Coconut Oil Lip Balm
Coconut oil lip balm is a quick and easy at home project. I absolutely cannot live without lip balm. The dry air of the California central valley has me applying coats all day long. Several years ago, I started making my own in hopes of finding a more natural and frugal alternative to store bought chapstick.
Making your own lip balm is actually way cheaper than buying store bought. You may have to make a few investments in ingredients up front, but they will last a long time.
This recipe is for a very simple beginner’s balm.
You will need:
Chapstick Tubes or Tins
A medium sized cooking pot
A glass beaker or measuring cup with pouring spout
Ingredients:
- 3 TBSP Coconut Oil
- 1 TBSP Beeswax
Optional Ingredients
- 1 TSP Vitamin E or Rosemary Oil (for shelf stability)
- 1/2 TSP Alkanet Root Powder
Directions:
Fill a medium sized pot with about an inch of water and place on the stove on “sim”. Place your glass beaker or measuring cup inside the pot. Spoon in the oil and beeswax. Stir and let melt completely.
Optional ingredients – Add Vitamin E Oil when the beeswax has melted. The alkanet powder can be done a few ways. The easiest is to infuse your oil a few days before hand, the powder will settle to the bottom of the infusion jar, and you can pour off the top, leaving the sediment behind. You can also stir the powder directly into your mix, and use a filter when pouring.
When all ingredients are thoroughly melted and mixed, remove the measuring cup from the heat and let harden. To speed the hardening, place in the freezer for a few minutes. Use your index finger to test the consistency. If it is too soft, remelt and add a little more wax. If it is too hard, remelt and add a bit more oil.
When you have reached the desired consistency, remelt one last time and pour into chapstick tubes or lip balm containers.
The chapstick will shrink as it hardens. Because of this, you may want to double pour – pour just below the top at first, and then once the first pour has mostly hardened, come back and top off the tubes. Let the lip balm dry for a few hours before capping.
Notes on Coconut Oil Lip Balm
Making this coconut oil lip balm is a great DIY project. You can substitute for another oil you have on hand, such as olive oil, avocado, or sweet almond.
Where to Find Ingredients and Containers:
My favorite place to shop for herbs and ingredients online is Mountain Rose Herbs. You will find beeswax, oils, and alkanet powder here. They have lip balm containers as well, but if you prefer tubes, check on Amazon.
