Lip balm is one cosmetic item you want to be absolutely sure is safe to use. After all you put it on your lips, where it's licked and smeared right into your mouth.
Lip balms contain lots of ingredients, many of them almost impossible to pronounce, and yet they are so easy to make (and cheaper than buying them too!).
I use little jam jars my local café saves for me to make little pots of lip balm. You can buy the screw type lipstick tubes from eBay or your local craft shop if you'd rather have it in a tube. The jars are free, re-usable and small enough to fit in a handbag so I've never bothered with the tubes.
You will need:
1 part beeswax
2 parts shea or cocoa butter
2 parts coconut oil
20 drops of essential oil of choice (more or less to your preference, I like peppermint or orange)
Step 1. Put about 3 centimetres of water in the bottom of a small pan and turn on medium heat.
Step 2. Place a small (500ml or smaller) jar in the water, being careful not to get in water inside the jar.
Step 3. Place all ingredients except the essential oils inside the glass jar and slowly melt, making sure not to get any water in jar. I use 2 tablespoons each of shea butter and coconut oil and 1 tablespoons of beeswax. This fills about 12 little single serve jam jars. When all ingredients are melted, stir well and turn off heat, but leave jar in the water to keep warm.
Step 4. Stir in the essential oils.
Step 5. Use a glass dropper to quickly fill the containers. I leave the jar in the water but turn off the heat to keep the ingredients liquid while I do this so the mixture remains liquid enough to drop.
Step 6. The mixture will settle slightly as it cools, so top up the containers after about 2 minutes as they start to harden. This will keep the tops level and prevent a dip in the middle.
Step 7. Let sit without touching overnight or until completely hardened. Store in a cool dry place (they will last for at least a year if stored correctly).
Notes:
Make sure all your equipment is spotlessly clean and sterilise your jars before you start to melt your butters and wax.
Peppermint essential oil makes a cooling and soothing lip balm for summer but use your favourite essential oil.
This lip balm will last for up to a year if they are stored in a cool, dry place, making them ideal to make and give as gifts.
To increase the recipe follow the proportions of 1 part beeswax to 2 parts butter and increase the essential oil accordingly i.e. 2 tablespoons beeswax, 4 tablespoons butter (and you can combine the butters i.e. 2 tablespoons cocoa butter, 2 tablespoons shea butter) and 4 tablespoons coconut oil, up to 40 drops of essential oil.
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