Simple Homemade Lip Balm

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This simple homemade lip balm is quick and easy to make. It’s made using natural ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry.

Why make lip balm at home?

Where we live it is dry. Like, really dry. The winters are long and cold. The summers are warm and dry. Lip balm is a must! So I decided a few years ago that it would be easier to make it at home then to be stopping by our local store every month to pick it up. After reading the ingredients list and doing a little bit of my own research I have come up with a recipe for a simple homemade lip balm that is flexible and reliable, doesn’t require a ton of special ingredients, and is easy to put together with just a short window of time in your day.

Ingredients for Simple Homemade Lip Balm

This simple homemade lip balm has just a few, easy to source ingredients. All you need is a liquid fat, a solid fat/butter and beeswax. For my lip balm I choose to use an olive oil (liquid fat) that I infuse with calendula. Cocoa butter because it makes the balm smell like chocolate and beeswax that I get from a local apiary. That’s it! Simple, natural ingredients that I happen to keep in my pantry. If you don’t have these exact ingredients don’t worry, there are lots of other options that you can you use. Some of them might be in your pantry right now.

Liquid Oil Options

Extra virgin olive oil is my fat of choice for my simple homemade lip balm. Mostly because I always have it on hand for cooking. I have infused mine with dried calendula but plain olive oil will work. Some other option you could use include Jojoba Oil, Fractionated Coconut oil, or Sweet Almond oil. They can all be used straight up or you could infuse them with a herb/flower of your choice.

Solid Fat/Butter

When I am making my simple homemade lip balm I often choose cocoa butter for my solid fat. I love the way it smells and when used with other, softer fats and oils, it creates a firmer textured balm that doesn’t melt as easily in the warmer months. Some other options for your homemade lip balm include coconut oil, shea butter or tallow.

Cocoa Butter

This butter is solid at room temperature. VERY solid. It is what they use to make white chocolate, just to give you an idea of how firm it is. For this reason it is best when used with other, softer oils or butters. Though it will give a fantastic smell of chocolate to your finished lip balm.

Coconut Oil

Coconut oil is solid at room temperature (unlike fractionated coconut oil) which makes it a good candidate for the solid fat option. It has a distinct coconut aroma and leaves a moisturizing layer on the skin.

Shea Butter

Shea butter is a seed butter that comes from the Shea tree. It is solid at room temperature and leaves a moisturizing waxy-feeling layer on the this skin. This would be a great option for your lip balm if you spend a lot of time outdoors in the harsh winter weather.

Tallow

Tallow is fat that has been rendered from beef. It is usually from the fat around the kidneys. This option might make some squeamish but hear me out. Tallow contains similar vitamins and minerals to our own skin including vitamin A, D, E, K and CLA. It is softer at room temperature then some of the other options and takes longer to absorb.

Tools Required

Once you have chosen your ingredients for your simple homemade lip balm the other tools you need are quite simple. You need a way to measure your ingredients. A container to put your lip balm in. And a way to melt all the ingredients together.

• I like to make my simple homemade lip balm in an amber jar. I save them from other purchases and clean them out. It is important to make sure your jar is VERY clean. If you don’t clean your jar well you risk introducing bacteria to your lip balm that could make it go off. Don’t forget, this simple lip balm is basically food. Cleanliness will go a long way to make sure your balm stays fresh.
• How you measure your ingredients is up to you. I prefer to use a digital scale. But any type of spoon or scoop will work, as long as you find it easy to use.
• Lastly is a way to melt your ingredients together. I use a make shift double boiler made from a thrifted copper pot with a cloth in the bottom. The cloth is important as it stops your glass jar from rattling around and potentially breaking inside the pot.

Simple Homemade Lip Balm Recipe

The recipe for my simple homemade lip balm is very straightforward. It is easy to scale up or scale down depending on the measurement you choose.

1 part Liquid Fat

1 part Solid Fat/Butter

1 part Beeswax

Now what kind of measurement is a part, you say? It can really be anything you choose. Because you need 1 part of each ingredient you just have to pick your measurement of choice and add the same amount of each one. For me, when I make my simple homemade lip balm, that looks like 10g. I add 10g of olive oil, 10g of cocoa butter, and 10g of beeswax. I measure everything directly into my clean jar. But a part could be a teaspoon if you wish to make your lip balm in a tube. Or a tablespoon if you have a smaller jar. It could be 1 cup of each ingredient if you just want to make a big ol’ vat of lip balm (though I don’t recommend that at all).

Once you have combined all your ingredients, in equal parts into your jar, you will make your double boiler. I have a dedicated copper pot that I got at a thrift store for this. I do recommend having dedicated pot for this project. All it will take is one spill in the pot and cleaning the balm off the sides of the pot is a nightmare. The pot doesn’t need to be much bigger than your jar. Line the bottom of you pot with a small piece of cloth. Add enough water so that it comes about half way up the side of your jar. Put the pot on your stove on low heat and let the lip balm ingredients melt. Do not let the water boil. You want the water warm enough to gently melt your lip balm ingredients and that’s it. Stir the balm occasionally with a toothpick. When all the ingredients have melted, turn off the heat. Leave the jar to cool a bit in the pot. Once you can safely handle the jar, remove it from the pot and allow your simple homemade lip balm to cool completely on the counter uncovered. When the balm is completely cooled, put on the lid and use as needed.

I really hope that you give this simple homemade lip balm a try. Be sure to try different butters and oils to see what works best for you and your family. If you try the recipe be sure to leave a comment below and let me know how it turns out.

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Amber glass jar https://amzn.to/3yqRiRX

Digital scale https://amzn.to/3LaZmhf

Beeswax https://amzn.to/41QTzU2

Cacao Butter https://amzn.to/3T429e3