Homemade lip balm with coconut oil recipe

I’m always on a lookout for a good quality lip balm, but quite often I seem to get some that are way too thin and disappear too quickly. Yes, I know I lick my lips far too much!

As I’ve already tried to make soap, body butter and bath bombs I thought why not try a lip balm next. I’ve used beeswax as a base for this recipe, but if you don’t want to use beeswax in your lip balm, I also have a vegan lip balm recipe for you to try.

Today’s recipe, uses, as always, natural ingredients with protective oils, vitamins, and antioxidants. This easy homemade lip balm is quick and simple and perfect to keep as a treat or as a gift for your friends or family.

The beeswax blends in beautifully with the coconut oil to achieve a creamy consistency that is protective and moisturizing. The colour comes from a dried beetroot powder, which doesn’t only give the lip balm lovely pink sheen but also adds vitamin C and antioxidants.

You can add few drops of essential oils to the mixture, but I kept mine as it was. The beeswax has an amazing honey scent and the coconut comes through as a fragrance too.

The ingredient ration for this recipe is simple. It’s one portion of beeswax and double the quantity for the coconut oil. The beeswax will keep the lip balm firm, which is what’s important if you are using lip balm tubes. If you find that your lip balm is too hard (or too soft) you can play around the ratios to achieve the consistency you like.

What you’ll need to make this recipe

Ingredients

2 teaspoon of organic beeswax
4 teaspoons of organic unrefined coconut oil
1 teaspoon of very fine beetroot powder

Instructions

Carefully melt the beeswax and add the coconut oil. You can leave the wax slowly melt in an oven or on a warm cooker. Be careful not to burn the beeswax as you are working with quite a small amount.
Stir in the beetroot powder and blend in. Keep re-melting the waxes if they solidify too quickly.
To make sure that the lip balm is smooth, pour the liquid waxes through a cheesecloth (or a fine cotton cloth) and then fill your pots.
You can make about two lip balm pots or up to 4 lip balm sticks with this recipe. If you would like to make more for your friends, just double up (or triple) the recipe.
Keep in room temperature, but not too warm and use within a few months.

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More tips on making natural lip balms at home

What can I substitute for coconut oil in my lip balm?

If you can’t get hold of coconut oil or you don’t want to use it, you can swap it for shea butter, jojoba oil or olive oil. Other alternatives to coconut oil include castor oil or safflower oil.

The only thing you need to do is to slightly change the proportions of the recipe and add more beeswax (or less of the coconut oil substitutes). This is because coconut oil is slightly thicker than other oils and you don’t want your lip balm to be too runny.

Does it matter if I can’t find unrefined organic beeswax ? Can I just use normal beeswax?

O.K let’s put it this way. Most of us put a lip balm on and then eat, talk, kiss and the chances are that a lot of your lip balm is going to end up not only on your skin but also in your stomach. So, you want to make sure that you are using the best ingredients you can buy. The more natural your ingredients are the better (e.g. raw, unrefined, organic).

What essential oils can I use to flavour my lip balm?

There are no rules here, just think about what will taste nice on your lips! You can try lavender, mint or peppermint, rose, bergamot, lemon, strawberry or other fruit flavours.

Depending on the amount of lip balm you are preparing, use 1-2 drops of your chosen essential oil and add it to the melted mixture just before pouring.

If you are not sure whether the essence is strong enough, put a little bit of the melted balm on your lips. Add more if you feel that the flavour is not strong enough, but be careful so that you don’t over do it!

Can I re-melt my lip balm after it has set?

Yes, of course! Just be careful not to overheat the containers or the balm inside.

What can I replace beeswax with?

The consistency of beeswax is important in the lip balm as it helps to solidify the balm properly, but you can replace it with candelilla wax.

How should I store my lip balm?

Make sure it’s somewhere dark (ish) and away from direct sunlight or direct heat. Ideally, you don’t want the lip balm to go over 23C otherwise it might start re-melting. Lip balms, unlike other fresh cosmetics, don’t need to be kept in a fridge.

What’s the homemade lip balm shelf-life?

You can safely use your lip balm for 3-6 months. I always make smaller batches to make sure I use up the balm before I make more.

I’ve seen two different types of beeswax pellets, which ones shall I buy?

There are two types of beeswax suitable for cosmetics making, white beeswax pellets and yellow beeswax pellets. I’ve used white beeswax pellets in this recipe, because I wanted to make sure that the beetroot powder colours the mixture nicely. The white beeswax is left to go white on a sun, but it’s still very much a natural product.

Yellow beeswax is completely natural and it’s perfect to use with darker tinted colours or if you want to keep things natural. The final colour of your lip balm is going to be a pale yellow, which I think it’s really nice.