I frequently experience dry and chapped lips and often use chapstick as a means of solving the dryness and providing me with moisture and comfort to my lips. Today, I want to share with you a simple tutorial on how to make your own chapstick with 3 completely natural ingredients. They happen to be my favorite: shea butter, coconut oil, and beeswax. These ingredients help moisturize, sooth, heal, and restore dry lips naturally. They grow in creation and team up together for a very effective lip balm! The balance in the ingredients gives it a very moisturizing and non-greasy affect. It blends into your lip in a matter of a few seconds and does not leave a glistening oil appearance. This recipe is so easy, it would make great Christmas stocking stuffers. And the beauty of it is that this simple recipe also makes a fabulous hard lotion bar – perfect for dry and cracked skin. You can easily make a smaller or larger quantity as desired. Any extra can be made into a hard lotion bar by pouring into ice cube trays.
Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons beeswax (about 1 oz)
2 Tablespoons coconut oil
2 Tablespoons shea butter
12 lip balm containers
dropper
Directions:
1. Melt beeswax in a small pan or crockpot over low heat. Add coconut oil and shea butter until all ingredients a melted. Add a few drops essential oil if desired. I did not use any essential oil and it is smells wonderfully like honey!
2. Using a small medicinal dropper, pour the melted liquid into your lip balm containers. Add a few extra drops to the top after filling each container as the ingredients will shrink as they cool.
3. Cool completely to harden. Cover with cap and decorate or label as desired.
Enjoy nice cool and refreshing natural lips!
I purchased all the ingredients, including dropper and lip balm containers from Mountain Rose Herbs.
This video is offered courtesy of Made On Hard Lotion bars, where you can purchase these lovely lip balms already prepared for you!
Lindsay, thank you for this recipe, I just made it and really like it. However, it is a little stiff for me. Is there anything I can add to it to soften it up just a tad??
I use double the amount of coconut oil and it still keep sits shape but it glides much better.
Just made this for everyone on my Christmas list, including the guys! I will definitely be coming back to this time and time again.
Rele cool! But can I find chapstick tubes at hobby stores?
So excited to find this recipe on your website! Being allergic to soy, which is found in most chapsticks, I now have a recipe to do it on my own!
Thank you for sharing!
Before I started making this recipe I watched the mountain rose video of chap stick making. They use a lot less beeswax than this recipe does. He did use sweet almond oil and his ratio was 1 cup of oil to 2 ounces of beeswax. Do you know why he didn’t use as much? Is it because he used a liquid oil instead? I’m wondering if I could use less beeswax next time. Thanks for your time.
The liquid oil would certainly give it a softer texture. Coconut oil gets so firm that the chapstick is a bit stiff. I can see the benefit of decreasing the beeswax as that might be a contributing factor as well.
Liindsay, did you use the beeswax pastilles or filtered beeswax from the Mountain Rose Herbs?
I’m pretty sure it was the pastilles.
I first bought 1 gallon of unrefined virgin coconut oil (cold-pressed) from MRH two years ago for $37+shipping; now it’s $59+shipping (shipping is also more). I’m wondering whether you still find MRH to offer the best price on coconut oil? How does it compare to, say, Tropical Traditions? Thanks!
Hello, I would like to make this recipe but I’m concerned that it will be glossy. I would like to make some for the men in my life so I need it to have a matte finish or close to it. How does this chapstick look once applied? Thanks in advance!
This recipe is definitely not glossy. It’s rather firm and dry.
if i wanted to use this recipe and sell them for what it cost me to make them, maybe a little more for time & effort, could I? thanks in advance
Will the shea butter and coconut oil make it flavored because I was to add my own flavoring so would I have to put those 2 ingredients in? Thank you
I would like to make this and simply store it in a container and apply it using my finger. Would it work that way, simply being poured into a container, like the tubs of lip balm instead of a stick of lip balm?
