Homemade lip balm is a quick and easy project for all ages and makes a great stocking stuffer, too! This fun recipe uses chocolate chips and peppermint essential oil for added flavor and scent.
Ingredients
- 2½ T. sunflower or olive oil
- 1/2 T. castor oil
- 1 T. beeswax
- 4 to 5 chocolate chips (see note below)
- 20 to 25 drops peppermint essential oil
Preparation
Place sunflower oil, castor oil, chocolate chips and beeswax in a small heat proof container. For easiest cleanup, recycle an empty soup can for this purpose.
Set the can down into a saucepan containing a few inches of water to form a makeshift double boiler. Heat over a medium-low burner, until the beeswax and chocolate are melted.
Stir until smooth. Add the peppermint essential oil, and stir again.
Pour into lip balm tubes and allow to cool before capping and adding labels. This recipe makes enough to fill six or seven tubes.
Notes and Tips
- You can use most any kind of chocolate chips for this recipe. This batch contains fifteen mini chips. If using full-sized chocolate chips, try four or five. For a sugar-free option, break off a small corner of a bar of unsweetened baking chocolate instead.
- This lip-balm recipe can be doubled or tripled as desired. If you’d like a softer lip balm, remelt and add more oil. For a firmer lip balm, remelt and add more beeswax. Shelf life should be several months, depending on the quality and age of the ingredients used.
Castor oil adds a wonderful shine and smooth feel to lip balm along with extra staying power and protection from the elements. Although I consider it essential for making a good lip balm, in a pinch, you can omit it and use more sunflower oil in its place.
- If pouring into tins instead of lip balm tubes, decrease the beeswax or add more oil, for a softer consistency.
- You can create customized lip-balm labels using PicMonkey, a free online photo and design program. I offer a full tutorial for making them on my website, but you can also print these free labels I’ve already created for you.
- When printing labels, use heavy-duty waterproof paper for best results. Regular sticker paper tends to peel off of slick plastic tubes.
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| About Jan Berry Jan is a goat-chasing, soap-making, homeschooling farm wife who loves vintage tea cups, word games and turning weeds into beautiful things. She joins the Craft Hub each month with DIY body care recipes and projects. She can also be found at her blog, The Nerdy Farm Wife. |
