How to Make Homemade Lip Balm
Inside: This tutorial on how to make lip balm will save you money.
Homemade lip balm is such a fun do-it-yourself project that is surprisingly easy. With only 4 ingredients, you can whip up some soothing lip balm in no time.
This is lip balm is a great gift idea that is suitable for almost anyone on your list, even children. All the ingredients are easy to find on Amazon and some can even be picked up at your local grocery store.
These lip balms are also much safer to use than store-bought lip balm since all the ingredients are edible. (They won’t taste good, but they aren’t harmful if you do ingest some!)
The hardest part of making the lip balm is pouring the mixture into the little tubes!
Affiliate Disclosure: Please note that some of the links in this article may be affiliate links and I may receive a small commission if you purchase something through a link. It will not change your cost. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. For more information, see my disclosures page.)
Ingredients To Make Homemade Lip Balm
You can make a fabulous homemade lip balm with only 4 ingredients. However, you can also add some essential oils to make the lip balm smell nice.
You can also add flavoring oils if you want to add some flavor to your lip balm. However, I find that using a flavoring oil just makes me lick my lips more.
Here’s What You Need to Make a Simple Lip Balm:
You’ll find a printable of the lip balm recipe at the bottom of this post.
- coconut oil-I use refined unless I am making coconut lime lip balm
- beeswax pellets
- shea butter or cocoa butter, (I usually use shea butter unless I’m making chocolate peppermint lip balm.)
- grapeseed oil or sunflower oil (These links are just to show examples. You can usually find these oils cheaper at your local store.)
- essential oils, optional (Plant Therapy is my favorite brand. They offer free shipping on any size order.)
Tools & Supplies for Homemade Lip Balm:
With the exception of the lip balm tubes, you can repurpose your kitchen equipment to make the balm. If you don’t want to use lip balm tubes, you can purchase little tins to pour the lip balm in.
- a saucepan to hold water
- a pyrex measuring cup to melt the oils in
- a spoon to stir
- lip balm tubes, you will need at least 8-10
How to Make DIY Lip Balm
Measure 1 Tablespoon beeswax, 1 Tablespoon shea or cocoa butter, 1 1/2 teaspoons coconut oil, and 1 1/2 teaspoons grapeseed or sunflower oil into a pyrex measuring cup.
Add about 2″ water to a saucepan and place the pyrex container in the saucepan. Be sure that the water will not splash into the pyrex container. Set this make-shift double boiler over medium heat. As the mixture melts, stir occasionally.
While it is melting, check each lip balm tube to be sure the inside mechanism is rolled down as far as possible. You want to be sure to get the maximum amount of liquid in each tube.
I also like to rubber band the tubes together. It makes them more stable and easier to pour into. This mixture should fill at least 8 tubes.
When all the ingredients are almost melted, remove from the heat and continue to stir to melt the remaining beeswax pellets. Then add your essential oils and stir one last time. I use about 15 drops of my chosen essential oil.
(I do not recommend using lemon or lime or grapefruit essential oils in lip balm unless they are steam–distilled. These 3 essential oils can be phototoxic. For more information on phototoxicity and a list of other essential oils to avoid, check out this article from AromaWeb.)
Pouring The Lip Balm
Carefully pour the mixture into your tubes. If you spill some down the side (I always do!), let it harden. Once firm, it can easily be scraped off and then wiped clean with a paper towel.
To get beautiful rounded tops on your lip balm, you will need to pour the lip balm in the tubes and allow it to cool a bit. It will shrink some as it cools. (See pictures above.) Then, pour a little more into the tubes. You may need to heat it back up a little first.
On the second pour, you should be able to get a little more lip balm in each tube than you think will fit. It will mound up over the rim, but will stay in the tube if you don’t pour too much. This is the trickiest part.
If you don’t end up with the rounded tops, don’t worry. A flat top is still perfectly acceptable on a tube of lip balm. Most of the ones you buy in the store are flat.
How to Label Your Homemade Lip Balm
To make these labels for my homemade lip balm, I used the Avery software and purchased Avery labels #6570. They don’t go completely around the lip balm tube, but they work well and aren’t ridiculously expensive.
I love the Avery software because they have templates for almost all of their labels. The software is totally free to download and use and they have lots of graphics and fonts to choose from.
How To Gift Your Homemade Lip Balm
Since you don’t need much of each ingredient to make a lot of lip balms, this is a very frugal gift. The most expensive part will be the tubes. You could mix up several different varieties to give as a set.
You can also make the lip balm in the same scent as the lotion bars, for a coordinating gift. (And the lotion bars don’t take any additional ingredients.)
This lip balm would make a fabulous gift in a basket with a bar of soap and a lotion bar or a candle. This would be the perfect gift for teens, teachers, friends, and even the men on your list.
This lip balm uses the same ingredients as the lotion bars with the additional ingredient of a liquid oil (grapeseed or sunflower) so by purchasing the ingredients once, you can make several different gifts.
You will also want to keep a few for yourself as well, so be sure to make extras. This recipe is easily doubled or even tripled.
Meet Julie
I’m a farm girl born and bred in North Carolina. I’ve been growing a vegetable garden for over 20 years (and helping my Mom grow hers even longer). I’ve been raising chickens in my bathtub and backyard for 12+ years. I believe that homegrown food can be made simple. Let’s get started.
This easy homemade lip balm makes great gifts.
- 1 Tablespoon beeswax
- 1 Tablespoon shea butter or cocoa butter
- 1 1/2 teaspoons coconut oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons grapeseed or sunflower oil
- 15 drops essential oil, optional
-
Measure beeswax, shea or cocoa butter, coconut oil, and grapeseed or sunflower oil into a pyrex measuring cup.
-
In a small saucepan, add about 2″ water and gently place the pyrex container in the saucepan. Be sure that the water will not splash into the pyrex container. Set this make-shift double boiler over medium heat.
-
As the mixture melts, stir occasionally.
-
While the mixture is melting, check each lip balm tube to be sure the inside mechanism is rolled down as far as possible. You want to be sure to get the maximum amount of liquid in each tube.
-
When all the ingredients are almost melted, remove from the heat and continue to stir to melt the remaining beeswax pellets. Then add your essential oils and stir one last time.
-
Carefully pour the mixture into your tubes. Allow lip balm to harden for at least an hour. You may wish to hold a small amount of lip balm to top off the containers as it will shrink when it cools.
-
Wipe any excess from your pyrex container and spoon while the mixture is warm. It is much easier to clean up before it hardens.
Hi…..thanks for your excellent & informative instructions on DIY wax melts…..appreciated your tips on silicone molds & Plant Therapy blends, with referrals to Amazon…..I will get into it……
All the best to you, Darlene
Thanks so much for your kind words. Homemade wax melts are a fun little project that can be completed in a short amount of time. I hope you enjoy making them and using them!