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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.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Olive oil has a thicker consistency (which I like) and can leave an oily feel on the skin (which I also like). It is a good source of oleic acid but does have a shorter shelf life.
Jojoba Oil
This oil is highly absorbent and does not leave a greasy feeling. It actually mimics the sebum on our skin. It also has a long shelf life.
Fractionated Coconut Oil
This coconut oil is liquid at room temperature and absorbs well into the skin.
Sweet Almond Oil
Sweet almond oil absorbs relatively quickly into the skin. It is rich in vitamin E and oleic acid. It is easy to source at your local health food store.

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
Simple Homemade Lip Balm
Ingredients
- 1 part Liquid Fat
- 1 part Solid Fat/Butter
- 1 part Beeswax
- 1 glass jar
- 1 pot or double boiler
Instructions
1. Throughly clean the jar for your lip balm
2. Measure your ingredients directly into your clean jar. For me that means 10g of olive oil, 10g cocoa butter, and 10g of beeswax
3. Line your small pot with a piece of cloth. Add enough water to come half way up the side of your jar
4. Put the jar in the pot of water and place pot over low heat. Do not let the water boil.
5. As the ingredients melt, you can stir your balm with a toothpick.
6. Once all the ingredients are melted and cobmined, turn off heat and allow jar to cool in the water until it is safe to handle.
7. Remove jar from water and allow lip balm to cool on counter
8. Once balm is completely cool, put on lid and apply as needed.
Notes
It is important to allow the balm to cool completely before adding the lid to prevent condensation inside the jar. Water is the enemy of your lip balm.
Very ingenious and informative well laid out.
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I am enjoying your very useful posts. I like that the “where to shop the products” you use in your various recipes, are at the end of each entry. Two thumbs up.