This simple homemade lip balm recipe is doable for everyone – and super cost effective. You can make it for less than 60 cent per tube, even with organic ingredients!
When I first learned how to make lip balm, I was immediately surprised at how easy it actually was. I pictured someone in a lab coat concocting a magic potion of sorts for chapped lips.
Why DIY Lip Balm is Awesome
First of all, I’m one of those people who carries a tube of lip balm on me everywhere I go. It’s a habit I picked up in the third grade and just never let it go. So I couldn’t imagine that something so constant and necessary in my life could be so… simple.
In fact, I could make DIY lip balm with as few as two ingredients!
So when I realize how simple it is, what do I do? I make a whole year’s worth of homemade lip balm at once, of course!
I gave up conventional lip balm years ago when I started switching over to more natural products. I’ve been opting for the chic organic stuff with pretty pictures and feel-good promises on the label.
But who am I kidding? That stuff is not cheap!
And considering how much lip balm I go through (did I mention my daughter loves it too? I’m telling myself the habit is genetic), price is a factor. The good news is homemade lip balm is quite wallet-friendly.
When I added up the amount of each ingredient I used to make this lip balm recipe, it worked out to as little as 60 cents a tube (depending on whether you use essential oils or powder for tinting). If you buy your ingredients in bulk, it can be even less!
My Tips for How to Make Lip Balm
Maybe it’s just me – but I don’t like to apply homemade lip balm with my fingers. They invented those handy little tubes for a reason! So if you’re like me, grab yourself a handful of empty lip balm tubes before you get started. I ordered a pack of 25 (which was just about right for this recipe). The more you order, the cheaper they get.
The next handy gadget I highly recommend for this lip balm recipe project is a little stainless steel funnel – this little baby will make the whole job much easier. I tried a dropper and boy did that thing clog up fast! I will go with the funnel from now on. If any of the liquid hardens and starts to clog up the funnel, you can easily use a toothpick to fix that (trust me, that doesn’t work with a dropper!).
If you want to have some fun, add a little natural color to your DIY lip balm! I used beet root powder and hibiscus powder to color my homemade lip balm. Use about 1 1/2 teaspoons of powder if you want to color this whole recipe.
Of course I had fun and added some of my favorite essential oils for scent and therapeutic benefits! My favorite was lavender, which supports healthy skin and is great if your lips tend to get cracked or dry.
(Careful wearing citrus lip balms in the sun – citrus oils can cause photosensitivity.)
NOTE: Some essential oils (such as cinnamon and clove) need to be diluted more or they can irritate the skin. I advise avoiding stronger essential oils in this recipe just to be safe.
NOTE #2: I ONLY recommend high-quality essential oils to add a nice scent (and therapeutic benefits) to your DIY lip balm. Remember, some of what goes on your lips ends up in your mouth! That is NOT the place for artificial fragrances and flavors.
Here’s where I get my essential oils.
How to Make Lip Balm (Recipe)
makes about 25 tubes (adjust recipe if you want to make more or less)
Ingredients:
- 6 tablespoons organic coconut oil (olive oil or shea butter are also good choices)
- 2 tablespoons beeswax granules
- 1 1/2 teaspoons organic beet root powder or hibiscus powder** for tint (optional)
- 30 drops of your favorite essential oils (optional) – here’s where I order my essential oils
Directions:
- Melt the coconut oil and beeswax in a double boiler over medium heat, stirring often until it’s all the way melted.
- Add essentials oils and tint powder (if desired).
- Carefully (i.e. slowly!) pour a small amount of the liquid into each tube. The mixture can harden quickly, so don’t be too slow about it.
- Let cool for about an hour and then use as you would regular lip balm!
** PEANUT ALLERGY WARNING: Those with severe peanut allergies should not use hibiscus. Please use caution.
More of our favorite all-natural DIY recipes:
- The Best Essential Oils for Your Skin Type
- 20+ Gorgeous Sugar Scrub Recipes
- DIY Whipped Coconut Oil Body Butter
- How to Use Coconut Oil for Acne
- Homemade Mouthwash for Remineralizing/Whitening Teeth
- DIY Hand Scrub Recipe
- DIY Coffee Body Scrub for Luscious Legs
I hope you enjoyed learning how to make lip balm!
What is your favorite essential oil combo for lip balm? Do you use tint or not? Tell me about your homemade lip balm in the comments!
Ready to learn more about essential oils? Start my FREE SUPER SIMPLE 9-STEP EMAIL COURSE to start learning – without all the stress! I focus on the absolute essentials (pun totally intended, haha) and keep everything simple. That way you can learn what you need without information overload! Start my free course now.
Elizabeth is the founder of The Nourished Life and has been writing about natural living for 12 years. Her work has been featured at Shape, Bustle, and Mother Earth Living. Her mission is to help you lower your stress levels and find fun ways to become happier and healthier. Read more about Elizabeth here.
Colleen says
I have made lip balm but not sure about one thing.
I used watermelon flavoring and also tried essential oil.
Someone said not to use essential oils. Is it ok to use flavoring, I bought it where I get essential oils, they aid its for lip balm. Could you use flavors you use for cakes or in baking?
Thanks.
Elizabeth Walling says
I’m sure you can, but I don’t personally recommend it because flavorings are usually full of artificial ingredients. I use high quality essential oils that are safe for using in a recipe like this.
Alison says
What types of fragrance oils can you use in lip balms? I also make soy candles so can I use those fragrance oils in the balms?
Elizabeth W. says
I would definitely avoid fragrance oils in lip balms – simply because of the chance of eating artificial fragrances. I prefer to use small amounts of high quality essential oils.
Jen says
I love these! I tried to make lip balm years ago and it ended up all chunky. I wonder what I was doing wrong. 🤷♀️I thinj it’s great your going the natural route and I can’t believe how inexpensive they are. I’ll have to make a batch and give them out for Christmas gifts this year!
Aisha says
I cannot wait to try these ratios also! I love a silky lip chap and have always used a 2-1 ratio of a mixture of organic ingredients to organic beeswax. So glad you loved this and I hope I do too😊
Irini says
I like to use a small amount of vanilla extract in my lip balm concoctions. It smells divine and tastes pretty good, too! Also for badly cracked lips which I am prone to I add a small amount of calendula infused oil to the mix, very healing for sore skin.
Elizabeth Walling says
Love those ideas!
Anne says
I love the smell of Almond… can Almond Extract be used? Can’t wait to try this recipe and give these out to family/friends as gifts!! This is only fueling my arts & crafts passion and chap stick addiction (seems like the perfect storm) :o) thank you!!
Elizabeth W. says
I’d be concerned the liquid almond extract won’t blend and emulsify with the oils.
Vivi M. says
Wouldn’t almond extract work the same as the vanilla extract someone mentioned above?
Elizabeth W. says
It might with a very small amount. I haven’t tried it, so I can’t guarantee it.
Kristie says
I live on lip balm also, lol. I’m wondering about the melting point, as coconut oil gets soft at room temp. If I carry this in my pocket will it melt all over my jeans?
Elizabeth Walling says
The beeswax will prevent it from melting – even if you make it with olive oil, it won’t melt in your pocket. 🙂
MM says
This is a great tutorial, and has really spurred me to decide to make lip balm. I checked out the amazon link you provided for the lip balm containers, and I think this is a project I must do soon!
Elizabeth Walling says
Awesome! Let me know how it goes. 🙂
Honey says
I love making chapsticks & used hibiscus powder recently, but it turned out more grainy and the tint didn’t seem to transfer to the skin well. Is there something I could be doing wrong maybe during the process or is there a brand that you recommend for best results?
Elizabeth Walling says
I didn’t use much powder, and the one I used was very fine, so I didn’t have any trouble with a grainy texture fortunately.
Alia says
I purchased the hibiscus powder you recommended and it was too grainy to incorporate into the lip balm. 🙁
Elizabeth Walling says
So sorry about that! I’m not sure what went wrong.
C dawn says
I infuse my colorants in the oils I’m going to use so i don’t in the risk of grainy lip balm ?
Elizabeth W. says
That’s a good alternative!
Ocie Nelson says
Put the powder into a food processor or a coffee grinder and grind into a finer powder. This is what I do and it works great.
Snowy says
THANK YOU!
Marci says
My friends and I found a way around the hibiscus powder not dissolving and thoroughly mixing. We put the tint powder in a disposable tea filter. Once the oils were melted, we let the tea filter sit in the pot for a few minutes while continuously stirring over the double boiler. We left the filter in until we got the color we were looking for. Loved the final product! Will definitely make it again.