Probably not. This chapstick gets pretty thick. But you could surely give it a try.
how many chapsticks does this recipe make?
oops! never mind…i see 12
thank you!
Roughly 10 as pictured.
I had the same “grainy” issue (all items purchased from mt rose herbs as well) – I added a little Vit E and the grainy went away and moved to silky smooth.
If you melt down your shea butter first, put it in the fridge and then melt it again with your oils it will be smooth.
I made two batches….one with orange essential oil and one without. The batch with the orange essential oil did not get grainy at all and that’s how I always make it now
Hopefully that will help if anyone else is having trouble with the grainy-ness!
Is there a more economical way to purchase coconut oil in smaller quantities than a gallon?
check out vitacost.com or a local natural food store. but we love coconut oil in our house. we bake everything with it, use it in stir frys, put it on dry irritated skin, use it for massages.
its a wonderful thing to have in the house. plus its packed with lauric acid and is good for you!
I buy my coconut oil at Walmart in the aisle near regular cooking oils. Its 31.5oz for $5.62. I use it in my lotion, lip balm, deodorant and insect repellant.
How long will i be able to store/use this chapstick? Will it “go bad” after a while? Thanks!
It depends when you purchased your oils and what their shelf life is, each oil varies. I typically tag on an extra 3 months since you do not know when the manufacturer got the oils. Also, store your oils in the fridge to prolong their shelf life. They definitely have a shelf life of about a year and I would recommend those you give it to use within that frame as oils do go off.
i made this tonight and they turned out great! Question: how do you clean your glass dropper?
I made this lipbalm, and after a few days it became a bit grainy and when you apply it, it is a bit scratchy to the lips. I am not sure why this happened, I followed the recipe exactly. Any thoughts?
This may be due to the quality of your ingredients. I have not experienced this problem.
I bought the ingredients from Mountain Rose Herbs, so I wouldn’t think that would be the problem. I guess it’s just due to the cold weather. My husband keeps his lipbalm in his pocket where it stays warm, and he hasn’t noticed this issue, whereas the tube I keep in my purse has changed textures.
I really enjoy your website, by the way. Thanks for all of the work you put into it; it is a very helpful tool to those of us trying to live more ‘natural’ and, primarily, more Christ-centered lives.
It’s the shea butter. Melt first, put in the fridge, and then melt again with your other oils. You will no longer have the problem.
How long do you melt it for?
Hi! I have all of the ingredients to make this chapstick. I noticed, however, that the shea butter in your recipes are white. I went to my local whole foods store and they only have yellow shea butter which technically shouldn’t be called “shea butter” because it comes from a different tree. Do you think it will still work the same? It doesn’t smell very good and is neon yellow, so I am worried about how it will effect the look/smell of the chapstick.
Thanks!
-Emma
Actually, raw shea butter is more yellow in color and does have a unique smell. Does your container say raw? The pictures can be hard to come out with the exact color with the flash and all. Raw shea butter is far more effective than the bleached white alternatives in the regular grocery stores.
I went to Earth Fare, which is an all organic store, to get the ingredients. They had a big container of shea butter and you can just scoop out how much you want and then pay by the weight. So, i didn’t see the container. But I am assuming it’s raw… just curious if it was supposed *that* yellow! I looked on some websites to find a cream color shea butter and it says it is “refined”… i am new to the “natural living” thing so I don’t know… but is refined the same as raw?
-Emma
Refined is not raw. Refined shea will be white and not have any smell. If it was yellow, that is pretty much a guarantee that it was raw. Sounds like you got the right thing!
Love this! I made some today. My mom and I are going to give them to our co-workers and stocking suffers for family, a perfect gift. Thanks for posting this!
Thanks, Lindsay! That’s another great post! I think that my friends and family will all be getting homemade lip balm for Christmas this year. Thanks again for the wonderful blog!
Thanks, Lindsay! That’s a another great idea! I think that all of my family members will be getting homemade lip balm this holiday season. Thanks again for your great blog posts!
