The girls and I have decided that a good lip balm is a necessity living in the extremely dry north of Canada. So it's time to try something a little more luxurious than plain old petroleum jelly. That's why we created this Orange Spiced Cider homemade natural beeswax lip balm recipe.
Now, I've purchased natural lip glosses in the past. Burt's Bees is my favorite brand and they have a wide range of great products. However, recently I couldn't find my favorite Burt's Bees lip balm anywhere in Yellowknife. Not at the pharmacy nor in the grocery stores.
So with a bit of trial and error, we developed our own homemade lip balm recipe.
Natural Living and DIY Projects
When we left city life to live off the grid in the Canadian subarctic, my family decided to become as self-reliant as possible.
In addition to homesteading, we recently started learning how to create our own all-natural skincare products.
We include these hands-on DIY activities in our off grid homeschool day. I'm currently homeschooling our two youngest of seven children, aged 13 and 10. And they both had a blast during this fun project and developing this great recipe for beeswax lip balm.
Last year we enjoyed developing a new handmade lavender sugar scrub bar recipe. We experimented with shea butter (yuck) and cocoa butter (better.) Recently we also made our own shampoo bar recipe without lye.
And by the way, if you're looking for a beeswax and coconut oil lip balm with honey, we have you covered!
However, we underestimated the amount of essential oils to use. So for this homemade natural beeswax lip balm recipe, we doubled the oils so we could enjoy the autumn scent.
How to Make Our Homemade Natural Beeswax Lip Balm Recipe
The base ingredients for this easy lip balm recipe are pure beeswax, organic coconut oil, and sweet almond oil. All wonderful natural ingredients that we use regularly in our homemade beauty products, including our own lip balm.
Beeswax, Coconut, & Almond
They combine really well. The result is a smooth natural lip balm with no lumps, as some natural products tend to have. And the scent in this homemade beeswax lip balm comes from three essential oils: Orange, Thieves & Cinnamon.
Essential Oils in Lip Balm
We use just a small amount of the cinnamon essential oil (just a couple of drops.) Cinnamon can be too hot for some people. Lips are tender, but it brings a great addition and warmth to the blend.
Not all natural products smell good. In fact, even a small amount of shea butter was so overpowering when we made soap last year. So we added peppermint oil to try to diffuse it.
As it turns out, none of us like the smell of shea butter. So we didn't want to use it in this beeswax lip balm recipe.)
Each oil has its own health benefits as well.
Orange essential oil has antiseptic properties and is an uplifting scent. It is great for you if you have dry skin and helps to detox, cleanse and fight off infection and stress.
Thieves essential oil is hands-down my favorite. I knew I wanted to include it in this homemade natural beeswax lip balm recipe. We get our Thieves Essential Oils from Young Living or Revive. At Revive, it is called Immunity Boost.
It smells spicy, with a combination of clove, lemon, cinnamon bark, rosemary, and eucalyptus oils.
Cinnamon essential oil is antimicrobial, antioxidant, antifungal, and antiviral. It is a powerful oil that fights infections, is anti-aging, combats germs and bacteria, and helps support hormones.
These oils make you think of a warm fireplace and Fall colors when you smell the combined aroma, and they make a great flavor to apply to your lips.
Note: This homemade natural beeswax lip balm recipe would likely fill about 16-18 lip balm containers. However, for this small batch, we used small containers that used to hold the kids' slime. Totally true story. I try to upcycle and recycle as much as possible out here!
If you prefer to make less for your first batch, just cut this easy lip balm recipe in half.
We're using small pots (sounds better than "Slime Pots") so we can make our own products. We include them in baskets of DIY recipes and homemade items we're giving as a unique Christmas gift.
Beeswax Lip Balm Recipe Supplies
If this is the first time you're making your own natural product, you'll need to gather the right ingredients and supplies.
This spiced cider beeswax lip balm recipe uses the double boiler method. In addition to a stainless steel double boiler, you might find the following supplies useful:
- a kitchen scale
- small funnel
- lip balm tins, tubes or lip balm pots
- mason jar or other glass jar
Ingredients for DIY lip balm
- ¼ cup or 2 oz beeswax (You can either chop up the brick type of natural beeswax or purchase the pastilles, which is what I used in this.)
- 2 tbsp. coconut oil
- 1.5 tbsp. sweet almond oil (Olive oil works well too!)
- 13 drops orange essential oils
- 6 drops thieves essential oil
- 3 drops cinnamon essential oil
How to Make This Beeswax Lip Balm Recipe
You will need a double boiler to begin melting the beeswax. Or, do what I do. Make your own using two pots (see pic.)
I've used the two-piece kind in the past as well.
Fill the bottom pan to about ⅓-1/2 full of water. The water should touch the bottom of the top pan without being too close to the top.
If the water is too high it could boil over later if it's too full. Measure the beeswax and add it into the top pot and place it on medium-high heat.
Don't Burn the Beeswax!
Beeswax has wonderful properties for the body. However, they're lost if the beeswax burns or even overheats. So it's best to start by setting your stove burner closer to medium heat. And then turn down to a low simmer once it gets bubbling.
While the beeswax is heating, go ahead and take the caps off of your lip balm tubes or pots. Then set them in a place they can sit nice and flat, and stay put for cooling later.
Double-check that lip tubes are rolled all the way down so you can fill them as much as possible. Sometimes a few in the bunch will be rolled up and it stinks if you don’t realize it until it's too late.