Marlene Butkiewicz says
Could I use flower essence flavoring? I believe it is a special processing in which they are able to capture the flavor without any additives.
Elizabeth Walling says
That might work – depends on whether they’re oil soluble.
jim says
Love ur page
Heather says
Excited about my chapstick I made tonight with wintergreen and lavender! Smells so great!
Elizabeth Walling says
So glad you like the recipe, Heather! 😀
Joan L says
Be very careful with wintergreen. It’s primarily methyl salicylate and can be poisonous in relatively small quantities in smaller children. Robert Tisserand recommends no more than 1% maximum solution for this oil as a topical product like lip balm. This recipe is about 8 tbsp, should be 120 ml or so. I prefer recipes that use weight as they’re more consistent but at 120 ml, that would be no more than 24 drops of wintergreen. At the recommended 30 drops total in this recipe you should be ok since some will be lavender, but anyone who should be avoiding aspirin for any reason should not use this particular lip balm. (Essential Oil Safety, Tisserand and Young, pp 469-470).
Amanda Jobes says
Are there any substitutions I could use for beeswax? My husband is allergic to almost anything related to bees!
Elizabeth Walling says
I would google “beeswax alternative” – I haven’t done a lot of research in this area, but I think there are some other options.
Terri says
I use candelilla wax. It’s vegan.
Tracy says
I would think you should be able to use cocoa butter as it has an even higher melting point than beeswax. Plus – it smells divine 🙂
Daina says
I’d also love to know about a beeswax alternative for a vegan option. Thank you!
Anna says
A beeswax alternative would be carnauba wax, which is from a palm tree.
Lori Evans says
Soy wax works in place of beewax
Joan L says
You can use candililla wax at 80% by weight in place of beeswax in any lip balm recipe. Seems to be a tad shinier, not a bad thing unless you’re making it for a guy; most of my guy friends prefer a more matte formula.
Cara says
I’ve made a similar recipe before, and I added a little honey (good for skin overall) and a little Vit. E oil. I love how easy it is to make lip balm! Never tried the color tint though. Will next time!
Jennifer Williams says
Hi I am looking to get a wonderful brownish tint like Burts Bee’s Cocao which they have discontinued. what would you suggest kind regards jennifer Really looking forward to doing this.
Elizabeth Walling says
I’ve read of using cocoa powder for these types of recipes, so a combination of that and maybe a little beet root right do the trick.
EmeraldGaia says
I am not sure how old this posting is but with lip balms I put a few chips of semi sweet chocolate chips in mine and it was nice and turned the balm a beautiful rich chocolate color and smelled amazing. not sure if it transfers to your lips as brown except when my grandson got carried away with it but it does work well. the 70% chocolate bars work too if you crack a few pieces off 🙂
Vanessa Tan says
Great tips, thank Elizabeth Walling!
Candace says
ho! I’m so excited for my ingredients to come and get to making these! I’m just wondering though if adding 1 or 2 drops of oil to each tube prior to adding the mixture would have the same outcome? I’d like to get multiple flavors out of one batch. Thank you!
Elizabeth Walling says
Candace, that’s a good idea! It might work – I’m note sure the EOs will mix completely, but they might.
Candace says
Well, I have an update 🙂 I made 5 different flavors from one batch! The oils blended wonderfully, I’m so happy! I did come up 9 tubes short though. Would you happen to know how many grams of co and wax it is? I buy my wax in bricks, so it’s hard to get an exact meurement. Thank you!
Elizabeth Walling says
Awesome, so glad it worked well! Sorry, I don’t know the grams off the top of my head. I actually ended up with a wee bit too much and ended up with a little jar of “balm” that I use to soften my feet and elbows! 😉
Lexi says
Hey, just wondering, did you add the oils to the tubes before or after you had dumped the wax in them? I am wanting make multiple flavors and am not sure how to do it! Thank you!
Anna says
Question, I just did this cause I was REALLY bored*, but can you just use straight up coconut oil?
*And lazy…
Jamie says
No, the coconut oil will melt very fast, especially if it’s hot where you live. Also, when you touch it to your lips it will just melt all over you. Hope this is helpful! ?