Why spend $2-$7 on lip balm when, for a fraction of the cost, homemade is so much more fun, easy and oh, so nourishing? Make your own deliciously silky-smooth, all-natural, Love Your Lips Nourishing Lip Balm. Made with shea and cocoa butters, almond and jojoba oils, with beeswax and essential oils. I use nothing but the good stuff.

tubes of lip balm with wax and cocoa butter on wood

An Encouraging Way to Start Your DIY Journey

Lip balm is an essential. Making your own lip balm is…brilliant. With a large family, we go through lip balm like water. When I realized I could make my own lip balm for a fraction of the cost, I jumped all in. Now granted, there are some DIY recipes that you are actually not saving any money by making it yourself. My daughter likes to laugh at me at times when I justify spending a fortune to save a buck. Some DIY projects are better left to those who specialize in it. Fortunately, I make so many of our natural home and body products now that I can justify that whole bottle of jojoba oil. I use it in everything. Starting out, it will be an investment, but in the long run when you have all the ingredients on hand and you are making batch after batch of your own nourishing lip balm, you will save a pretty penny.

Seriously, I realize the list of items for this recipe is long, but when you consider paying $2-$7 a tube when you can make ten for less than one tube, it just doesn’t add up. You don’t need the fancy test tube tray to hold your tubes. No funnels or fancy pans are needed. Just the ingredients and a steady hand. I am telling you, when you pour your first tube of lip balm, watch it harden, and then apply it to your lips, you are going to be running to the neighbors house telling them how amazing you are and giving away all your booty. There is nothing like the feeling of doing something yourself, of saying “I did this!” You can do it. It is so fun and fulfilling and oh, so nourishing.

a display of lip balm ingredients on a cutting board

My Preferences

I have been making my own lip balm for years. Gift giving is a cinch, especially when all my children and friends now expect it in their stockings and gift bags. Although I have experimented with many recipes, I keep coming back to this one. I love the rich feel of the shea and cacao butters (not a fan of coconut oil in my skin care products). The rich almond and jojoba oils are so nourishing to the skin. This recipe is not stiff or clumpy, but smooth and silky.

I add honey to my recipe because it is super nourishing and healing for the skin. Loaded with phytonutrients, amino acids, enzymes, vitamins and minerals, it is a wonderful protective addition. Plus, it gives it a lip smacking flavor punch. Hey it is sitting on my lips all day. I might as well enjoy it. Just make sure and add it after your base is removed from the heat so the healing properties are not destroyed. Also, stir like crazy. The honey likes to sit at the bottom of the pan which means your last tube may be buzzing with a lot more honey to wax ratio. No problems here. That is usually my favorite tube.

Making Substitutions

If you don’t have shea butter, you can double up on the cacao butter and give it a more chocolatey flavor. It will give it a stiffer consistency though. Feel free to use avocado oil if you don’t have almond of jojoba. Just make sure the oil to butter ratios are the same. My recipe uses all my favorite ingredients. If finances are an issue, don’t let not having all the exact ingredients deter you from making your own lip balm. Just experiment and have fun.

Feel free to use lip tins instead of lip balm tubes if that is your vibe. It is not mine, as I don’t like the idea of being out in the grocery store with nasty hands from pushing the cart around (that everyone and their mom has touched) only to discover that my lips are parched from dehydration and I can’t use my lip balm because it is in a tin. Just say’n. Some of you may not even be tracking with me. And that is okay. You are freer than me. I use tins for salves at home when they can be administered with clean hands. Yes, I am one of those moms.

A Note on Essential Oils

You are free to use whatever essential oils you like, but my favorites are orange, peppermint, and vanilla…heavy on the peppermint because I love that warm, tingly feel on my lips. Think Burts Bees tingly. Steer clear of hot oils such as cinnamon, eucalyptus, or clove. They will give you hot lips…you know what I mean. Also, stay away from most citrus oils, excluding orange, if you hang out in the sun for long periods of time. Citrus oils are photosensitive, meaning they magnify the sun. Here are some recommended essential oils:

orange, sweet orange, or blood orange
peppermint
spearmint
coconut
vanilla

Now, I don’t sell essential oils, but I have my preferences. I also am not married to one particular brand. For instance, I love DoTerras OnGuard for all things “germy” and anti-everything. It smells amazing and tastes great…just don’t get it on your lips, speaking of hot lips. But, Young Living has an amazing product and company and many of my friends are distributers. Personally, I did some research and wanted to find a company that wasn’t an MLM and yet still produced a superior, therapeutic grade product. I LOVE Rocky Mountain Oils. I have been happily using their products for years. They also have an amazing children’s line. In a pinch, I will use Eden’s Garden or Plant Therapy on Amazon. That’s my two cents worth on essential oils.

Recipe for Love Your Lips Nourishing Lip Balm

Yield: 10 tubes

Love Your Lips Nourishing Lip Balm

Prep Time 5 minutes

Active Time 10 minutes

Additional Time 5 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Materials

2 tsp. (0.4 oz) beeswax
4 tsp. (0.6 oz shea butter
2 tsp. (0.4 oz) cocoa butter
2 tsp. (0.2 oz) almond oil
2 tsp. (0.2 oz) jojoba oil
1 tsp. (0.2 oz) raw honey
10 drops vitamin E oil
24 drops total essential oils (I use a combination of orange, peppermint, and vanilla EO)

Tools

Double boiler or makeshift double boiler using a 4 qt pot and stainless steel bowl
Wooden Skewer (for stirring)
Lip balm tubes or tins
Kitchen Scale and bowl if measuring in ounces
Labels (optional)
Test tube holder (optional)

Instructions

To preface, I ALWAYS use a kitchen scale when measuring out any recipe using beeswax or butters. Unlike oils, butters and beeswax come in solid bricks or pellets, The only way to ensure accurate measuring is through weight.
Using a kitchen scale and bowl, zero out the scale with the bowl on top and add your beeswax and butters.
Melt in your double boiler over medium low heat stirring with a wooden skewer *
When it is melted, add in your measured almond and jojaba oils and stir.
Remove from heat and add your honey, Vitamin E oil, and Essential oils.
Working quickly, pour into lip balm tubes or tins and let cool for a few minutes before capping *

Notes

Wooden skewers are helpful because they are disposable. When cleaning out your bowl after you are finished pouring, it is important to wipe clean the bowl of the excess wax and butter residue. You don't want that to go down the sink causing buildup in your pipes.
If, while pouring your tubes, your lip balm base hardens in the bowl too quickly, just set it over the pot of hot water of the double boiler for a few seconds to remelt. You don't want to do this for a long time as heat will destroy the properties of your essential oils.

Using a Test Tube Holder

I am all about efficiency and making things easier. Thankfully, I discovered that a test tube holder was the perfect size for holding all my lip balm tubes in place while I poured. They also store nicely in my closet ready to give as gifts. You don’t have to use one, but it makes life easier.