Beeswax
Measure out the almond oil so it is ready to go. As the beeswax heats up, you will see it start to turn clear.
This begins at the bottom layer, closest to the heat. Take a metal spoon and break up the wax chunks. And stir it from time to time to keep it melting. It will stay in a few larger chunks unless you do this.
I like to use two metal spoons for beeswax. I keep them set aside with my boiler pans. Scrape down one with the other to save every last bit of your homemade beeswax lip balm.
Once your water is boiling up, turn it down to simmer. Then check the wax every few minutes.
This is the slowest part of the process of this natural beeswax lip balm recipe. However, it goes more quickly once the wax is almost melted. This is why it is good to have everything else ready to go.
Careful Heating Coconut Oil
Coconut oil tends to become white and thick from cooling. I find it is easier to add to my natural products when it has melted a little. I place mine in the microwave for about 20 seconds so it's easy to pour and measure.
Once the wax is clear and liquefied, it's time to add in the almond oil.
Stir and break up the wax again if needed once you add in the oil. Then give it a minute to fully melt.
Next, add in the coconut oil and do the same, stirring and breaking up the main clump. Let this melt for a minute or two until the mixture is clear again. Now it is time to add in the essential oils.
Cinnamon and orange are both thin oils, they can run out of the bottle very quickly once they get momentum, so be very careful. Over-doing the orange isn’t as big of a deal but over-doing the cinnamon certainly is.
Stir it All Well
Stir the oils in well and let the mixture melt all the way. Now it is ready to pour into lip balm tubes, pots, or tins.
Leave the water on warm as you do this. Sometimes I find the balm thickens up during pouring. I use two hands to steady the pot well as I pour because it is easy to move too much and splash it or spill it.
Cool Lip Balm to Room Temperature
Turn off the heat on your stove. Use a paper towel to wipe the extra wax residue from the pot and spoons, and drops of melted mixture from your tabletop or countertop. It is much easier to clean when warm than when it's cooled off.
Beeswax Lip Balm Recipe: Orange Spiced Cider
Materials
- ¼ cup or 2 oz beeswax (You can either chop up the brick type of natural beeswax or purchase the pastilles, which is what I used in this.)
- 2 tbsp. coconut oil
- 1.5 tbsp. sweet almond oil (Olive oil works well too!)
- 13 drops orange essential oils
- 6 drops thieves essential oil
- 3 drops cinnamon essential oil
Tools
- a kitchen scale
- small funnel
- lip balm tins, tubes or lip balm pots
- mason jar or other glass jar
Instructions
- Fill the bottom pan to about ⅓-1/2 full of water.
- Measure the beeswax and add it into the top pot and place it on medium heat. Stir occasionally until melted.
- Take the caps off of your lip balm tubes or pots. Then set them in a place they can sit nice and flat, and stay put for cooling later.
- Double-check that lip tubes are rolled all the way down.
- Once your water is boiling up, turn it down to simmer. Then check the wax every few minutes.
- Melt coconut oil in the microwave for about 20 seconds so it's easy to pour and measure.
- Add almond oil and coconut oil.
- Stir well until there are no lumps and the beeswax lip balm mixture is clear.
- Quickly measure and add in 13 drops of orange essential oil, 2-3 drops of cinnamon essential oil, and 6 drops of Thieves oil.
- Mix well once more, and turn the heat off.
- Using two metal spoons and working quickly, measure the mixture into lip balm tubes, pots, or small glass jars.
- Scrape all excess mixture off the inside of the pot and the spoons.
- Let cool for 1 - 2 hours.
- Put the tops on and enjoy or give as gifts.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
-
Lip Balm Container Tray Kit with Fill Tray and Spatula, BPA Free, Made in the USA, Includes 50 Clear Lip Balm Containers with Caps (0.15 oz each) by Mary Tylor Naturals -
Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil -
White Cosmetic Grade Beeswax Pellets 1 lb -
Measuring Cups -
Cold Pressed Sweet Almond Oil -
Revive Essential Oils
Beeswax Lip Balm Recipe Troubleshooting
Fill the balms to just below the top of your containers.
Here are a few points to keep in mind when making homemade all natural beeswax lip balm with essential oils.
- Start by filling each small container about half full.You can always top off later if you have enough balm.
- You'll start to notice the balm thickening and turning white where it is cooling off. So if it's building up on the spout or sides of the pot, place it back over the heat for a few minutes. Scrape the balm off those places and add it back to the center to get it all melted again. Repeat steps for pouring and then you’re done.
- If you find your beeswax lip balm is too hard, add a few drops of vitamin E oil.
- If your natural lip balm is too soft, add extra beeswax to the lip balm recipe.
Allow the balms to solidify and cool fully. This will normally take about one to two hours. You'll see them change from clear to white. Eventually, the centers will slowly become the same tone as the outside.
Once your beeswax lip balms are fully cool, they're ready to use. We were thrilled with ours. Ava decided to use some pretty scrap paper in place of labels and now we're all set!
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Tai East
I bet your home smelled heavenly while making these. I will definitely be pinning this post, so I can make this lip balm. Thanks so much for sharing! I'm excited to try it out!
Cathy Kennedy
Hello, I'm visiting from Inspire Me Mondays. Thanks for sharing. I saved your recipe and hope to make some in the near future. I seem to accumulate more DIY projects than I have time to do but we'll see how things go. 🙂