UPDATE: This post originally ran on September 20th but with the cooler weather in the air we wanted to share it again!
Fall begins this Saturday and along with cooler weather comes the season of chapped lips. I won’t go anywhere in winter without lip balm or chapstick, and I go through a lot of it. You guys may have noticed we’ve been on a bit of a kick lately with the homemade beauty products, and honestly discovering how to make things – face masks, split end treatments, sea salt spray, body scrub, you name it – has been like a whole new world for me. It is so much more cost-effective to make these things with items you may already have around the house, plus it’s a lot of fun! There’s something very satisfying about using a beauty product that you made with your own hands. Now, you may not have the ingredients to make lip balm around the house already but these are things you can definitely use for other purposes, so whatever you have left over will not go to waste!
What you need: There are a number of recipes you can use for homemade lip balm, but pretty much all of them require beeswax. I bought the block of beeswax from A.C. Moore (you can also use beeswax to make your own candles!). I also used coconut oil, which I got at the grocery store, vitamin E oil and tee tree oil (both from Trader Joe’s). Coconut oil is known for its moisturizing ability and also smells amazing! Vitamin E oil is a wonderful ingredient for this due to its numerous health benefits – it helps reduce the effects of sun damage, decreases dryness and helps increase moisture retention. It is also a powerful antioxidant and immune system booster! Tea tree oil has amazing healing powers and also helps keep bacteria away. Combined, these ingredients make for an amazing lip balm that will make your lips feel incredibly moisturized, soft and luxurious.
Coconut & Tea Tree Oil Lip Balm
1 cup shaved beeswax (you can use a cheese grater or a knife, but be careful!)
3 tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp vitamin E oil
2-3 drops tea tree oil
To avoid burning the beeswax, melt it using a double boiling system. This sounds more complicated than it is. I don’t have a double boiler, so I boiled water in a regular pot and then placed a saucepan on top of that pot, and melted the beeswax in the saucepan. Add the coconut oil to the beeswax and stir until melted, and remove from the boiling water pot. Now add your vitamin E oil and tea tree oil and mix in while still hot. Pour into your container of choice, and let cool. Pretty simple, right?
I got these containers at A.C. Moore as well – they originally had glitter in them, but I thought they were the perfect size so I just washed them out. This recipe made enough to fill about five of these. If you plan on making more, just double or triple the recipe! You can also buy containers in bulk online.
Let your lip balm cool and harden overnight, and when it’s ready it will look like this:
I love it so much I’m going to make a bunch as gifts for the holidays! I don’t think I’ll ever purchase lip balm again. :)
Photos by Julia.
More DIY projects and beauty tips from the BLDG 25 Blog!
Comments
Isn’t tea tree oil lethal if ingested?
Hi Meghan! there is such a small amount used that it is fine, plus you aren’t ingesting it just putting it on your lips! it is actually a very popular ingredient in lip balm for its soothing & healing properties :)
By cooling, do you meant putting it in the fridge or just letting it sit?
Also, I’m not sure where else I could find bee’s wax.. Do you know any other places that would have it besides the place you referred!?
P.s. Amazing idea! I am obsessed with lip balm! Can’t wait to make a million! Lol ;)
I HAVE got to try this! I’ve been on a DIY kick lately and this is perfect. Also, I use bottom balm on my daughter’s diaper rashes and to prevent them and this sounds like it could be a perfect recipe for that! LOVE! Thanks!
Om this is so freaking genious, I SO have to try this! I just hope hope hope that I will find the ingredients, cause I’m from Norway and don’t really know…yeah :/
Brooke – you could put it in the fridge and it will cool much faster, i just left mine out overnight since i wasn’t in a hurry :) Also you can find beeswax on Amazon! http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=beeswax
GREAT gift idea!!
Is the beeswax hard to clean off of the pan you melted it in?
