To continue the theme of creating your own natural lip care products, here’s a recipe for making herbal lip balm at home. While I adore my homemade lipstick and tinted lip balm, there are times when I simply crave something soothing for dry lips. Exposure to the elements like wind or snow can leave my lips chapped, and during those times, I prefer avoiding color or gloss.
This recipe is perfect for anyone—men or children—since it doesn’t have a strong color or scent. The natural lip balm uses an optional herbal infusion to nourish, heal, and protect lips. You can skip these for an unscented version that still hydrates effectively. Adding essential oils can enhance both healing properties and fragrance if desired.
I appreciate that this herbal lip balm lasts quite some time because a little goes a long way. Organic lip balm is also fantastic for small gifts or stocking stuffers.
Lip Balm With Herbs
The herbal ingredients in this balm are naturally moisturizing, with antibacterial and anti-fungal properties. Some users have found it helpful for speeding up the healing of cold sores. Unlike most commercial lip products, it’s free from petroleum or synthetic ingredients, ensuring a safe application for you and the kids.
For this balm, I’ve included herbs like echinacea, comfrey, plantain leaf, calendula, among others. Chamomile and lemon balm also make great additions, particularly since lemon balm is known to assist with cold sores.
Other Nourishing Ingredients
The base of this lip balm is a liquid oil thickened with organic beeswax. Seed oils such as almond, apricot, and avocado work well, though apricot and avocado oils are thicker and require dilution with lighter oils like olive, sweet almond, or coconut oil.
You can substitute part of the beeswax with shea butter or cocoa butter. Shea butter is softer than beeswax, so you might need to reduce the liquid oil slightly to balance the texture.
Scenting Your Herbal Lip Balm
Typically, I leave this balm unscented, but you can add essential oils for fragrance if preferred. Sweet orange, lavender, and frankincense are lovely options. Peppermint is also a consideration. Alternatively, create a chai version using cinnamon leaf (not bark) and cardamom essential oils. Avoid phototoxic essential oils like bergamot and lime.
How to Infuse the Oil
Infusing herbs into the carrier oil can be done using several methods. For a longer process, combine herbs and oil in a glass jar, allowing it to infuse for 2-4 weeks, shaking occasionally. For a quicker method, place herbs and oil in a double boiler over low heat for 1-3 hours until the oil deepens to a green hue.
Once infused, strain the herbs by pouring the mixture through a cheesecloth. Let the oil drip, then squeeze the herbs to extract all the remaining oil. Compost the used herbs after extraction.
Store the final balm in a tin or lip balm tube for easy use.
Healing Herbal Lip Balm
This nurturing lip salve is enriched with herbs to heal and soothe chapped lips, suitable for all ages and even men!
Prep Time: 3 hrs
Active Time: 10 mins
Yield: 4 ounces
Author: Katie Wells
Instructions:
- Infuse the herbs into the liquid oil as detailed above.
- Heat 1/4 cup of the infused oil with beeswax in a double boiler until melted and blended. Reserve excess oil for wounds, cuts, or another batch.
- Once off the heat, incorporate essential oil and vitamin E oil if using.
- Pour into small containers, tins, or lip balm tubes for applications on dry, chapped lips.
Notes:
- Keep in a cool, dry place and apply with clean hands.
- Properly stored, it will last about 6 months, and a bit longer with vitamin E oil.
Another easy DIY favorite is my Mint Chocolate Lip Scrub.
Do your lips ever get chapped? Have you ever infused oil? Share your experiences below!
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