If you want to make your own homemade lipbalm you have come to the right place!
When choosing to make your own lipbalm you probably came to one of these conclusions:
- These days the producers of cosmetics make some of their products irresponsibly. By using chemicals they make lipbalms of pretty colors, smell and taste but they are still unhealthy.
- Homemade lipbalm is cheaper, makes a nice gift and you can make as much of it as you want. For your family, friends, even cats.
- Homemade lipbalm is customised and uses only the ingredients you want. You control the color, smell, taste. You also control the quality.
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Homemade lipbalms come in an almost unlimited variety. If you have the motivation to make your own, they make great gifts and are an all around useful item, not only for your lips, but when in need, also as hand creams. The recipe for those can be slightly different, but the principle is the same. Below you will find some easy and effective ways of making your very own lip balm.
Try to think of those instructions more as a frame, do not be afraid to experiment! Try different essential oils and using more and less beeswax to make the lipbalm as consistent as you like it. Same goes for the sweetness of the balm. You can use more or less honey.
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The basic homemade lipbalm formula
This is the base on which to build on!
There is a ton, probably unlimited varieties of homemade lipbalm, since it is customised. At the start i give you the basic formula which you can play around with as you wish!
The basic homemade lipbalm recipe :
- 4 tablespoons of oil (usually nut or vegetable oil, you can use others as well, but try to keep it natural!)
- 1 and a half (1 1/2) teaspoons of beeswax
- one teaspoon of honey
- a half to one teaspoon of an essential oil
Melt the wax in a pan (you can find a cheap one below), mix with oil. Add essential oils and honey at the end. Pour into a container.
I don't like to use parafin (too artificial!). Use real beeswax for a natural and healthy lipbalm!
Why do we use certain ingredients?
- Wax makes the lipbalm, well more waxy! Meaning more solid
- Oil makes the lipbalm more gluid, moist.
- Essential oils add aroma and taste
- Honey is used because of its beneficial properties and taste. For optimum use add honey at the very end. Honey loses many beneficial properties when heated too much.
- Vitamin E (find more info below)- antioxidant, UV protection and preservation
Lipbalm containers - Containers for your homemade lipbalm
A cheap saucepan - You need it to mix the ingredients.
You will need a saucepan to mix the ingredients. I recommend getting a cheap one or use one you do not use much of the time. The one below is dirt cheap.
Vitamin E - An optional ingredient
- Works as an antioxidant, meaning it prevents cell damage,
- protects from UV rays,
- moisturizes and hydrates,
- some use vitamin E to make lipbalm last longer.
Adding color to a homemade lipbalm
Lets keep our lipbalm natural if possible!
We do ingest lipstick, it is a well known fact! Remember that only ten percent of edible coloring agents are natural. But it is always up to you to choose a quality of your own homemade lipbalm.
For those content with a preety color you can just throw in a piece of lipstick. But if you want a healthy coloring that also looks good, try some of these ideas for natural colorings:
Making your lipbalm red/purple/pink
- Root of beet, a distinct red/purple color and very healthy, almost flavourless too,
- any red/purple/pink fruit (like elderberries - darker purple ...) mash it and separate the liquid part
- lycopene, a red based pigment.
Making your homemade lipbalm orange
- Orange peel, carrot powder = light orange,
- paprika (grind it as much as you can) = red to orange.
Making your homemade lipbalm yellow
- turmeric (cheaper).
Making your homemade lipbalm brown
- Organic cocoa powder and cinnamon to get the wanted shade,
- Caramel color, made from burnt sugar.
Making your homemade lipbalm green
- Chlorophyll derived from chlorella algae (you can use 100% chlorella algae tabs and mash them into powder)
- pandanus amaryllifolius (a tropical plant) - has a nutty fragrance.
Making your homemade lipbalm blue
Do you find everything natural you can find is rather purple than blue? Well you can cheat with a pinch of baking soda to get a blue hue. Baking soda will change the taste of your lipbalm, use it wisely.
- Red cabbage (half of it, cook it in very small amount of water for 20-30 minutes, then take the purple water and add a little baking soda, it's magic :),
- blueberry (purplish/blue), you can add soda too if you want to, i haven't yet tried it, but it will work,
- butterfly blue pea.
Natural colorings can sometimes be a little tricky. Some of them do not melt good in oils, so you will have to do the chemistry part of your experiment if you want your homemade lipbalm to be nice and evenly colored.
Homemade lipbalm recipe one
Simple, fun and natural!
- Bees wax- used to make your lip balm more solid. Bees wax is natural and should be preferred to other substances (standard candle paraffin is not proper!)- three tablespoons
- Almond oil, olive oil or coconut oil- two tablespoons
- Essential oils- vanilla, grapefruit, mint or any you love- half a tablespoon
- Honey- one and a half tablespoons
- Shea butter- two tablespoons
Mix the ingredients in the saucepan (beeswax, shea butter and oil) at low heat and add essential oils and honey at the end. Pour into lip balm containers. If the lipbalm is not solid enough, you can cool it of in the refrigerator. Use more beeswax next time!
Use various natural colorings to add color or just use lipstick!
The initial investment might seem a bit much for the all natural lipbalms, but if you calculate the amount of homemade lipbalm you can make you will be saving quite a bit.
Homemade lipbalm recipe two
Lavender lipbalm, my favorite...mmm!
Note: Use tablespoons instead of teaspoons for larger quantities!
- four teaspoons of Almond, olive, coconut or jojoba oil-
- one teaspoon of Beeswax-
- half a teaspoon of Honey- (or less, if you don't like the taste)
- half a teaspoon of Vitamin E oil/capsule-
- teaspoon of Lavender oil- up to your feeling,
Use various natural colorings to add some color or just use lipstick!
Homemade lipbalm recipe three
Lemon flavored homemade lipbalm.
This lipbalm recipe is quite simple. Much like the basic lipbalm recipe, this one goes like this:
- two tablespoons of beeswax
- six to seven tablespoons of oil (nut or vegetable)
- one tablespoon of honey
- a few drops of lemon essential oil (up to you to decide how much to use, i would go for four drops)
Mix the wax and oil in a saucepan. Add honey and essential lemon oil drops at the end, before pouring the balm into containers. Voila!
- add desired essential oils (citrus, mint maybe?) if you like
An example of a vegan homemade lipbalm recipe:
- 1 unit of soy wax
- 1 unit of shea butter
- 1/2 unit of coconut oil
- 1 1/2 unit of olive oil (or more for desired consistency)
- 3 drops of vitamin E (3 drops per container)
- around 5 drops of essential oil of your choice per container (optional)
I chose to simplify amounts in units, so you can choose an amount of lipbalm you want to make. Have fun!
Homemade lipbalm recipe five
Chocolate homemade lipbalm.