Make lip balm! (All natural, of course.)
2012
Ready to make lip balm? This all natural, tinted lip balm is so lovely. I’m wondering why I wasted years using anything else. When I finally took the leap and ditched most of my makeup (something I never thought I would do with my acne-prone skin), the only two things I didn’t want to give up were my tinted Burt Bee’s lip balm and my organic mascara. I like the extra moisture on my lips, and some days your eyes just need a little “punch” to make you look… awake. Right?
But in all honestly, I was a little annoyed that I still was buying these two things when I knew I could make them myself. And even though they both claim to be “all natural,” the ingredient lists are not quite as “pure” as I’d like them to be.
Besides, you can make lip balm (and mascara… but that’s for next week) so easily! And it is so empowering. I love learning how to work with different ingredients and herbs to make my own beauty products. It’s just fun.
So let’s make lip balm, shall we?
I’ve seen a lot of great recipes around the internet for homemade lip balm, but I knew I wanted one with a little bit of color. (I’m really pale, so a little hint of color helps me look less ghostly.) The problem: Most tinted lip balm recipes that I could find used lip stick as the coloring agent.
Um? I thought the whole point was to get away from toxic cosmetics? Right?
Then I came across this awesome recipe from (the very awesome) Frugally Sustainable. It uses Alkanet Root to give the lip balm color. Perfect! I’ve also wanted to see what would happen if I used a little Hibiscus powder (both Alkanet Root and Hibiscus are herbs). It’s such a beautiful color so I thought I’d try it out. So with just a few minor tweaks to the Frugally Sustainable recipe, I have perfected my own version of tinted lip balm!
To make lip balm, all you need are some basic ingredients, some clean containers, and lots of love.
The love is important.
On to the recipe. Let’s make lip balm, y’all:
All natural tinted lip balm
Ingredients:
2 Tbs coconut oil (where to find coconut products)
2 Tbs jojoba oil (avocado, olive, or other similar oils would also work)
2 tsp grated cocoa butter
1 Tbs grated beeswax (Like this)
1 tsp vitamin E
1/2 tsp essential oils* (optional, but so fun!)
1 – 2 tsp of Alkanet Root powder or Hibiscus powder (Like this)
Of course you can leave out the herbal powder if you don’t want a tinted lip balm.
*I love to use oils like grapefruit or sweet orange. Other popular oils are peppermint, lavendar, or vanilla. Experiment and have fun.
Directions:
1. In a small saucepan, over low heat, melt coconut oil, jojoba oil, cocoa butter, and beeswax. Stir until just melted and then remove from heat.
2. Stir in vitamin E, essential oils, and herbal powder. Mix until completely incorporated.
3. Moving fairly quickly (this stuff will start to solidify fast), pour mixture into prepared containers and let cool until hard. (You can always put them in the fridge if you are in a hurry.)
Yield: This recipe will fill about 4 – 6 half-ounce containers.
Note: As soon as you make lip balm, quickly clean off any mixing bowls or pots before this stuff gets too waxy. Or go buy a few cheap containers, measuring cups, and grater that you use just for this type of thing. :)
I love both the colors. The Hibiscus is definitely more subtle… my kind of thing. Now that we know how to make lip balm, get ready for next week’s diy tutorial: Homemade mascara! Get excited.
This post is part of Clever Chicks Monday, Motivational Monday, Make Your Own Monday, Sweet Sharing Monday, Mommy Club, Frugal Ways Sustainable Days, Fat Tuesday, Living Green Tuesday, Creative Juice Thursday, Small Footprint Friday, Simple Lives Thursday, Eat Make Grow, and Monday Mania.
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Wow! Homemade mascara! I can’t wait to see the post.
I love the 2 colors of the tinted lip balm. Is there a way to make it reddish? I’m not familiar with herbs.
Thanks for linking up at Motivation Monday!
Good question. I’ve heard some people use berries, but I haven’t tried it myself. Could be a fun experiment.
You could also try beetroot juice
Oh! Great idea, Jennifer!
Powdered beets.
If you want something for halloween use powdered spinach.
Love this idea, Rebecca!
I LOVE THIS! Homemade Christmas Gifts?
That was exactly what I was thinking when I made my first batch.
oh my goodness!! fantastic! can’t wait to see tomorrow’s post, too.
Thanks, Cassia! (Although the mascara post won’t be until next week.)
Looks great! I have never made tinted lip balm. I have only recently found a regular recipe that works. Ill have to try this!
I would love it if you would share this on Natural Living Monday. Thanks!
http://www.naturallivingmamma.com/2012/10/07/natural-living-monday-5/
Thanks, Amanda. I’ll check it out.
Love it! I have a question, how do you decide which coconut oil brand to buy. They all claim to be the best! Many I know use tropical traditions, your resources page says wilderness family naturals, and the one in your picture is nature’s way. I get so overwhelmed with the brands and prices.
That’s a great question, Monica. I look for organic, cold pressed coconut oil… and I think there are several good brands. I even have some expellar pressed (more refined, but still organic) coconut oil that we use when we want to cook with high heat and avoid a coconut taste. I wouldn’t worry too much about brands. The three you mention are all great. I usually buy the one that is one sale that particular week.
Thank you so much! It’s good to hear. I got the TT gold label and expeller-pressed to sample. Their gold label isn’t pressed at all, they let it separate overnight. I didn’t know if this had any real benefit over cold-pressed. I actually hate the taste f coconut in any form, so expeller-pressed is good to have for cooking.
Awesome! Glad I could help.
