Homemade lip balm is a fabulous DIY gift that can be made it minutes! These little tins of lip balm fit easily in your pocket and will help keep your lips super soft during the cold winter months or days at the beach.
I’m such a fan of essential oils and all the benefits from using them in projects like this one. Find out more about buying your essential oils at a wholesale price right here. I’ve been selling them for a couple years now…read why and get a free essential oil guide.
I love the way these turned out. I always knew making lip balm would be easy, but I didn’t know it was THIS easy. I don’t think I’ll ever go without homemade lip balm again!
I made two different types of lip balm…Sweet Lemon and Orange Kiss.
Homemade Lip Balm
Supplies (w/ links to buy on Amazon):
- 2 tablespoons beeswax pellets
- 2 tablespoons pure shea butter
- 4 tablespoons sweet almond oil
- 10-12 drops of orange or lemon essential oils
- Free printable labels {download at the end of the post}
- Amazing little lip balm tins {.5 ounce}
This should make about 8 little tins of lip balm. If you use the links you’ll see exactly the product I used to make mine.
Here’s just how easy it really is…
- Melt your beeswax, almond oil and shea butter together in a glass container in the microwave. Check it every 30 seconds or so and stir.
- Add your essential oils and any extra colorant {like lipstick shavings}.
- Pour it slowly into your tins and let them cool.
It starts to harden quickly so work fast once you’ve melted your mixture.
This is what it looks like in about 10 minutes.
For the last batch I shaved a little lipstick into the mixture for color. It hardly changed it so maybe I should have added more. It seems like a great way to use the last of a pretty shade of lipstick…just use more than you would think. It dries so much lighter.
You can see a slightly different shade in some of these. I made all of them in about 30 minutes…three batches!
I’ve included a simple set of little homemade lip balm printable labels to top of your tins. There are three designs …Orange Kiss, Sweet Lemon and one you can write on.
They can be printed on a single sticker sheet and cut out by hand or with a circle punch.
Download the printable labels here!
Lip Balm Stickers (PDF – for printing on 1.25″ Circle Labels)
Lip Balm Stickers – with circles (PDF – for printing on full sheet labels and cutting out circles)
Have you made lip balm before?? I’d love to hear what kind of essential oils you used!
If you’re looking for a quick DIY gift…this is it! You can even make little sets of them…wouldn’t that be cute?!
I’m all about handmade gifts! These are some of my favorites…
Lush Blush Lip Gloss Tutorial
- Homemade Bath Salt {DIY Gift}
- DIY Lavender Sachets
- Hand Stamped Jewelry Tutorial
- 101 Easy Handmade Gifts
- 101 Handmade Gifts for Men
Handmade gift rock!
~Kim
Where do you purchase the little tins? Thanks! š
Hi Jill!
They are perfect, aren’t they?! I love them!
You can find the exact tins by clicking on the link where the supplies are listed. I ended up using a whole box of tins because it was so fast and easy. I need to order more for myself before the holidays. Have fun with it!
~Kim
Thank you Kim for sharing. I made Lip balm at the mother earth fair and was amazed how easy it was as well, we made it with olive oil instead of the almond oil because my friend has a nut allergy and i think peppermint essential oil. Your flavors sound great, I think I will try those. Thought to use coconut oil next time
Thanks again for another great gift idea (and of course some for me too)!
I was curious if you figured out what the cost per lip balm was?
Hi Heather!
No, I didn’t think to figure it out. š
~Kim
I am beyond excited to try these! I ordered a number of different essential oils such as basil, grapefruit, peppermint, ginger as well as a few others. Can’t wait!
Oh, grapefruit…great idea!
You are going to love how easy it is to make these! š
~Kim
nice very goood
Just wondering if you really have to use sweet almond oil.. if just regular almond oil would work fine?
I would like to make some of theses in Vanilla! I checked the Amazon site for the tins and they are all out and not sure if/or when they would be available. I’ll check at a craft store tomorrow!
Love your posts!
I’m in Australia and there is a shop Kandlekaz that sells these little tins!
Is there an alternative to almond oil? I have a nut allergy.
Thank you!
I have not tried this recipe yet but there are many similar ones online. You can substitute many natural oils for the almond oil. I often use Coconut oil, reducing the beeswax by just a little. You might also try jojoba oil, castor oil or even a nice, pure olive oil. Almond oil is the consistency of olive oil or vegetable oil (don’t use veggie oil though). If you use something semi-solid, like coconut oil, you will need less beeswax to keep the finished product solid when in warmer temps or when the tin is in a pocket.
