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There's something particularly special about making your own anything, but I have to say I particularly take pleasure in blending my love for making with my love for the outdoors and all things natural. With a little bit of science thrown in there too, I'm in my element! But like most things, the real pleasure is not just in the making, but it's in the sharing of the things you love with others. So here's my guide to making your own lip balm. It's super easy and because you're creating something personal, you can choose to play it safe or be a little more experimental. These also make really sweet gifts!Minimum ingredients
At the simplest level, all you need is oil and wax. You may wish to add essences, tinctures or infusions to your oil to give extra scents, flavours and properties but I'll come to that further down.I use the following ratio, but you can play about with it to get the consistency you like best:
- 2/3 (2 parts) - oil
- 1/3 (1 part) - beeswax
I use ethically sourced beeswax, but if you'd prefer to make a vegan lip balm, you can swap the beeswax for candelilla wax (which is entirely plant based). As candelilla wax has different properties and consistency to beeswax, I recommend using more oil and less wax. I suggest using a ratio of 4/5 (4 parts) oil to 1/5 (1 part) wax.
The method
- Melt your wax
- Melt any butters you're using to make up your oil
- Add your oil(s) to the melted wax
- Add any essential oils, tinctures and colouring if it's to be tinted
- Stir gently to create an even distribution of your ingredients
- Pour it into sterilised containers and allow to cool and set.
To be kinder to the environment, where possible I use recycled glass jars and old cream and lip balm tins for containers. Just make sure you give them a really good clean and sterilise them before repurposing these.
Selecting your ingredients
Thinking about what you want from your lip balm will help you decide which ingredients to use. For example, do you want your lip balm to be plain or tinted? Will it be flavoured? Do you want something really moisturising? Are there other healing properties you'd like to achieve?
A little while ago I went on a herbalist and foraging course where I picked up some great tips about the different properties found in natural resources and some of these can be found in your garden or out on a walk. Alternatively you can buy most things online.
For me, the real fun is in finding and using my own herbs. It helps me feel connected with my environment and really appreciate the free natural resources available.
Base oils and butters
The base oil(s) you use can determine the results you get. A base oil is the main oil(s) used before infusing it with herbs or adding tinctures and essential oils. Some of my favourite base oils and their believed properties are as follows:- Olive oil - antibacterial, antioxidant, vitamin E, protective, nourishing, great for really dry skin
- Coconut oil - anti-inflammatory, pain relieving, moisturising, great for chapped/cracked lips
- Sweet almond oil - hypoallergenic, easily absorbed, reduces signs of ageing, UV protection
- Jojoba oil - anti-inflammatory, healing, easily absorbed, UV protection, burn/cracks relief
- Cocoa butter - protective, rich moisturising, reduces signs of ageing, antioxidants, anti-itching
- Shea butter - cold weather & UV protection, vitamin K, promotes hydration & elasticity, smooths, heals, moisturises, anti-ageing properties.
Herbal infusions and tinctures
You can infuse your oil with herbs of your choice or make a tincture, which is the essence of the herb (dissolved in alcohol). It's really easy to achieve but needs to be done a week or two before you plan to use your oil or tincture so it has time to take on the wonderful properties of your herbs. Here's where the foraging fun can begin!
- Comfrey - healing, anti-inflammatory, pain relief, boosts skin cell replenishment
- English marigold petals (Calendula) - anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, soothing
- St John's wart - heals burns, pain relief, healing and skin regeneration, anti-inflammatory
- Daisy leaf - anti-inflammatory, astringent (closes pores), healing
- Camomile - anti-inflammatory, healing, reduces blemishes, pain relief, cooling / soothing
- Lavender - antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, healing, help with anxiety
- Rosemary - healing, calms skin irritations, reduces blemishes, anti-inflammatory.
Making an oil infusion
- Prepare the part of the herb you will be using (e.g. nip off the flower heads or leaves)
- Add to a sterilised jar / container
- Add pebbles to compress the herbs
- Add base oil of choice until it just covers your herbs (if not covered, mould can occur)
- Seal and leave for at least a week, disturbing the leaves periodically to release properties
- Strain through a muslin, squeezing out the oil from the herb pulp
- Repeat steps for infusion with fresh herbs if you wish to increase concentration.
Making a tincture
- Prepare the part of the herb you will be using (e.g. nip off the flower heads or leaves)
- Add to a sterilised jar / container
- Add high proof vodka, a couple of inches above the herbs
- Seal and leave for at least a week, but recommend leaving for a month
- Strain through a muslin, squeezing out excess liquid from the herb pulp.
Using essential oils
Essential oils are natural plant extracts and have many benefits such as their wonderful depth of scent, healing properties and stimulating properties which can increase blood flow to your lips to make them appear more plump. Research the properties of the essential oil you wish to use.It's important that you check that the essential oils you plan to use don't contain any toxic chemicals and understand that most essential oils shouldn't be ingested. Also check that the essential oil is not advertised as 'for aromatherapy use only' which indicates it could be harmful if used topically.
Adding a tint
I use Mica powder to add a touch of colour to my lip balms. Mica powder is a natural occurring pigmented mineral and the powder is created by purifying and crushing the mineral. There are many shades of Mica powder available to help you achieve the look you want and they tend to have a slight pearlescent and almost glittery appearance but usually with a matte finish. This is what tends to be used to colour bath bombs and some cosmetics such as eye shadows. When buying your Mica powder, ensure it's cosmetic grade.
Lip balm recipes
The lavender lip balm shared below has to be one of my favourite recipes. I used quite hard oils so this one sets quite firm, but you can swap some of the oils for softer oils.We have a huge lavender bush that runs right across our garden wall. The bees love it as much as we do and it smells divine as you approach the house from the street. It had started to become a bit unruly though and was eating into the public footpath, so we had to give it a good trim and rather than throw away the beautifully scented flower heads and balmy leaves, I decided to harvest them and put them to use.
It took a while to nip off the flower heads and the leaves but I've been able to use them for so many home remedies since. I've used them in infused oils and tinctures to make lip balms, face cream and massage oil as well as drying some for hanging in my wardrobe. What's in your garden that you might use?
Following the making steps above, use the following ingredients:
Lavender lip balm
- 1 part Beeswax pellets
- Lavender infused olive oil
- Coconut oil
- Shea butter
- Jojoba oil
- Vitamin E drops
- Lavender tincture
- Eucalyptus essential oil
- German Camomile oil
- Antique rose mica powder for colour
Vegan Cherry lip balm
- 1 part candelilla wax pellets
- 2 parts sweet almond oil
- 1 part shea butter
- 1 part jojoba oil
- Vitamin E drops
- Cherry essential oil drops
- Red candy mica powder
NOTE - If pregnant, you have a medical condition or the lip balm is to be used by children, please research thoroughly before using any of the ingredients mentioned in this blog.
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