Say goodbye to chapped lips with this DIY lip balm recipe. It’s natural, easy to make, and saves money.
I’ve been making lip balm for over 11 years, particularly during winter, when dry lips are inevitable. Today, I’m sharing my soothing, hydrating recipe with simple ingredients: beeswax, shea butter, and oil.
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This blog outlines the steps to make my favorite easy homemade lip balm recipe.
DIY Lip Balm Benefits
- Natural Ingredients – To make the best lip balm, you’ll need a few natural ingredients (easy to find online): beeswax, shea butter (or use mango butter or cocoa butter), and oil of choice (like olive oil, jojoba oil, sweet almond oil, coconut oil).
- Minimal Equipment – You’ll also need lip balm tubes, metal tins, a saucepan, a heat-safe bowl, and a stovetop.
- Cost – My recipe makes 7-8 lip balm tubes, costing just $0.60 a tube- enough to last all winter or share as a great gift!
- Flavor Options – Personalize the lip balm by adding your favorite essential oils, like peppermint or lavender essential oil.
- Shelf Life – Homemade lip balm lasts for up to 12 months!
Before you get started: What You’ll Need
You’ll also find the full recipe, instructions, and links for my favorite ingredient brands in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons of body butter – provides much of the moisturizing relief my lips crave in the drier months. Choose one of these options for the body butter: cocoa butter (hydrating and rich in vitamin E, chocolatey scent), shea butter (rich in fatty acids, vitamin E, ultra-moisturizing), or mango butter (rich in fatty acids, ultra-moisturizing).
- 2 tablespoons carrier oil – nourishes and moisturizes the skin. My favorite oil options are sweet almond, olive, sunflower, avocado, jojoba, and coconut oil.
- 2-3 teaspoons beeswax pellets – the glue that holds the oil and body butter together and creates a solid product. The wax also provides a protective moisture barrier to the skin and may also help to soothe the skin.
- 5 drops essential oil (optional) – peppermint or lavender are personal favorites. The essential oil adds a lovely scent.
Equipment
- Small saucepan – used to create a double boiler by adding water to the saucepan and placing a heat-safe bowl on top. This method protects the fragile ingredients from burning.
- Small or medium heat-safe bowl or tall measuring cup (glass or metal)- to melt the ingredients. I’ve found that a glass measuring cup that can sit in the small saucepan (above) works best as it has a spout for pouring the melted wax into lip balm tubes. Other options include a glass or metal mixing bowl; however, they are more challenging to use if you’re making lip balm tubes, as they don’t have a spout for pouring.
- Lip balm containers – Either lip balm tubes or metal tins. This recipe makes 7-8 regular-sized tubes (or 4 ounces).
How to Make Lip Balm: Recipe Steps
- Step 1 Combine Ingredients – Place the body butter, oil, and beeswax pellets in a small or medium heat-safe bowl or tall measuring cup.
- Step 2 Melt Ingredients – Place the glass bowl on top (or sitting inside) of a saucepan partially filled with water (about 1/4 way full) over medium heat (this creates a double boiler to protect the fragile ingredients from burning). Heat until the wax and butter melts, stirring occasionally. While doing this, place a disposable plate or paper towel under the lip balm containers to prevent wax from dripping onto your countertop when you reach step 4.
- Step 3 Remove Ingredients From Heat – Remove the bowl from the saucepan and place it on an oven mitt or towel. Add the essential oil drops of choice (if using).
- Step 4 Pour Into Lip Balm Containers – Use an oven mitt to pour the liquid mixture into lip balm containers (tubes or tins). Allow the balm to rest for a few minutes until formed and solid. It’s ready to use once set (firm).
Application Tip: Apply as needed to the lips. May be used daily and multiple times a day. I love to use this lip scrub once a week during the winter as well.
How Long Will This Kind of Lip Balm last?
Homemade lip balm will last for the life of the ingredients, about 12 months—store at temperature.
How Much Lip Balm Does This Recipe Make?
This recipe makes 4 ounces, or about 7-8 standard-size lip balm tubes.
How to Make Vegan Lip Balm
To make this basic recipe vegan, you must substitute beeswax for plant-based wax, like soy wax, carnauba wax, or candelilla.
The other ingredients used are all plant-based.
What to Avoid Doing
- Don’t Use “Hot” Essential Oils – Some essential oils can irritate the skin and cause the skin to feel an uncomfortable burning sensation. Avoid “hot oils” such as cinnamon, clove, oregano, thyme, and lemongrass.
- Citrus Oils – Citrus oils, like sweet orange essential oil or lemon essential oil, are photosensitive and can make your skin more sensitive to the sun. Skip these oils if you’ll be in the sun a lot.
- Don’t Add the Essential Oils When Melting The Ingredients – Essential oils quickly evaporate when exposed to high temperatures. Wait until the ingredients have melted and are away from the heat source before adding the essential oil.