Thanks so much! š
~Kim
Hi Carry! I’ve been out of town but it looks like Shelly was able to answer your question. She had some awesome tips!
~Kim
I am new to all of the homemade things. Can I use orange extract for these? I ask because I already have that on hand. Thanks for the great idea :).
Hello
I don’t have a microwave, because I don’t use it.
Is there an alternative way to melt beeswax, almond oil and shea butter together?
I look forward to your help.
Thanks and greetings from Belgium
Vera
I’d try a double boiler.
Yes actually using a double boiler is the commonly recommended way to melt oil and beeswax together when making many DIY beauty or health products. A microwave isnt the best idea. You can make one by placing a glass bowl over a small pot with about an inch of simmering water in the pot. Make sure the water doesnt touch the bowl.
Such a great gift and fun to make. I’d like to make them in vanilla or a fruity flavor. Thanks for the tutorial.
Hi Kim!
I tried your recipe and it’s true, it’s so easy to make!
But I have some questions: I put 15 drops of grapefruit essential oil and it turned out that it still smell like beeswax… Also, I use food coloring and it did’nt mix with the rest of the ingrédients, it stayed in the bottom of my bol.
Can you help me to figure it out what happen? š Oh, I changed the almond oil for coconut oil because this was what I had at home. Otherwise, I did’nt change anything to your recipe.
Thanks
Cat
Hi Cat!
I’m so happy your tried it!
Here’s some tips…
I don’t think you can use food coloring to color your lip balm. I used shaved lipstick to give the lip balm some color.
The lip balm will dry a much lighter color, so go darker pink or red to get the look you want.
I would just add more grapefruit essential oil to get the right smell. Some people only want a hint, so you’ll have to test it to get it the way you like it.
Have fun!!! š
~Kim
Thank you for your answer! I will try it again with your tips. š
After the balm has set, you may find the scent of the essential oil becomes stronger. I did peppermint orange and I could b early smell either until after the balm had completely set and rested.
Because food coloring is water based, you would need an emulsifier to incorporate it into the oils.
You really will have a hard time if you try to use regular food coloring. That’s why I used some shaved pieces of lipstick for color…I’m sure you have a few of those around. š
~Kim
Hi, using lipstick to add colour is a good idea as the ingredients will be skin safe BUT only use an unused lipstick, otherwise you will be adding bacteria along with colour.
Liquid food coloring didn’t work for me when making lotion bars. It pooled and then “bled” out. Yuck. 😝 I like the lipstick idea but I’d use a fresh tube if sharing with others. Great post!
Is there a printable version for this lip balm?
Can u use fragrance oil instead of essential oil? I’m new to making this and not sure what’s the difference.
I know this is a late answer, but it might help someone else, or maybe still help you! A fragrance oil must be certified as lip safe, regular fo’s may cause irritation or worse. Also, not every essential oil is safe to use on lips. There are a number of on line businesses that sell lip safe flavoring oils, as well as free information regarding lip-safe essential oils and sweeteners. Finally, extracts won’t work because they are water or alcohol based and therefore don’t mix with oils or waxes.
Hi can i replace the beeswax with Carnauba Wax? Thanks!
I used a mint essential oil and it worked fantastic, I also added half the amount of sweet almond oil so I could add the other half in coconut oil and they smell amazing! This recipe was perfect!
Sounds wonderful! Thanks so much for sharing your results! I love mint!
~Kim
Hi Kim,
I’m trying to download the pdf files for the lip balm labels (with circles) to make with my young girls group. The file is failing at each download attempt — would you email the file to me?
I’ve got 30 fourth and fifth grade girls really excited to try their hand at making lip balm!
~Rachelle
Yay…I’m glad it printed out pretty for them! š
~Kim
I’ve seen some good prices on raw shea butter, would it affect the recipe at all if I used that instead of the shea butter you used?
Excited to try this recipe.
If I want my lip balm to smell like a particular flavor like orange or lemon, can I exclude the almond oil and just use the orange or lemon oil? I guess I thought the almond in addition to the other scent, wouldn’t give the balm the true fruity smell.
Terry, you couldn’t because essential oil is very different from a carrier oil like sweet almond. The sweet almond doesn’t have a scent though.
