be! I want to make for Christmas presents, so is it something I could make now?
The shelf life is fairly indefinite, but you’ll want to keep it in a cool dark place and out of direct sunlight to maintain the potency. You might want to think about ordering some lip balm tubes online if you want to make these as a gift, it makes them extra fun! 😀
Just made this in a quad. batch for a craft sale, it is great! Thanks so much for posting!
I’m excited to try this one! I didn’t see any recommendations on specific essential oils to add. What do you recommend? I’m thinking peppermint. Also how much does this recipe make in one batch? Thank you!
Hey there! I’ve used this recipe twice now and was wondering if anyone else has experienced lip dryness after applying the product. I’ve tried it with less and more oils but get the same result. The recipients of the finished product have experienced the same unfortunate results. Please help!!
Did not work for me at all. The honey did not mix, beeswax burnt horribly, the essential oil barely scented the wax at all, when I poured it into the container it hardened like a rock to everything and I couldn’t even scoop any out to put on my lips: it was too hard. I ended up having to throw the pot away. Did not work at all for me.
I really want to try ur recipe. Is there anything else I could use for the honey instead?
This looks great! I’m wondering – would it still work and be effective without the vitamin E? I’d really love to try it and have all the ingredients except vitamin E. Thanks!
What size vitamin e capsules should be used for a single recipe? I haven’t gone shopping yet for the beeswax but is there anything special I should look for? ( this is my first project like this!) Also can I use small plastic containers to store the lip balm in? Thank you so much. My daughter and I are going to be making this really soon. After seeing the prices of this stuff in the store we became inspired to make our own lip scrub and balm. Thanks
Laure
I made the lip balm, but it feels sticky and I didn’t even put honey in it. Did I put to much coconut oil in it? Or to much or not enough bees wax in it? Or is it suppose to be this way? This my 1st time I made it.
Just made this for the 2nd time. I got chapstick type tubes (I think 50 for like 12 bucks) on Amazon. It can be very hard when it cools, but if you just scratch off a little, it goes onto your lips easily and warms right up. I got the tubes to make it easier to transport, but since they’re plastic, I wouldn’t pour the hot liquid into them. I just kind of squish it in, a little at a time, until it’s full. It worked very well the first time and everyone in my family loves it. Waiting for the second batch to cool to put in the tubes. I haven’t tried adding any essential oils yet. I like it the way it is. My only compliant is it is soooo difficult to get the pot and the utensils clean after the beeswax hardens on it. This time I tried putting my smallest pyrex into a pan with some water hoping it won’t stick as much to the glass. And I stirred it with a toothpick. We’ll see how that goes 🙂
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS RECIPE! I just made my first batch tonight and I have had this stuff on my lips for only an hour and they already feel sooooo much better! It’s so true what you say about this balm sinking into the lips as opposed to laying on top, it really sinks in and feels creamy and silky and just fantastic! I made a few adjustments to the recipe (for qty purposes) so that I wasn’t making so much at one time. And I stirred the melted ingredients for longer than usual to make sure all was mixed together, and I had no issues with the honey separating. I also added the essential oil into the melting mixture and it worked beautifully. Here are my adjustments (I made enough for 3 small pots of balm):
– 0.5 tbsp of beeswax pellets
– 0.5 tbsp of raw honey
– 0.5 tbsp of coconut oil
– 0.5 tbsp of vitamin E (I used an oil as opposed to the capsules)
– 10 drops of pepperment essential oil
I used a baster to fill the little pots, let them all cool and harden (for about 15 minutes) and then put them in the refrigerator for about an hour…this balm is so perfect! Seriously, my lips have been awfully chapped and nothing has helped until now!
Thank You!!!
Hi Claire!
I would love nothing more than to try this recipe! One question to send me on my way… do you use powder or oil vitamin E? Would either work? Thanks so much for posting!
I am wondering how this balm weathers warmer climates? I need a balm that wont get all mushy in the summer (or when I keep it in my pocket)