Due to the cold weather the last couple of months, I started off the new year with some pretty chapped lips. And no product that I tried was really making them a whole lot better. I decided it was time to try making my own balm when I came across this easy recipe (for which I already had all the ingredients)!
Admittedly, I thought the lip balm would not take much time at all to make, but really it ended up taking about a full hour (so if you decide to try it, you may want to have at least this much time or you could be left in a bit of a mess). To start, I gathered all of my wonderfully natural ingredients (cutting the recipe in half for this first try):
- 2 Tbsp beeswax which I had bought at the farmers market this summer
- 1 Tbsp shea butter (NOW brand)
- 1 Tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tsp raw honey
- 2 drops Grapefruit Seed Extract which acts as a natural preservative in this balm
I could have added some essential oils for flavor, but I actually really enjoy the honey smell and taste and didn’t have an oil flavor on hand that sounded good to use. You could add a drop or two of essential oil or flavor oil if you wanted to, you could likely find these at your local health store.
The first thing I did was combine the beeswax, shea butter, and coconut oil. I don’t have a double boiler and instead used a hot pad to hold a pint mason in a small pan of boiling water, stirring as I melted these three ingredients. Once this was complete, I transferred them to a mixing bowl and used hand beaters to further mix the balm. This proved to be the toughest task as the oils firmed up in the cooling process and stuck to the beaters and any utensil I used to try to get the balm back to the middle of the bowl.
If I hadn’t cut the recipe in half, I think this part would have been easier with more balm to work with. I probably used the beaters for about 5 minutes (most of this involved scraping them off) and then it was pretty much cooled and I added the honey. You just don’t want to add the honey while it’s warm or it may separate back out in your finished product.
I used the beaters one last time with the honey added (whip as long as you can, for me this was probably 5 more minutes). I then added the drops of GSE and used a spoon to lightly stir this in. At this point you could also add the essential oil if desired.
Overall, the longer you whip the balm and the more beeswax you use, the thicker your balm will turn out. If you prefer it to be less thick, you can increase the amount of oils in your recipe. I was really happy with how my balm thickened up; it is not runny and melts easily on my fingers.
It made about 1/2 cup and seems to keep my lips moist for a really long time, longer than any other balm or lip treatment I have tried, and it is definitely improving my chapped lips. In my desperation this winter, I had even tried medicated Blistex. I like this way better, it tastes and feels so natural!
*This post is part of Delighting in the Day’s Handmade Mother’s Day Link-Up
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Thanks so much for sharing your post in the Mother’s Day Link-Up!
This looks great and is something I would love to make! I feel so much better using lip balm when I know the ingredients.
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