Hello
Where do you find your containers at? I have looked at a few stores and can not seem to find what I want as I do not want plastic.
Thank you for your great post
Dawn
Hi Dawn! I got mine at a local health food store here in Utah (Good Earth). They have a bunch of different sized tins by their herbs. Not sure where you are located, but if your health food store doesn’t have them you can easily find them on amazon. I did a quick search and found a lot of options… like these: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005N9BIYA/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B005N9BIYA&linkCode=as2&tag=than01-20
Thanks for stopping by!
Thank you
I am in Illinois, thanks for the website 
Also mountain rose herbs has some great containers and herbs to put them in…
Awesome! I’ve heard great things about them.
Thank you for the link. I need some tins for herbs and spices.
My pleasure!
Wow! Very cool. Thank you for sharing on the Clever Chicks Blog Hop this week!
Hope to see you back again with another clever idea next week!
Cheers,
Kathy
The Chicken Chick
Thank you for your submission on Nourishing Treasures’ Make Your Own! Monday link-up.
Check back tomorrow when the new link-up is running to see if you were one of the top 3 featured posts!
Hi, how about cocoa for a more brown tincture..and do you think shea butter would do instead of cocoa butter?
I think both the cocoa and the shea butter would work really well. I’d start with a small amount of cocoa and gradually add it in until you the color you want. Great idea.
Hi there! I’ve experimented with making my own and haven’t made a color work successfully… Lots of attempts with beet coloring that didn’t work out. I’ve heard about Alkanet root, but when I did some research on it I wasn’t entirely convinced it was safe… On the mountain rose herbs site it says not to apply Alkanet root to “broken or abraded skin.” My lips get chapped and crack, so I didn’t think it was a good choice. But I would really like to find some strong color to tint my lip balm! What made you decide it was a good & safe choice?
That’s a great question, Amy. I know that Alkanet root has been used in lots of different applications as a dying agent. I haven’t had major issues with cracked lips, so I felt okay using it… and haven’t had any problems. And the amount used is quite minimal. However, if your lips are really cracked I would maybe look for something else to color. The Hibiscus is definitely more subtle in color, but I’ve liked it.
I wish I had a better answer. If I think of another option I will definitely let you know! Good luck!
Thanks so much for the response Robin! I just discovered your blog today from Meghan at Whole Natural Life linking to your mascara recipe. I’ve been on GAPS for 3 years and in that time have learned a ton about food, natural products and healing, but your blog is a new wealth of incredible information. I want to say a big THANK YOU for these recipes (mascara, lip balm, bleach!) that are just what I needed to round out my natural, chemical-free lifestyle!
One more question: when I tried making a tinted lip balm (with essentially the same fats, beeswax & essential oils you use in this one) the beet powder settled to the bottom and was grainy on application. Have you had this problem with the Alkanet or the Hibiscus?
I noticed a slight grainy top layer in the hibiscus, but nothing with the Alkanet.
Hi! I had two questions! Does the lip balm come out grainy from the powders added to make the tint of the balm and does the coloring from the powder stain your lips after taking off the balm or after the balm wears off?!
Candice
I noticed that the hibiscus one has a slightly grainy film on top, although it didn’t stain my lips or anything else. The other has no grainy effect.
I tried making a lip balm once with beetroot powder and it was quite grainy and didn’t leave any color on my lips. I’m definitely going to experiment with the hibiscus and maybe some other ingredients like berry juice. I was thinking maybe powdered dried strawberries might make a nice color. Thanks for the recipe!
Let me know how it works out!
Hi! I absolutely love you for posting this! Thank you so much! I have a question though, could you try different colors by using fruit powders? Like if I wanted a purpley color, I could use blueberry powder? Or if I wanted other fruity colors, I could use fruit powder? Or is fruit powder not meant to be used in makeup? Is it meant to be consumed? Would it sting your eyes?
Sorry, I’m new to this.
Thanks!!
I bet you could try it! I haven’t myself, but sounds like a fun experiment. The only thing to consider is how it may affect the shelf life. Make sure the powder is dehydrated.
Thanks for the reply!
Yeah, I was thinking that fruit powder might be fun because theres so many colors. On your mascara post, I was thinking of switching activated charcoal with blueberry powder…
But like you said about the shelf life, I’m not sure how long it will last. . .do you have any estimates?
No clue. You can always put it in the fridge to extend the shelf life. Or add some vitamin E as a preservative. Assuming the powder was dehydrated really well so all moisture is gone, it should last for a while.
This is an excellent recipe. I just bought all the ingredients today to try to make it. However, I couldn’t find vitamin E in any other form except gel capsules
could I use anything else instead of it or is it absolutely necessary to get it? Thanks!
You can use gel capsules. Just puncture them and squeeze out the goodness.
You can make them without, but it may go “bad” sooner.
has anyone a recipe for homemade eye shadow
That’s next on my list of things to try… but may be several weeks before I feel good putting it out there.
I tried making this with hibiscus, but the color settled on the bottom. So bummed. Wonder how to make it not do that.
Hmmmmm…. not sure. It’s hard to say what might have happened without being there. Bummer. Sorry!
Just wondering if the cocoa butter is absolutely essential….finding it difficult to get any. Have ebayed some but will have to wait for it to arrive, contemplating having a go without it tonight anyway and see what the results are…….. what are your thoughts?
You could probably go without, or try substituting shea butter. The cocoa butter helps give it a little more body and hold, but you’ll still end up with something nice to moisturize your lips even without it.