I’ve been looking for containers to use for this and couldn’t find anything without having to pay high shipping. Today I was at Michael’s craft store and spotted little round bead containers with screw on lids. I think they might work great for lip balm! $5 to $10 depending on how many containers (9-20).
Excellent idea! I hadn’t thought of making this… but my two little dry-lipped angels will LOVE this! (Sounds like a worthy home school project, too!) Thank you!
I always carry my chapstick in my pocket…will this melt?
Lindsay! Thank you so much for your blog! What a blessing
I made this a few days ago sans essential oil and my husband and I love it! <3
Any suggestions for replacing the coconut for those of us allergic to it?
a berry-farmer, beekeeping friend of mine makes a lot of this stuff. She uses sweet almond oil in her lip balm, and says other things will work too. I’m not sure if the proportions are different – the other oils are liquid at room temp – but maybe a little research will answer that? Good luck!
jojoba oil, sweet almond oil, grape seed oil….I would use a lighter oil to contrast the shea butter
You could try grapeseed oil. I use it in my lotion. I buy it at Richard’s Whole foods store. 16oz bottle is $7.49
Oh Thank You ,Thank You, Thank You for this! I am super excited to try this – immediately!!!
I am interested in making this. However I live in Texas and when I made the homemade deodorant I couldn’t keep the coconut oil it from melting.
Will I have the same problem with the chapstick? Thanks so much!
You’ll have to store it somewhere below 76 degrees.
I just happened to read this. I live in TX too and would like to recommend you put this caveat in your post if an item needs to be stored below 76 deg. I did not have any idea. Not only would it affect me, but those I give gifts too. Thanks for this recipe! Just made some this morning.
I am new to making natural products. I just made a recipe similar to this…I substituted some oils. I live in south Louisiana. I work outside in the heat (even driving hot machinery) I keep my lip balm in my pocket and it does not melt. Below is the exact amounts I used.
4 tsp Beeswax (I use Natural Pastilles)
4 tsp Jojoba Oil (This is a great oil for lips)
3 tsp Sweet Almond Oil
Follow the same instructions as above. This feels great on my lips. It really improved my lips which had some serious damage to them.
Hope this helps.
Also for everyone, I bought my lips gloss tubes and a filling tray at http://www.elementsbathandbody.com
It allows you to fill up to 50 lip gloss tubes at one time by pouring your product into the tray. It costs about $14 for the tray and the lip tubes were $0.25 per piece.
My lip balm does not melt in the Florida heat. I use
6TBS coconut oil
2TBS Jojoba oil
1oz beeswax
a few drops of vitamin E oil.
Oh how cool I’ve been trying to make my own lip balm. I made a bunch but it came out more like lip gloss. A little on the greasy side! Works great for me and my girls when we want glissening lips but mostly I just want a good balm. I can’t wait to try this! Thanks so much for sharing. I do have a deodorant with similar ingredients that works better then ANY deodorant I have ever tried. My recipe for that is at
http://simplehealthytasty.blogspot.com/2010/08/its-no-secret-you-can-make-your-own.html
I think I will for sure put some essential oils in the lip balm when I make it! Thanks again for sharing!
I made this last night. Our health food store was out of shea butter so I used cacoa butter isntead. It turned out great. The beeswaz pellets and cacoa butter cost $10 total, and I used maybe an 8th of it to fill 5 lip balm containers. I think I am going to order the chapstick ones too and use them for Christmas gifts. I added 1 tsp honey to the mix nd did each container a different scent, peppermint, peppermint tea tree oil, orange, lavendar and one was just honey with no eeo. Love them!
My friend made me some homemade chapstick last year and we call it “Better than Burts!” It’s so great taking everyday items and learning how to make them yourself.
We at Sustainable Food for Thought are hosting a Portland Hand Crafted Food Swap in which items like homemade chapstick would be the perfect bartering currency. Check it out at http://sustainablefoodforthought.blogspot.com/2010/11/december-hand-crafted-food-swap-at.html
~Emily
Awesome! Thanks for sharing this!!
