**Here is a customizable lip balm formulation that can be easily based off of ingredients you might already have!**

Quick And Simple Diy Lip Balm Formulation

This post may contain links but they are not affiliate links. I am not in any sort of affiliate program at this time. They are links to things I actually use.

In this quick & simple lip balm formulation all you’re going to need is beeswax, coconut oil, 1 butter of your choice & 1 liquid oil of your choosing. There are a few different versions of this formulation I’m sharing to help you customize this to your liking.

I am going to talk a bit about cocoa butter & coconut oil as those are what I made mine out of but feel free to use whatever you have on hand or at the very least feel like purchasing.

Let’s talk first about the butter options you have available. Recently on the blog we made a cold processed whipped shea butter & I talked about the health benefits shea butter has to offer the skin. Check that out HERE.

Butter options to choose from & why you might like to use them:

Bacuri butter → can help reduce scars & is full of antioxidants to help fight the signs of aging

Cupuacu butter → a cheaper alternative to cocoa butter & contains high levels of Vitamin E

Help seed butter → Rich in Vitamin A which can help stimulates skin-cell production & has anti aging properties

Kokum butter → rich in Vitamin E & is deeply moisturizing, helping to protect the skin against free-radical damage.

Kukui butter → Rich in Vitamin A helping to stimulate the production of new skin cells & vitamin C improving the tone while boosting collagen production

Mango butter → feels less greasy than other butters

Mowrah butter → revered for its anti aging properties helping to improve eczema & dermatitis

Murumuru butter → helps to heal the skin by locking in moisture & treating dry cracked skin while reducing the appearance of fine lines & free radical damage

Olive butter → creates a protective skin barrier helping to lock in moisture & prevent water loss

Sal seed butter → helps to unclog pores, lock in moisture & promotes skin elasticity helping to reduce the signs of aging

Tucuma butter → works as a cleanser & is gentle enough to use on sensitive or dry skin helping to ease symptoms of eczema & psoriasis

Ucuuba butter → helps to promote skin elasticity & can be beneficial when used in hair products. This butter works best when mixed with other butters

While I have not necessarily worked with some of the butters or even certain I have access to some of them I wanted to include them in this list.

There are also many types of butter that weren’t mentioned that you can use such as almond, argan, coffee, jojoba, macadamia & ylang-ylang. The list goes on…

Refined versus Unrefined

One thing to consider when choosing your butter is if you want refined or unrefined. Refined being odorless & white in color while unrefined holds its natural color & natural odor.

Beeswax actually comes in refined or unrefined versions as well. THe refined version has no light natural honey scent & pure white color. The unrefined version having a light honey scent & characteristic golden yellow color

Let’s do a bit of a deep dive on cocoa butter

**Cocoa butter**

*Theobroma cacao*
*Image courtesy of Canva.com*

Cocoa butter can be found under the botanical name: Theobroma cacao

It is the edible fat extracted by the cocoa bean. When cocoa beans are processed & treated with heat they become cocoa butter & the rest becomes cocoa powder, the very powder you may be familiar with in baking.

Cocoa butter is solid at room temperature & has a melting point of 93-100F or 34-38C

When used on the scalp it can help to relieve dry flakiness. To be clear, dry scalp is not the same as dandruff. Dandruff is waxy, yellow in color & is caused by seborrheic dermatitis. Dry scale is flaky, white in color & is caused by a lack of moisture.

When used on the skin it can help ease itching & pain associated with eczema, psoriasis & other types of dermatitis. It is also an excellent treatment for minor burns.

It has been said that cocoa butter is the best remedy for treating scars & stretch marks promoting the healing process by soothing, hydrating & softening scar tissue. It can also be very soothing to put on sunburns.

The polyphenol content can help to increase skin elasticity & collagen density.

Contains a natural SPF of approximately 5.

Quick And Simple Diy Lip Balm Formulation

Before I get to sharing this quick & easy formulation I’d like to talk a bit about coconut oil

**Coconut oil**

*Cocos nucifera*
*Image courtesy of Canva.com*

It can be found under the botanical name Cocos nucifera

Coconut oil is which extracted from the meat of the coconut & can be heat or cold processed.

It is a solid at room temperature & has a melting point of 76F or 24C.

