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I have a confession to make. I am addicted to lip balm. I keep them everywhere. There’s my car lip balm, my stroller lip balm, diaper bag lip balm, one in the bathroom, one on my dresser, one in the pocket of my coat…. My favorite store bought version is the original Burt’s Bees lip balm. But truth be told, it was getting a little expensive! So like any crunchy frugal gal, I knew it was time to DIY. Turns out, making an all natural nourishing lip balm is super simple!

The Internet is teeming with chapstick and lip balm recipes, and I have made a few good ones. So after a bit of experimenting and a lot of researching ratios of oils to wax to butter, I came up with this recipe. It’s not too hard and not too soft; it’s the baby bear of lip balms! Perfect for a pot or tin, quick, easy, all natural, inexpensive, and most of all deeply nourishing! Customize it with your favorite oils to make your perfect balm.

What’s It Made of?

So glad you asked. 🙂

Coconut oil is readily available and a skin care powerhouse. It is rich in nourishing fatty acids and is anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, antimicrobial, and reduces inflammation.

Sunflower oil is another great skin oil found in the cooking aisle. It contains linoleic acid which is anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, and helps skin retain its moisture. It is also a source of oleic acid which helps heal skin, making it perfect for dry cracked lips. (source)

Shea butter is also super moisturizing and healing, yet absorbs easily. It is anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-fungal, and antibacterial.

Beeswax turns this recipe from a puddle of oil into a balm. But it also seals in moisture and creates a protective barrier on the lips. It is naturally soothing and antibacterial.

Vitamin E oil brings more nourishing properties and also contains antioxidants which act as a natural preservative in homemade skin care recipes.

Peppermint oil (optional). It smells good, tastes good and feels a little tingly. You can, of course, swap this out for another essential oil or just leave it out altogether.

The Gear: Basic DIY Skin Care Equipment

a double boiler or a small heat proof bowl and a saucepan of simmering water

a small spoon or spatula

a small container, pot, or tin You can get a bit creative with this!

a small kitchen scale (kinda optional) This isn’t completely necessary but it does make things a little easier.

When I was testing this recipe I needed some little containers for my samples and I found a contact lens case to be absolutely perfect! Every time I buy solution, it comes with a free case and we have like a dozen floating around. Upcycling anyone?!

But there are tons of other options in plastic, metal, and glass. You can find them in the travel section of the pharmacy or places like Target and Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Amazon also has lots of cute options in different shapes and sizes. Here are the containers I used in the video.

Lip balm containers are really easy to reuse as well! You can of course reuse the little plastic tubes, but they are a bit more difficult to clean out. Refilling your containers is a great way to save some money and reduce your waste.

Ratios for Nourishing Lip Balm

I love recipes with ratios. Everybody’s containers are different sizes so this makes things simple! Plus if you don’t have a kitchen scale, you can measure the ingredients by volume (e.g. in teaspoons). You’ll notice that several ingredients are substitutable in this recipe, so use what you like or have around. Here are my suggestions…

Base Ratios

1 part beeswax

1 part solid coconut oil

1 part shea butter (or cocoa butter or mango butter)

2 parts sunflower oil (or other liquid carrier oil such as jojoba, avocado, sweet almond, etc.)

1 drop of vitamin E oil

About 1% dilution of peppermint essential oil (or other eo)

Now practically speaking, you’ll want to scale this recipe for the container(s) you have. The ones I bought are 10ml or about 2 tsp. So let’s just say you want to make ONE 10ml container of lip balm. Here’s how it breaks down.

2g beeswax

2g solid coconut oil

2g shea butter

4g sunflower oil

1 drop vitamin E oil

2 drops peppermint essential oil

From here you can easily just multiply these quantities for the amount of product you wish to make. (Say for a wonderful gift idea!) Here is a handy chart to help you calculate how many drops you need of your essential oil for proper dilution.