Keep in mind, essential oils like lemon, and grapefruit are photo toxic meaning they can make it much more easy to sunburn, so they might not be the best oils for lip balm. Orange is ok, as is mint, spearmint, lavender and the like. It is best to research essential oils before using them, as some can be toxic (wintergreen, camphor) or cause irritation (clove, oregano) so you definitely would not want to use those.
Thank you, Thank you Kim for your post. The info on the Lip Balm and your printables help save my daughters spa party. She soooooo wanted to make assorted lip balms for all her guests. Were all set she is gonna flip YAYYYYYY.
Thanks,
Blessings your way.
Great recipe! I used peppermint oil in mine and it turned out beautifully!
Hi Terry!
I was thinking about using Peppermint for some holiday gifts…thanks for letting me know it worked for you!
~Kim
Hi Kim! I hope you see this as I know this thread hasnt been posted on in a little while. I am having a bit of a dilemma! I Cannot for the life of me find sweet almond oil or any almond oil for that matter! š ive looked at Michaels, AC Moore, Joanns… those kind of craft stores and none of them have it. do you know if there is a substitute for the almond oil? Would almond extract work? im pretty new at this DIY projects, so please bare with me š Thank you for your help! look forward to your reply! š HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
-Erin M.
baltimore, maryland
I read above (which would have been smart) and see that almond extract wont work. I actually did some research and found a VitaminShoppe by me that has this types of oils. Going to check it out soon today and hope they have an orange and lemon- I am sure they will š I am also making a Lavander Vanilla salt scrub too and it calls for Lavander oil. Thanx for the awesome receipes! So excited to make a batch! š
I found Sweet Almond oil by “Crafty Bubbles” brand at Hobby Lobby. (2018). Not sure how old this post is. It was $ 6.99 for 8 ounce. I also found it in Amazon for about the same price. I also found Jojoba Oil at Hobby
Lobby but much more expensive. 4 ounce for $ 9.99. I’m still looking for suitable oils that will work.
Wondering about LorAnn since it is investable. I believe lemon and some of the other fruits are true oils. Not sure
I’m excited to try these tonight! Thank you so much for giving us the little tags! I struggle with making those up š
Has anyone tried to add honey? I have seen many recipes where it is added. I tried it today and it separated to the bottom. I am wondering what I am doing wrong.
Can’t wait to try Orange Kiss! Thanks for sharing, Kim!
Hi Lana!
I hope you love it! Making these makes the whole house smell great. Have fun!
~Kim
Thank you for sharing it Kim. I’m forwarding it to my sister as this seems like a perfect sisterly thing to do š
Hi Rosa,
Ha…then she can share with you! Very smart! š
~Kim
can this recipe be used in tubes instead of containers or tins?
I’ve never tried it in tubes. I don’t see why not…let me know how it goes! š
~Kim
When making lotion bars can you use dry oil that say they are body oil?
Pinky
Can you please make a sheet of printable labels that are all blank? I want to try your recipe using different essential oils. I don’t own a printer, and will have to pay to get them printed, and would rather not have most of the labels useless to me. I would appreciate it so much!!! Thanks!
any ideas on how to add spf? Could you just add some sunscreen?
I make lots of lip balms mostly with lavender essential oil, once with cinammon. All great!
Jenny! Thanks for the idea about Lavender! I’ll be trying that soon!
~Kim
These sound like great flavors, but I wonder about the photosensitive nature of the citrus oils. Have you had any problems with it?
How many tins does one recipe make?
Could you replace the shea butter with cocoa butter?
How many does he one batch make? I need to make 6 orange kiss and 6 Sweet lemon
I just made these and did the math for cost per tin. I got all organic ingredients and as local as possible. Adds up to $1.57 per tin š
Using more orange oil next time and it doesn’t come through much even after set.
Thanks!! This was so easy.
Good tip! I´ll make it to sell.
I am new with this. I am wondering what the difference is with beeswax, beeswax pellets and Emulsifying Wax.
My question is: can you use Emulsifying Wax in instead of using beeswax.
Thanks.
I would like to try this, but I don’t have a microwave. Is there another way to melt the ingredients?
All I have on hand is soy wax shavings, no beeswax. Can I use that instead? If so, how much? I also have a favor to ask… could you find diy recipes for Burts bees hand salve? Thank you.
looking good
nice post
I really loved those homemade lip balm article. Thanks for this great recipe!
Cute, love the way these look! How do you attach the labels professionally? I considered modge podge but wasn’t sure if that would just make it tacky?
Nevermind I realized you made stickers, I’m an idiot!