It is considered to be a saturated fat containing a high concentration of medium chain fatty acids such as lauric acid, caprylic acid & capric acid which have been linked to many health benefits ranging from weight loss & increased brain function when ingested to an all purpose skin care ally by providing a barrier protecting the skin from irritants when used topically.

Rich is vitamins, minerals & antioxidants helping to fight against free radical damage & oxidative stress.

Contains inflammation modulating properties that can help address redness, warmth & swelling of the skin. It has also been used as a treatment for cold sores.

Natural SPF of approximately 4-5.

That’s enough about our ingredients, let’s start to put this together.

The process is going to be the exact same for each formulation in this 20g batch. 20 grams will give us 4 tubes of finished product.

The first optional ingredient is Vitamin E MT-50 which I talked about in the Cold Processed Whipped Shea Butter formulation post.

The second optional ingredient is lip balm flavor. You can find lip balm flavor at windypointsoap.com or any supplier for soap or cosmetic making. If you are choosing to add a flavor I would either get the refined version of the butter or at the very least make sure any flavor you choose will complement the natural scent of the butter.

For example if using cocoa butter you could use unrefined which still has its light chocolate scent & add a strawberry flavor getting something that might remind you of a chocolate covered strawberry.

On the other hand if you wanted a vanilla lip balm flavor that might not go with the natural chocolate scent.

Formulation 1→ Base formulation

4 g (20%) beeswax

5 g (25%) coconut oil

3 g (15%) butter of your choosing

8 g (40%) liquid oil of your choosing

Formulation 2 → Vitamin E MT-50

4 g (20%) beeswax

5 g (25%) coconut oil

3 g (15%) butter of your choosing

7.6 g (38%) liquid oil of your choosing

0.4 g (2%) Vitamin E MT-50

Formulation 3 → Lip balm flavor

4 g (20%) beeswax

5 g (25%) coconut oil

3 g (15%) butter of your choosing

7.4 g (37%) liquid oil of your choosing

0.6 g (3%) lip balm flavor * SEE NOTE

Formulation 4 → Vitamin E MT-50 & Lip balm flavor

4 g (20%) beeswax

5 g (25%) coconut oil

3 g (15%) cocoa butter

7 g (35%) liquid oil

0.4 g (2%) MT-50

0.6 g (3%) lip balm flavor

Equipment:

Digital scale
Prep cups for measuring ingredients
Heat safe glass pitcher
Stove or hot plate for creating a water bath
Flexible silicone spatula
Dishtowel
Marker & labels

Instructions:

Weigh out all ingredients either in individual prep cups or if using one vessel always make sure to tare your scale between ingredients
Combine beeswax, coconut oil, butter of your choice & liquid oil of your choice in a heat safe pitcher
Place in a simmering not boiling water bath on the stove
Allow everything to melt together while stirring occasionally
Add the optional ingredients if using & stir to combine
Remove the pitcher from the water bath & set on a dishtowel carefully drying the sides so they don’t drip water into the finished product. Leave the water bath on incase you need to rewarm the liquid
Place a rubber band around the lip balm tubes for easier pouring
Moving quickly, pour the hot liquid into the tubes. It does set up fairly quickly so be sure to put back into the water bath if this happens to let things melt up again
Allow to cool in the refrigerator to combat any graininess that may appear from the butter cooling improperly.

Notes

Be sure to consult with the manufacturer's recommended percentage & alter if necessary. This information can be found on the IFRA compliance document. Lip balm falls under IFRA Category 1 (products applied to the lips) & this document will tell you the maximum level of use in a percentage. Here is an IFRA document for a coffee flavor oil & a wild grape flavor oil from Windypointsoap.com. As you can see they do have very different maximum usage levels with the coffee flavor coming in at a maximum of 14.99% & wild grape coming in at 100%. Always be sure to follow this recommendation regardless of what the formulation might say.
Since this product does not contain any water it does not require a broad spectrum preservative
If using Vitamin E MT-50, this is not a preservative but it will help lengthen the shelf life of the oils
The lip balm should last about a year with proper storage.

Comment down below & let me know how this recipe turned out for you, did you customize it or leave it as it? I’d love to hear about it

Be sure to come back next week & learn how to culture your own milk kefir

Until next time, may you find Peace wherever you are!