One sure sign that winter is here is the annual arrival of dry, peeling winter lips. The cold temperatures and harsh weather conditions can wreak havoc on our exposed skin and many of us reach for a soothing lip balm to soften, calm and protect our chapped and sore lips.
Before you slather on another layer of commercially produced lip balm, do you really know what you’re putting on your lips? Unfortunately, there can be ingredients hiding in store-bought lip products that won’t help to heal or protect your winter lips, and can even make them worse. If that innocent-looking tube is hiding ingredients like artificial colours and fragrances, alcohol and salicylic acid, it may be causing irritation and drying and actually making your chapped lips look and feel worse. Who wants to put harsh chemicals on their lips when all they really need is a gentle moisturizer?
One solution is to make your own lip balm. It takes less than ten minutes and you’ll never have to wonder if there are any unwanted ingredients in your custom blended lip balm. It’s so easy to do, you might soon find yourself making batches for your friends and family too.
You will need: Ingredients
Coconut Oil-1 Tablespoon
Beeswax-1 Tablespoon
Apricot oil or Sweet Almond oil or Hemp oil-1.5 teaspoon
Optional: essential oil of your choice (orange, vanilla and peppermint are all popular for lip balms)-10 drops
Coconut oil is available in most grocery stores. The other ingredients can often be purchased at soap-making supply stores, craft stores or stores that specialize in body-product ingredients and essential oils. They can also be purchased online.
Other Materials
Small empty jar or tin with lid or lip balm tubes (purchase online if you don’t have a local source or wash and reuse old containers)
Small double boiler or small cooking pot and a small heat-proof bowl (check that the bowl can fit over the pot so that it can be suspended above the steaming hot water).
Spoon
Pour a small amount of water into the cooking pot. approximately 1-2 inches deep. Place the coconut oil and the beeswax into the heat-proof bowl and place the bowl over the cooking pot so that the bowl is suspended above the water. Place on medium-high heat on stovetop, stir coconut oil and beeswax until fully melted. Remove from heat. Add liquid oil (apricot, sweet almond or hemp) and essential oil. Stir to mix. Carefully pour into tubes or pots and let sit for an hour or so to cool and solidify.
Lip balm is cheap and easy to make. Enjoy your homemade, all-natural lip balm all winter long.