I could not possibly be more excited about this. I am thinking of making a bunch and handing them out to my friends, I am already known as the lip balm girl because I have one everywhere-in the car, in my locker at work, on my nightstand, etc…This is genius! So excited to make my own.
Love this idea!!! Especially for gifts!! Always looking for gifts I can make rather than buy :) do you have a suggestion on something I could also melt in to change the color, maybe give it a tint?
You can get beeswax at Michaels, the art store, and you can use bead containers from there too.
Use a DIY Lip Scrub first!! http://2famous.tv/2012/10/14/diy-lip-scrub-to-avoid-crack-ho-lips/
i have tea tree oil, and that stuff’s strong! i wouldn’t want to put that on my lips! would peppermint essential oil work in pretty much the same way?
I made this and it was the best lip balm ive ever used. Then two weeks later my lips had s horrible allergic reaction :( it was either the coconut oil or tea tree oil…im so upset–i loved it! I was thinking of re making it using different oils
I made my own version of lip balm and it worked great but I just noticed that about 10 months later it became lumpy for some reason. I thought that lip balm should last well over a year? Does anyone have any thoughts on what could cause this? my ingredients include beeswax, shea butter, coconut oil, vit E, jajoba oil and lanolin. Any thoughts would be great!
Lisa & Keri,
You can also do a peppermint and spearmint combo which is nice. It gives your lips a slight tingle.
you can also buy beeswax at michaels :)
I bought beeswax at Micheals, then I read the label – it’s not cosmetic or food grade, so…
Is it safe to use?
I am in India now. I don’t know from where I can purchase beeswax..:-(
why did mine turn out hard
Dear Keri, the coconut oil is so amazing i eat a tablespoon a day and use it as a mosturizer and as butter. It was probably the tea tree oil. Don’t give up on coconut oil!!!
I love the little pots you put the lip balm in.
Does this recipe make a lip balm texture thats good for lip balm tubes? Since it has coconut oil, does it tend to melt if in the sun or your pocket? How many ounces does this recipe make?
Danielle,
The reason it got lumpy or perhaps grainy is the Shea Butter you used. It sounds to me like you used unfiltered or unprocess shea butter which will cause your lip balm to get that way over time. If you really want to use shea butter, I suggest you try to find it filtered, you can tell because filtered will be white whereas unfiltered will be a soft golden color.
As of late, I have replaced my shea butter with coconut oil and like it much better and great for the skin too.
Hope that helps.
were are you supose to get all of this stuff
Hi, I just made this recipe with beeswax from a local farmer’s market, coconut oil, almond oil and tea tree oil. However, after setting, it’s hard as a rock! I can’t even use it as it isn’t soft at all.
Any suggestions on what I can do to fix this? I don’t want to throw it out, so I’d rather re-heat it and re-work it. Should I add more coconut oil? What works for softness?
Hi, just reading all your comments. I started making lip balm & a small amount of creams last year. Gave a few to some friends, who loved them. At the moment I’m using the coconut, beezwax & vit A lip balm which I also use on other areas. Made one into a cream for my face, which is sensitive, combination skin. Worked a treat & didn’t make my eyes water, as so many products did. Have one problem, here in Aus. its Summer & my gloss keeps melting, not a huge problem but a bit annoying. Also, refrigerated others I didn’t give away. This stuff last for ages.Wouldn’t buy another lip balm or moisturiser again.
I purchased beeswax from a local bee keeper at the farmer’s market.
I HAVE TO TRY THIS. IT SEEMS SO COOL TO DO AND MAYBE I CAN SELL SOME HOME MADE LIP BALM.
Hi, great idea, I am going to use it with my Brownie unit as well my daughter is going to give them out at her birthday party
. I have made up 1 batch to test it out and it is quite hard. how can you make it more soft? ??
I did pack down the shaved beeswax in my cup, could that have made the difference and I actually have too much beeswax in it?
can I take it out of the containers after all the ingredients are mixed together and reheat them?
thanks – we also added a bit of orange essential oil to it for a sweet smell