How to Prevent Natural Lip Balm Recipe Problems
- Grainy Lip Balm – Lip balm made with shea butter can (on some occasions) turn gritty or grainy. While the lip balm is still usable, the final product can feel funny on your lips when applied. To prevent a grainy texture:
- Cool in Fridge – Place the lip balm in the fridge to cool after pouring it into your tins or tubes.
- Slow Melt – If you find this issue still occurs, next time, melt the shea butter first over low heat in the glass bowl (double boiler set up) before adding the other ingredients for 15-20 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and proceed with the steps. This slower, longer melt can also help reduce the grainy texture issue.
- Lip Balm is Too Hard or Soft – Too much wax, and you’ll end up with a very hard lip balm; too little wax, and you’ll get a very soft lip balm. If this issue occurs, next time, add more wax if the lip balm is too soft for your liking. Add more oil if the lip balm is too hard for your liking. Either way, the lip balm is still usable but can be tweaked as desired next time.
FAQs
- Can I make lip balm without beeswax? A good lip balm is made with some wax. This wax protects the skin (a moisture barrier) and helps solidify the final product. You can’t skip the wax, but you don’t have to use beeswax. Instead, use soy wax, carnauba wax, or candelilla to make your natural lip balm. Fun note: You can use beeswax and soy wax to make homemade candles!
- Will the lip balm melt when it’s hot outside? The lip balm shouldn’t melt when it’s hot outside, even if kept in your car. It will soften in high temperatures (like the car in the summer), but it shouldn’t melt.
- How can I make the lip balm more glossy? Coconut and castor oil are the best for creating a glossier lip balm recipe.
- How can I add color to my lip balm? I’ve experimented with different natural colorings, like beetroot powder, hibiscus powder, and even cocoa powder, but I have not succeeded with any of these ingredients. The best way to color organic lip balm is to use colored mica powder (about 3/4 teaspoon). Here’s a tutorial on how to do that.
- Can I add honey to this recipe? You can add honey to lip balm. Follow this honey lip balm recipe for the exact measurements and steps.
Extra Ingredients? Ideas for Your Next DIY Project
- Extra wax? Make homemade candles.
- Extra body butter? Make body butter or shea butter lip balm.
- Extra oil? Make homemade face wash or solid perfume.
- Extra essential oils? Make homemade cleaning products or scented body butter.
How to Make DIY Lip Balm (3 Ingredients!)
This recipe is a great basic recipe that you can easily customize. It nourishes and soothes dry, chapped lips with moisturizing body butter, oil, and wax.
Cost: $.60 per tube
Equipment
- 1 Small or medium heat-safe bowl or tall measuring cup (glass or metal) I like this option for easy pouring
- lip balm containers lip balm tubes or metal tins (this recipe makes 7-8 tubes)
Ingredients
- 2 TB body butter such as: shea butter (24g), mango butter (24g), or cocoa butter (16g)
- 2 TB carrier oil such as: olive oil, jojoba oil, sweet almond oil, or coconut oil
- 2-3 tsp beeswax pellets 7g-10g or vegan wax (see notes above in recipe)
- 5 drops essential oil of choice (optional)
Instructions
- Place the body butter, oil, and beeswax pellets in a small or medium heat-safe bowl or tall measuring cup.
- Place the glass bowl on top (or sitting inside) of a saucepan partially filled with water (about 1/4 way full) over medium heat (this creates a double boiler to protect the fragile ingredients from burning).
- Heat until the wax and butter melts, stirring occasionally. While doing this, place a disposable plate or paper towel under the lip balm containers to prevent wax from dripping onto your countertop later.
- Remove the bowl from the saucepan and place it on an oven mitt or towel. Add the essential oil drops of choice (if using).
- Use an oven mitt to pour the liquid mixture into lip balm containers (tubes or tins). Allow the balm to rest for a few minutes until formed and solid. It’s ready to use once set (firm).
How to Use:
- Apply as needed to the lips. May be used daily and multiple times a day. I love to use this lip scrub once a week during the winter as well.
Notes
Shelf Life: Store at room temperature for up 12 months.
How much does this recipe make? This recipe makes 4 ounces or 7-8 regular-sized tubes.
Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!
Natural Body-Care Simplified
Learn how to make your own body and beauty products with simple ingredients.
Thank you for your recipe. I have only made lipbalm once (from your recipe here), and I am therefore wondering if I could ask your advice/if you have any ideas on how to make another variation? I was previously buying a lipbalm which had only shea butter, coconut oil, and beeswax as its ingredients — and with the concentration of ingredients listed in that order on the label (largest amount of shea butter, then the others). The person selling them stopped selling them, and I haven’t found anything that works for my extremely dry lips the same way. The texture of that lip balm was significantly thicker than the result I got from following your recipe here, which had a kind of melty, thin, almost runny texture once it was on the skin. The brand I used to buy was almost like a soft paste which could be spread on and was more like a whitish thick coating on the skin until it melted, and was white in colour in the lip balm cylinder, so I’m wondering how to achieve the same texture with these three ingredients? Lip balms which have lots more beeswax seem to just be harder and more solid (not nourishing), but the lip balm I used to buy was still soft, just thicker and more of a paste. Since it is made from the same ingredients, I hope you might have some ideas, with your greater experience than mine! I would greatly appreciate any input, thoughts, or even further experimentation from you! Thank you for your time.
