I recently tried my hand at making my own lip balm. Guess what – it’s super easy! If you have the ingredients, all that is required is to gently melt them together and pour into empty tubes. I am fortunate that I keep a stock of all these ingredients in my house, as most of them are used in other products that I make from scratch, like sun cream (blog post coming) and toothpaste. I use certified organic ingredients wherever possible/available.
When people hear about my homemade lip balm, the number one question I am asked is where to source the empty tubes from. I purchased mine from eBay. If you have a soap supplier local to you, they are likely to stock empty tubes also.
I searched around online and read a range of DIY lip balm / lip gloss recipes trying to find one that would work. In the end, I tweaked a few to come up with two that would take good advantage of my collection of pure essential oils. If I was a bit more hip I might be able to come up with better names for them, but alas I just call them Frankincense Lip Balm and Chocolate Mint Lip Balm.
The frankincense can be swapped out for another essential oil of choice. I am a little bit obsessed with frankincense at the moment because of it’s amazing beneficial properties. Frankincense is cancer-preventing, treats diahrrea, heals ulcers, helps sore throats and strep infections, soothes skin infections, eases depression and headaches, supports the immune system and so many other things that I would never have room enough to list. It can be used aromatically and topically.
Basic Lip Balm – makes 12
2 Tbs beeswax (I use pellets)
2 Tbs coconut oil
2 Tbs shea butter
1/2 teaspoon jojoba oil or sweet almond oil
Essential oil/s of choice – I use frankincense approx 4 drops plus 1 drop peppermint oil
Optional – Vitami E oil squeezed from 1 capsule
Melt ingredients gently over double boiler. Pour into containers to set.
Chocolate Mint Lip Balm - makes 10-12
1 Tbs beeswax (I use pellets)
2 Tbs coconut oil
1/2 Tbs shea butter
1/2 Tbs cacao butter
1/2 tsp honey
1/2 tsp raw cacao powder
Peppermint oil approx 4 drops (don’t use a crappy cheap one – see my note below!)
Place first four ingredients in a double boiler and melt slowly and gently over low heat. Add remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Pour into empty tubes and allow to set.
The first recipe produces a soft and creamy lip balm. The chocolate mint recipe results in quite a firm lip balm which smells incredible.
A note about essential oils – I try not to put anything on my skin that I wouldn’t be able to safely ingest. There are plenty of essential oil brands around, most chocked up with synthetic fillers. I use, trust and recommend doTERRA pure therapeutic grade essential oils.
Besides being frugal and simple and self-sufficient, another reason to make your own is to avoid nasty chemicals used in commerical lip balms. Need further convincing? These are the ingredients of ChapStick and their potential effects. I used Bill Statham’s The Chemical Maze to research the ingredients.
Padimate O: potential carcinogen
White petrolatum: contact dermatitis, skin irritation, probably human carcinogen
Arachidyl propionate: generally considered safe for cosmetic use.
Camphor: hazardous if ingested, suspected respiratory, liver and neuro toxicity. Avoid during pregnancy.
Cetyl alcohol: may cause irritation to sensitive skin, some animal studies show adverse affects.
Isopropyl lanolate: can cause or promote acne on oily skin
Isopropyl myristate: can cause or promote acne on oily skin
Lanolin: suspected immunotoxicity
Light mineral oil: asthma, suspected respiratory and liver toxicity, suspected carcinogen and teratogen
Methylparaben: human skin toxicant
Octyldodecanol: considered safe when used within concentration limits, may cause irritation
Oleyl alcohol: contact dermatitis, can cause or promote acne
Phenyl methicone: (no information found)
Propylparaben: human skin toxicant, sensitisation, wildlife and environmental toxicity
Titanium dioxide: generally considered safe in cosmetic use. Some animal studies show adverse affects.
The ChapStick website also clearly states that their product contains aluminium. Now, what are you waiting for! Go forth and create your own yummy, safe and cheap lip balm!
Filed under: Homemade, Label Detective, Radical Homemaking, Recipes Tagged: chemical_warfare, greensmoothie, handmade, homemade, labels, natural_alternatives
