Summer is one of the worst seasons for your lips.
Despite the high humidity in much of the region, lips go through the high heat, blazing sun, and just plain old wear and tear.
They can get chapped, reddened, dried out, and can even peel. But if you know how to take care of them properly, they can be oh so soft.
Things Harmful to Lips
Some things are worse for your lips than you’d think; another reason why homemade lip balm is a good idea. Here’s a list of things you should avoid:
- Smoking can cause a lack of circulation and wrinkles.
- No SPF (sun protection factor) can lead to sunburn. A few natural oils that offer sun protection are carrot seed oil, raspberry seed oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, and sesame seed oil.
- Parabens, which are present in most commercial lipsticks, can damage your skin.
- Fragrance, also in some lipsticks, can dry out your skin.
- Artificial sweeteners could cause health problems.
- Camphor and menthol, while natural, are drying ingredients often found in lip care products.
- Dry air, created when air conditioning is used, can dry out your lips.
Easy Homemade Lip Balm
I’ve included the full printable recipe at the bottom of this post, but here’s what you’ll need.
- Yellow Beeswax Beads
- Coconut Oil
- Essential Oils (I used Lemon and Peppermint)
- Empty Lip Balm Tubes
- Small glass bowl
- A small syringe or eye dropper
How to Make Homemade Lip Balm?
Add 1 Tablespoon of the beeswax pellets into a small glass dish. You can buy solid beeswax (as long as it’s cosmetic grade) if you want, but then you have to figure out how to grate it and melt it down, so the pellets seem so much easier.
Microwave the pellets on high power for about 45 seconds. If you have a strong microwave, start with 30 seconds before checking on it.
Then add 1 Tablespoon of the coconut oil. This stuff is a little more refined than what you’d buy in the grocery store. Mine didn’t even have a smell to it.
Return it to the microwave for another 45 seconds or so.
Next add in the essential oils and mix it well with a small fork or baby spoon. You might want to return it to the microwave after this for another 15 seconds, just to keep it warm and liquid.
I used a leftover sterilized syringe from one of my baby Advil boxes to fill the little tubes. There’s no way I’m steady enough to pour into such a small opening freehanded. The syringe worked really well.
It cools and solidifies fairly quickly, so if you notice it clumping up as you fill the tubes, put the glass bowl back in the microwave for 15 seconds to heat it up again.
Fill the tubes as full as you can without overflowing. By the time I finished filling the 5 containers, the first one had already solidified. I love that there was no waiting required. I mean, you might want to give them 5 minutes to harden, just in case, but I was too excited and tested one out right away.
This lip balm is PERFECT. It’s silky smooth and moisturizes the lips really well.
