Beeswax lip balm recipe for smooth and healthy lips. Choose from 3 easy recipes to make the perfect homemade lip balm in minutes with only a few natural ingredients.
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Have you ever wondered what makes the skin on your lips look different from the rest of your face?
The top layer of the epidermis is extremely thin on your lips, so thin that your blood vessels shine through - hence, the red color. It also lacks oil glands, sweat glands, melanin, and hair follicles. Making lips prone to drying, chapping, cold sores, and sunburns. That's why your lips need protection.
Enter beeswax - the classic and main ingredient in many lip balm products, like Burt's Bees, for example. Its emollient properties are perfect for nourishing dry lips. Beeswax will create a protective layer to lock in moisture and shield delicate skin from winter winds and dry air. The antibacterial properties found in beeswax can also help heal chapped lips.
Making your own lip balm can be as easy as combining a few ingredients, melting and pouring them. They make the perfect gift, are great stocking stuffers and you can customize them in whichever way you like.
Together with my whipped body butter, DIY face serum and oatmeal bath, these lip balms are perfect for keeping your skin healthy and nourished, especially in the wintertime.
How to Add Scent, Flavor and Color
Essential oils are a great addition to natural lip balm. A small amount can lend scent and even taste to your natural product. But there are some things to keep in mind when choosing an essential oil:
- Some citrus essential oils can cause skin irritation when exposed to sunlight (photosensitivity). Stay clear of lemon, lime and bergamot. Sweet orange, tangerine and mandarin are ok to use.
- Some essential oils are simple too spicy and will leave an unpleasant tingling sensation on your lips. Use cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg essential oil either not at all or very sparingly.
Essential oils that are great for lip balms:
- peppermint
- spearmint
- sweet orange
- pink grapefruit
- vanilla
- lavender
- rosemary
Some very nice aromas can come from raw unrefined ingredients. Raw cocoa butter for example has a lovely chocolate scent to it. Some fruit-derived oils also carry some deliciously fruity scents like cranberry seed oil. Raw beeswax smells of warm honey.
Stay away from unrefined lanolin, shea butter and neem oil - they smell pretty bad.
If you're looking to add some sweetness to your lip balm my preferred choice is stevia - it readily dissolves and adds just a little touch of sweetness. You can experiment with adding honey, but you will have to stir it in really good and even stir between pouring into each tube.
Some companies sell artificial flavor oils that are specifically designed to be used in lip products. If you're looking for a flavor that can't be found in nature this might be a good option for you.
If you want to add a little sparkly color to your lip balm, then micas are your friend. They come in all colors of the rainbow, are super easy to dissolve and give just a touch of shimmer to your lips. Make sure to look for lip safe micas, though. For the recipes below you can add up to 1 ½ teaspoon of mica for a pop of a nice color.
Ok, my friend, let me show you how you can make the perfect DIY lip balm.
Disclaimer: this post contains affiliate links, you can read my full disclosure here.
Equipment
- small glass measuring cup with pouring spout
- digital kitchen scale (recommended)
- small pot (to create water bath) or microwave
- lip balm tubes or lip balm tins
- silicone spatula
Ingredients
Here you'll find 3 easy recipes that will each fill around 10 lip balm tubes.
1. simple beeswax lip balm recipe
- 1.2 oz / 35 g (2 ½ Tbsp) olive oil
- 0.5 oz / 15 g (1 ½ Tbsp) raw beeswax
2. diy beeswax lip balm recipe with coconut oil
- 0.5 oz / 14 g (1 ½ Tbsp) yellow or white beeswax
- 0.4 oz / 12 g (1 Tbsp) coconut oil
- 0.1 oz / 3 g (1 tsp) cocoa butter
- 0.7 oz / 20 g (1 ½ Tbsp) sweet almond oil or avocado oil
- 0.25 g drops of essential oils
- 0.25 g (¼ tsp) vitamin e oil
3. diy lip balm recipe with shea butter
- 0.6 oz / 17 g (⅛ cup) refined shea butter
- 0.5 oz / 14 g (1 ½ Tbsp) white or yellow beeswax
- 0.7 oz / 20 g (1 ½ Tbsp) jojoba oil
- 0.25 g drops of peppermint oil
- o.25 g vitamin E oil
How to Make Your Own Beeswax Lip Balm
- Choose one of the above recipes
- Melt beeswax, butter, and oils in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water or a double boiler. You can also use a microwave on 20-second bursts. Be careful, because the wax can get very hot quickly in the microwave.