Hi SS!
Thanks for trying my lip balm and sharing about your favorite one. The runny texture usually comes from equal parts shea and coconut oil. To match that thick, white paste with just shea butter, coconut oil, and beeswax (shea first on the label), try this simpler ratio:
Thick Paste Lip Balm (4-6 small tubes)
3 TB shea butter
1.5 TB coconut oil
1 TB beeswax
Steps:
Melt beeswax in a double boiler, add coconut oil, then shea last. Stir until smooth.
Pour into tubes/tins. Cool in fridge 10-15 min for thick set.
Test it: too soft? Add ½ tsp more beeswax. Too firm? Add ½ tsp more coconut oil.
This gives a soft, spreadable paste that melts slowly and feels nourishing. Let me know how it works!
Thank you so much, Kristin! I will definitely be saving that and trying it out when I next have a chance. Your expertise is much appreciated! Have a lovely day.
(I apologise, I accidentally replied to the wrong comment before!)
You’re welcome have a great day!
My batch turned out softer than I like. Can I take it out of the tubes and remelt it and add more beeswax? Will the remelting ruin the batch?
Hi Tricia,
Thanks for trying the lip balm recipe! Yes, you can absolutely take the lip balm out of the tubes, remelt it, and add more beeswax to make it firmer. Remelting won’t ruin the batch as long as you heat it gently to avoid scorching the ingredients. Here’s a quick guide:
Scoop the lip balm out of the tubes and place it back into a double boiler or a heat-safe container over simmering water.
Melt it slowly on low heat, stirring occasionally.
Add a small amount of beeswax (start with about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon per ounce of original mixture) and stir until fully melted.
Test the texture by dipping a spoon into the melted mixture, letting it cool slightly, and checking the firmness. Add more beeswax if needed.
Once you’re happy with the consistency, pour it back into clean tubes and let it set.
Beeswax is forgiving, so remelting should work fine without affecting the quality. Just keep the heat low to preserve the oils’ properties. Let me know how it turns out or if you have other tweaks you’re thinking about!
Thank you so much, Kristin! I will definitely be saving that and trying it out when I next have a chance. Your expertise is much appreciated! Have a lovely day.
Looking forward to trying the DIY Lip Balm Recipe.
Yay, let me know how you like it.
Good post! I make this regularly now.
So glad you enjoy the lip balm!
For those who feel this is too much money, especially the beeswax pellets, you can always buy honey with the wax (many beekeepers sell it), you can eat the honey and use the wax. It’ll be so much cheaper, you’ll get 500grams of honey+wax for $7.
Thank you for sharing, Meriam.
What a blog, I really like to thank blog author for the wonderful post. Thanks for sharing.
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Can you swap out the beeswax with calendula.? allergy to beeswax
Calendula is an Herb/flower, so I don’t think that would work. But a beeswax alternative should—anything that will help the product solidify
LS Team
How much essential oil should I add if I’m adding it?
Hey Katherine, Just a couple of drops is usually enough.
Thanks for sharing – so easy and very similar to my lip balm I just ran out of ? Will be making it again soon!
Enjoy!
Can the lip balm recipe be used for say body balms that you can put on your wrists etc? I presume all balm recipes are pretty much the same?
Yes Kristin! :D. How can I do that?
Hey Edith, You could try this recipe: https://livesimply.me/2016/11/04/cooling-honey-lip-balm/
Hi Kristin!. How can I sweet the lip balm?. I really do not like the oils and bees wax sensation on my lips 🙁
Hey Edith, I don’t understand your question. Are you looking to sweeten the lip balm?
Does this create a sticky lip balm or is it smooth and not sticky?
Thank you!
i just wanted to know if these ingredients are safe to use for kids as well?
Hey Keisha, Yes, they are 🙂
my lips are chapped. what should I do?
Did you make the lip balm and your lips are chapped?
Sorry….had to post the question again .Problem with the computer. Just wanted to find out what natural colors can be used to make it pretty for presents.
Hey Manu, Yes, you can! You’ll want to use alkanet root powder (available via Amazon), and then strain it from the heated liquid before pouring the lip balm into a container(s). It adds a subtle color.
Is there any way to add natural color to this lip balm?
How many drops of essential oil would you recommend for this?
Hey Katie, I would add about 5 drops.
is lavender essential oil or jasmine essential oil okay to add for scent?
Hey Serendipity, Lavender essential oil is my fave scent for lip balm. I believe jasmine essential oil will also work.
I have some bronze mica powder. Could I add a little to this lip balm for a bit of color? Or would it change the consistency too much?
Hey Moe, I’m not sure. I haven’t worked with mica in lip balm before. You could try adding just a small amount.