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Make your own lip balm!

If you’re like me and consistently have dry lips and keep losing my chapsticks everywhere I go – why pay $5 every time you want to keep your lips moisturized when you can just make it yourself?

 

Thanks to Martha Stewart (her staff, really) and environmental blogger, Lisa Tae-Ran Schroeder, the recipe to make your own lip balm is relatively basic and easy to customize.  All the ingredients can be found in your own kitchen minus the unbleached beeswax which can probably be found in your crafty friend’s studio or local art supply store.  

 

Ingredients:

• unbleached beeswax (grated)
• carrier oils (olive, sunflower, grape seed, almond, sunflower, etc.)
• essential oils (peppermint, lemon, etc.)
• honey (optional)
• pyrex measuring cup
• old tin (mint containers are finally useful, yay!)

 

1/2 oz serving: 3 tablespoons of beeswax, 5 teaspoons of carrier oil, 6-7 drops of essential oils and 1 teaspoon of honey (for flavor)

bigger servings:  equal parts wax to oils

 

Heat water in a sauce pan and place pyrex cup in the center as a simple double boiler set up (or if you happen to have a double boiler, use that)  As the water heats, stir in the beeswax and carrier oils into the measuring cup until fully melted.  Remove cup from heat and carefully add the essential oils and hone until thoroughly mixed.  Set aside and let the mixture cool for about 20 minutes and then pour into desired containers.  Enjoy!

 

What are essential oils? They are concentrated extracts from plants, also known as “volatiles” through distillation.  No properties beyond its fragrant characteristic is known, however, many support its therapeutic effects on the body.

Why use carrier oils?  Because they “carry” the essential oils onto the skin for proper absorption as opposed to evaporating.  Derived mostly from vegetables, they are a base for the essential oils to be mixed with absolutes.  Carrier oils do not have a concentrated aroma and their viscosities vary.

What to avoid in commercial based lip balm products (courtesy of bellasugar):

• Menthol, camphor, and phenol: All three of these ingredients give your lips a deceptive soothing, cooling sensation — but they also dry them out, creating a vicious cycle where you apply your lip balm to get relief . . . from your lip balm.
• Silicone oil: This additive is put in balms, glosses, and lipsticks to make them last longer and keep pigment from rubbing off your lips. It also, however, locks out moisture.
• Fragrance: Some fragrance groups, especially when combined with ingredients like alcohol, can suck the moisture right off your lips.
• Salicylic acid

 

Remember to maintain moist lips for the new year so that you can avoid having to use one of these: