Homemade lip balms are relatively easy to make. And this recipe, featuring calendula-infused oil, is sure to take your product to a whole new level!
In essence, a lip balm is very similar to an herbal salve. You combine a blend of oils combined with beeswax, which solidifies the product. The ratio of oil to beeswax determines the softness or stiffness of the lip balm.
Use the ratio in this recipe to get started. But once you’ve made it a few times and feel comfortable, adjust the blend to fit your personal preference.
What makes this lip balm unique is the use of calendula petals in the oil. Calendula is an emollient herb, meaning that it softens and soothes the skin. Adding these flowers to our recipe will create a balm that will nourish and protect our lips even in the driest and harshest of conditions.
Yields 10 lip balm sticks
What You Need
(to make infused oil)
- •1/4 cup calendula flowers
- 3 1/2 ounces oil of choice
(to make lip balms)
- 2 tablespoons herb-infused oil
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon shea butter
- 1/2 ounces beeswax by weight (1 1/2 tablespoons)
- 5 to 8 drops essential oil of choice (optional)
- double boiler
- lip balm tubes
- process
Read more: These herbal bath and body products bring the herb garden to the tub.
How to Make Homemade Lip Balm
The first step in crafting this balm: making the calendula-infused oil. This can be done by adding the calendula petals to a 4-ounce jar, then filling the jar with the oil of your choice.
Most people use olive oil for a product such as this. But sunflower oil would also work great.
Allow the flowers to infuse in the oil for 4 to 6 weeks before straining them out. This will provide you with enough calendula infused oil to complete this recipe a number of times. Ensure you label the jar before putting it into the cupboard to infuse.
When your oil is ready, combine it, along with the coconut oil, shea butter and beeswax in a double boiler over medium heat until the beeswax has completely melted. Stir the mixture while it warms to ensure the ingredients are well blended.
Once the oils and wax blend well, turn off the heat. At this point, you can add essential oils into the mix to enhance the qualities of the lip balms (optional). Consider using essential oils such as peppermint or vanilla to add flavor and scent to your product.
Carefully pour the mixture into lip balm tubes, tins or similar containers and wait for them to cool. As they cool, they will harden. Once they solidify, you can use your herbal lip balm!
You can find the proper containers for lip balms through online herb product suppliers or sometimes through your local co-op or health food store. But you can also reuse containers form home. This article appeared in Healing Herbs, a 2021 specialty publication produced by the editors and writers of Hobby Farms magazine. Healing Herbs includes herb profiles, projects such as this one, directions for foraging herbs and more. You can purchase this volume, Hobby Farms back issues as well as special editions such asBest of Hobby Farms and Urban Farm by following this link.