How to Make Nourishing Lip Balm

Okie dokie. Let’s get to the good part. How do we do put it together?

Place beeswax, coconut oil, shea butter, and sunflower oil in a double boiler or a heatproof bowl on top of a saucepan of simmering water. Stir gently until all are completely melted.

Remove from heat and stir in vitamin E oil and essential oil (if using).

Carefully (but quickly) pour the liquid oil mixture into lip balm containers and allow to sit until product has completely cooled. For faster results move the lip balm to the fridge after it’s cooled slightly.

When the balm is completely cool, cap it and you’re good to go! Your nourishing lip balm should be good for about 6 months to a year (depending on the freshness of your ingredients.)

*Pro Tip: If your mixture begins to harden in the bowl before you have managed to fill all the dainty little containers, simply set it back on the heat to remelt. It’s very forgiving.

Make It Your Own

If you find you like a firmer balm or you want to put it in a tube, increase the ratio of beeswax. If you want it a bit softer, take the wax down a bit! I have yet to dive into adding tint or shimmer, but it’s quite simple and you better believe it’s next on my list! You can even mix in a bit of your favorite natural lipstick for a balm with just a hint of color!

Let me know what you’ve tried in the comments below! I would love to know what’s working for you.

Yield: 10 ml (about 2 tsp)

Nourishing Lip Balm

This recipe is everything a good balm should be: not too melty, a little minty, and deeply nourishing. It's simple to scale up the ratios if you want to make a bigger batch to stock up or give as gifts.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Active Time 10 minutes

Additional Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Difficulty easy

Materials

2g beeswax
2 g coconut oil
2 g shea butter (or cocoa butter or mango butter)
4 g sunflower oil (or other liquid carrier oil)
1 drop vitamin E oil
Optional: 2 drops peppermint essential oil (or other eo)

Tools

double broiler or small heat proof bowl and small saucepan
spatula or spoon
small container
kitchen scale

Instructions

Place beeswax, coconut oil, shea butter, and sunflower oil in a double boiler or a heatproof bowl on top of a saucepan of simmering water. Stir gently until all are completely melted.
Remove from heat and stir in vitamin E oil and essential oil (if using).
Carefully (but quickly) pour the liquid oil mixture into lip balm container(s) and allow to sit until product has completely cooled. For faster results move the lip balm to the fridge after it’s cooled slightly.
When the balm is completely cool, cap it and you’re good to go! This balm should have a shelf life of about 6 months – a year.

Notes

If your mixture begins to harden in the bowl before you have managed to fill all the little containers, simply set it back on the heat to remelt. It’s very forgiving.

2 thoughts on “Natural Nourishing Lip Balm”

Lesley
March 6, 2020 at 4:38 pm

Have you had any success with a hardening element that isn’t beeswax? I’m not vegan or anything but I typically buy vegan lip balm because beeswax makes me break out so badly – and it’s in so many natural lip balms.

I am also going to experiment with making my own toothpaste. I found this recipe from someone with a similar dental history as myself (teeth all messed up and damaged after braces). Have you tried any recipes like this? I am going to modify the recipe to use monk fruit sweetener instead of stevia because I think it has less of an aftertaste and to use a wintergreen flavoring instead of peppermint because I like it better. I can’t deal with the site because of the ad vomit all over the place – but I am excited to try. https://www.butterforall.com/traditional-cooking-traditional-living/whitening-remineralizing-detoxifying-coconut-oil-toothpaste/

1. Elise Allen
  March 7, 2020 at 8:02 am
  
  Hey Lesley!
  I have always used beeswax, but I would try candelilla wax as an alternative. From what I understand, it is “harder” than beeswax so you need less of it. Some folks suggest using half the amount of candelilla. I think you’ve just given me a great idea for a new post…! Thanks 🙂
  
  I have never made any kind of toothpaste, but I would be very curious to see how this recipe works for you! (ad vomit, haha!)

Natural Nourishing Lip Balm