Homemade Lemon Lip Balm Tutorial (Based on Burt's Bees)

I've been having some trouble finding a healthy lip balm on the market. Usually, when I find one, I am put off by the price. And so, when a month ago I finished my all-natural store-bought, Weleda lip balm I thought it was time to finally make my own!

I searched Pinterest and Google for the recipe that will be best for dry and cracked winter lips and after much reading and research I adapted one recipe, added some personal preferences and here it is, my homemade lemon lip balm based on the Burt's Bees version on Happy Money Saver.

How to make lemon lip balm at home

Ok, so this is a really small batch, the ingredients were enough for six 0.15 oz (5 ml) lip balm tubes, which suits me perfectly. I will even have a few for gifting. But if you want to make more you can increase the ingredients proportionally.

INGREDIENTS:
(for about six 0.15 oz/5 ml lip balm tubes)

• 10 g beeswax
• 10 g cocoa butter
• 20 g sunflower oil
• 4 drops vitamin E
• 3 drops almond oil
• 4 drops lemon essential oil
• 3 drops peppermint essential oil

DIRECTIONS:
I used my electronic kitchen scale to measure the ingredients exactly.

1. Since I don't like using a microwave and I don't own one, I simply used a double boiler method and placed a smaller pan above a larger one, filled halfway with water. The first step is to turn the heat.

2. Measure the beeswax and add to the pan. It takes the longest to melt, and so it is better to put it first. You can use any type of beeswax. Mine was a solid block from which I grated 10 g.

3. Measure the cocoa butter and add to the beeswax.

4. Measure the sunflower oil in a cup.

5. Pour 4 drops of vitamin E to the sunflower oil or if you, like me, have vitamin E tablets, dampen one and squeeze. It wil split open and you will easily squeeze 4 drops.

6. Add the sunflower oil + vitamin E to the pan, where by now everything should be almost melted.

7. Once there are no solid parts and everything is melted, add the essential oils and mix well.

I used the back of the mixing spoon to put some cooled balm on my lips and test if I liked the taste and scent. I added a drop of lemon.

8. With a dropper and while your pan is still on the stove (to keep the mixture from hardening too quickly) add the liquid balm to the tubes. The mixture will settle slightly as it cools, so you could re-top the containers after about 2 minutes as they start to harden.

9. Wait for several hours until your homemade lemon lip balm has completely hardened and is ready to use!

10. Store in a cool dry place (they will last for at least a year if stored correctly).


What heals what:

BEESWAX
Beeswax creates a seal on your lips that protects them from air and other elements that can dry them out but still allows the skin to breathe.

COCOA BUTTER
Cocoa butter is rich in antioxidants and helps keep the skin young and fresh. It also is high in fatty acids which hydrate the skin deeply.

SUNFLOWER OIL
Sunflower oil contains high amounts of Beta-carotene, vitamin E, A, C and D, it gently moisturizes and protects the skin from infections. It also protects from sunburn.

VITAMIN E
Vitamin E is one of the most powerful antioxidants that protects and repairs the skin. It lubricates the skin and can be used for treating sunburn and protecting from the sun. It also helps the healing process of chapped lips.

You can feel the delicate scent of lemon and the refreshing tingle of peppermint as a wonderful addition to the rich creamy taste of cocoa butter. This lip balm is so easy to make and so tasty! Why did I wait for so long before making my first batch?