- Once the ingredients are fully melted, remove them from heat and stir in vitamin E oil and essential oil (if using).
- Carefully pour the mixture into lip balm containers or small jars
- Allow the lip balm to cool to room temperature and solidify before using
- Clean your equipment with a paper towel while still warm
- Remove waxy residue outside the tubes with rubbing alcohol before sticking on labels
How to Package Lip Balm
Choosing and decorating the packaging of your lip balm can be a great way to add a little personal touch to homemade gifts.
There are two main types of containers for lip balms: tubes and tins (square or round). I prefer tubes since you don't have to worry about clean hands before applying. I also think they look more professional if you're thinking of selling. But small tins are easier to fill.
For decorating, I like to use washi tape. They look fun and come in many different designs. You can also use cute labels that are already printed for you. When I had my bath and body company, I found these professional looking labels and customized them with my logo, etc.
pro tip no.1: Clean your lip balm tubes with rubbing alcohol on a paper towel before labeling. To make sure there's no waxy residue and your label stays put.
pro tip no.2: For a smooth top (without the little hole in the middle), carefully hold a lighter to the top of the lip balm tube and gently melt the top layer of the lip balm.
FAQs
Yes, you can substitute the liquid oils stated in the recipes for most other carrier oils, except for castor oil. Mango butter is a great substitute for shea butter. Coconut oil can be replaced by babassu oil.
When it comes to replacing beeswax, you will have to make changes to the recipes. No other wax feels quite the same, they can be harder, softer or waxier. Here is a great recipe for a vegan lip balm using candelilla wax.
At least 6 months, if kept cool and with the lid on. The addition of vitamin e will help delay rancidity. If you notice an odor, please discard and make a fresh batch.
⅔ parts coconut to ⅓ part beeswax. In my experince a 1:1 ratio will produce a lip balm that's too hard if no other oils are added.
beeswax lip balm (printable)
Beeswax lip balm for smooth and healthy lips. Find the perfect homemade lip balm recipe and make it in minutes with few natural ingredients.
Ingredients
- simple beeswax lip balm recipe:
- 1.2 oz / 35 g (2 ½ Tbsp) olive oil
- 0.5 oz / 15 g (1 ½ Tbsp) raw beeswax
- diy beeswax lip balm recipe with coconut oil:
- 0.5 oz / 14 g (1 ½ Tbsp) yellow or white beeswax
- 0.4 oz / 12 g (1 Tbsp) coconut oil
- 0.1 oz / 3 g (1 tsp) cocoa butter
- 0.7 oz / 20 g (1 ½) tablespoon sweet almond oil or avocado oil
- 0.25 g drops of essential oils
- 0.25 g (¼ tsp) vitamin e oil
- diy lip balm recipe with shea butter:
- 0.6 oz / 17 g (⅛ cup) refined shea butter
- 0.5 oz / 14 g (1 ½ Tbsp) white or yellow beeswax
- 0.7 oz / 20 g (1 ½ Tbsp) jojoba oil
- 0.25 g drops of peppermint oil
- o.25 g vitamin e oil
Instructions
equipment
- lip balm tubes or lip balm tins
- small glass measuring cup (with spout)
- digital kitchen scale
- small pot (to create water bath)
- silicone spatula
how to make your own beeswax lip balm
- melt the beeswax, butters and oils in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water or double boiler
- once the ingredients are fully melted, remove from heat and stir in vitamin e oil and essential oil (if using).
- carefully pour the mixture into lip balm containers or small jars
- allow the lip balm to cool to room temperature and solidify before using
- clean your equipment with a paper towel while still warm
- remove waxy residue outside the tubes with rubbing alcohol before sticking on labels
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