Lip balms are so easy to make. Once you try this recipe and experience how good it is, you’ll never go back to using any others!
Gail has been making this formula for more than 15 years, and now her children love making it too! She says it is by far the best lip balm she’s ever used and makes a batch a couple of times a year, so she is never without one.
Natural lip balm ingredients
This recipe features just a few easy-to-find ingredients. Choose organic versions of the ingredients if you’d like to make an organic lip balm.
Beeswax is an occlusive that creates a protective barrier on the lips, and it also thickens the product into a semi-solid product.
Cocoa butter is an emollient and helps to smooth and soften the lips, plus gives the product a beautiful chocolatey aroma. It also functions as an occlusive and a thickener.
Carrier oil (eg, sunflower, sweet almond, or jojoba oil) is another emollient helping to smooth, soften, and moisturize the lips.
Orange essential oil gives the product a wonderful, uplifting aroma, and it has antibacterial properties. Sweet orange essential oil is non-phototoxic.
Vitamin E is an antioxidant that helps to prolong the shelf life of this oil-based product.
Orange Lip Balm recipe
This recipe makes approximately 10 lip balm sticks. Make half the recipe if you want to make less.
Ingredients:
30g beeswax (or a vegan wax eg candelilla wax, which creates a similar firmness)
20g cocoa butter
49.4g sunflower, sweet almond or jojoba oil
0.5g orange essential oil (or use peppermint or geranium)
0.1g Vitamin E (95% mixed tocopherols)
Equipment required
Digital scales that measure to 0.1g, a heatproof lab beaker or a pyrex jug, a saucepan of simmering water or a hot plate, suitable packaging (eg twist up lip balm sticks).
How to make lip balm
The process is very easy!
- Weigh the beeswax, cocoa butter and carrier oil into a heat-proof beaker.
- Place the beaker into a water bath or onto a hot plate and heat until melted (this will be around 70°C).
- Remove from the heat and allow to cool a little, but not so much that it thickens.
- Add the essential oil and Vitamin E and mix thoroughly.
- Carefully pour into twist-up stick containers. Allow to cool before putting the lid on.
That’s it! Simple and lovely! These make wonderful and inexpensive gifts, too.
See our list of recommended suppliers if you want to have a go.
Quick lip balm video tutorial
This quick reel shows you how to make the lip balm step by step!
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