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Making lip balm at home is a fun project for adults and kids alike. It is a great entry point into making homemade beauty projects and can be individualized in many ways. We love making beeswax lip balm with lots of all-natural ingredients; it feels amazing on the lips and doesn’t add anything toxic.
Making lip balm can also take some finesse when ending up with a final product you’ll love. You want it to feel good on your lips, do its job well, and taste and smell pleasing while at it.
As a bonus, homemade lip balm isn’t always just for lips. We also use our homemade beeswax and honey lip balm on cuts and scrapes!
After much practice making lip balm, I’m happy to share this recipe that balances all those goals!
Choosing Your Lip Balm Ingredients
As with most home beauty or natural healing projects, it is important to start with high-quality ingredients. After all, you’ll be putting these ingredients on your lips, so you’ll want to know where they come from and how they are made.
Making good lip balm is all about balancing wax (in our case, beeswax) with the right amount of oils. Use organic, high-quality beeswax that is safe for cosmetics like these pellets from Sky Organics.
You can use fancy, more expensive oils, but I have had success using readily available oils like coconut and olive oil. You can buy high-quality organic oils like these at the grocery store and start your project immediately!
If you want to mix up your flavors, you can also consider adding cosmetic-safe essential oils like peppermint or even chocolate.
Ingredients
Makes about 36 tablespoons of lip balm.
- 1/2 cup beeswax (8 Tablespoons / 4 oz)
- 1 cup olive oil (16 Tablespoons / 8 oz)
- 1/2 cup Coconut oil (8 Tablespoons / 4oz)
- 2 T honey
- 2 Vitamin E capsules or a few drops of Vitamin E Oil (optional)
Equipment
- lip balm tins or tubes (Slide tins are easier to open than round tins, and I like the metal look of the container)
- double boiler – to melt your ingredients
- spatula or whisk
- kitchen scale – to check my quantities and correct them if needed
If you plan to make more than one batch, you may consider dedicating some of your tools to this purpose, as beeswax can be hard to clean up (though not impossible).
Some people would rather not use their fingers to apply the lip balm and might prefer traditional tubes. If you plan to use tubes, you might want to get a tray that holds the tubes for easy filling or a lip balm making kit that includes both tubes and the tray.
Homemade Lip Balm Directions
Step 1: Prepare
Measure your ingredients using a high-quality kitchen scale or measuring spoons.
Prepare lip balm containers by opening your tins or placing your tubes into a filling tray. I like to put some paper towels under the containers in case of spills.
Step 2: Melt
Place your ingredients in the top of a double boiler (with an inch or two of water in the bottom section) or in a bowl placed over a pan with water. Melt the ingredients, stirring occasionally, until they are well incorporated.
Step 3: Pour
Pour or spoon your lip balm into your tins, being careful not to spill too much around the edges of the containers or onto your counter. I like to use a teaspoon to know how much I put into each container and keep them fairly uniform.
Step 4: Cool
Wait for your lip balm to cool before moving it or placing covers on. You’ll see it change from liquid to soft, solid form. Once cool, you can place your covers and labels on.
For more tips on making labels for homemade products, check out this article with tips and ideas!
What else can you make with Beeswax?
There are so many wonderful things you can make with beeswax. Personal care products take advantage of the health benefits of beeswax for your skin. Home products use the protective benefits of beeswax for leather and wood. And beeswax candles are healthier to burn in your home!
Try some of these products yourself!
- Beeswax Furniture Polish
- Beeswax Leather Conditioner
- Beeswax Pinecone Fire Starters
- Beeswax Lip Balm
- Beeswax Christmas Tree Ornaments
- Beeswax Lotion Bars
Carrie Williams Howe is an educational leader by day and an aspiring homesteader by night and weekend. She lives on a small homestead in Vermont with her husband, two children, and a rambunctious border collie. She blogs about her family's homestead life at The Happy Hive.
I made some for first time about month ago. Love it
Will try this next time we’re making lip balm. Looks like a great recipe.
My sister and I are planning to open up a cosmetic business made up of organic products. Thanks for pointing out in your article that balancing the beeswax with oil to produce a high-quality lip balm. I think I need to look for bulk comb honey suppliers for my online business project.