My wonderful husband already told me to set aside money from our tax return to build up our natural medicine stash … as well as getting the things I need to make homemade hard lotion, lip balm, deodorants, and toothpastes. I can’t WAIT to make this stuff!!!
Thanks for this. It has been one of my goals to start making my own products. This really helps!
I have a question: At the end of the post it says that the ingredients were purchased from Mountain Rose Herbs and at the end of the video it says they are from Oils By Nature. Which is the “better” company to purchase them from and why? I am new to this and don’t know anything about either company. I would really appreciate your input! I would love you make this!
Thank you!
Sorry…that was the tutorial by Hands On Lotion and she purchases her ingredients from Oils By Nature. I personally use Mountain Rose Herbs because they are local to me and I have always been satisfied with the high quality products that they sell. They also deliver in less than a week, so it is really quick!
Lindsay, have you used any other sort of EO or other? We are avid Burt’s Bees wearers, my husband and I, but the kids run from it. I am wondering what more kid-friendly options there might be. Of course, the EO could just be left out all together, right? Would that change the ratios of the liquids and mess up the whole kit-and-kaboodle?
No, I didn’t use essential oil and it turned out beautifully! It smells wonderful.
Thank you for the idea! I use chapstick (the healthy kind) a lot, and have always wanted to make my own!
Do you know if this recipe gets firm enough to put in lip balm tins instead of tubes?
Yes!
I love this. I’m making a bunch of other homemade gifts this year and these will go nicely. Where can I get the lip balm bottles and shea butter?
Mountain Rose Herbs sells all the ingredients and lip balm containers. That is my recommendation.
Oh thank you! I have been looking for ways to get rid of my petroleum based products! I can’t live without chapstick though. Do you know where I can go to get these supplies?
I provided a link in the post to Mountain Rose Herbs – which is my recommended source for all the supplies.
I love this combination of ingredients. I use this combo for my lotion- you just melt the ingredients, put it in a muffin tin to harden and in an hour or so you have a lotion bar to rub on your body. Also, my husband has found it to be a great hair wax! Very versatile. I love simplifying things.
A few months ago, the container for my favorite tinted lip gloss broke, and I salvaged the gloss by melting a bit of it with some coconut oil and beeswax. It has become my new favorite! And I’m looking forward to making more tinted balm soon by adding some shavings of a favorite lipstick (that melted in the sun), so I’ll have to try adding some shea butter this time around. Thanks for sharing your recipe!
You can naturally color your lip balm by adding in some dried beet root powder (also available from Mountain Rose Herbs), too, instead of adding in lipstick.
Blessings,
Michele
That is exactly what I have been trying to do! I used fresh beet roots and they did not work. I wish I hadn’t just placed my order a couple weeks ago.
Oh well, I’ll color my chapstick some other time. Or maybe I’ll dry my beets and try making them into powder myself. Thanks for sharing that tip!!
You can use beet root powder to give them tint…I have tried beet juice before and it does not mix.
I’ve tried using the beet powder to color my lip balm but the powder did not dissolve, so it looks colored in the tube but doesn’t appear colored on the lips. Any suggestions would be appreciated!
Micas, you barely need a pinch.
Thank you!! I was planning to make lotion and chapstick for the women in my family as Christmas presents – and now I have a great recipe!
I need to try this. I wanted to let you know about pepperment oil though. I know a lady who makes natural body/face things and she said that the reason pepperment oil is in so many things that you buy is because A. It smells nice B. It drys out your lips and you keep having to use more! She recomends using another type of oil. I just wanted to share that with you. Have a blessed day!
Good to know. Thanks for sharing!
This comes in perfect timing. I have saved a ton of little jars from sample sized toiletries and plan on making lip balm tonight. Stopping after work to get the ingredients.
You are always inspiring me! Thanks for this. I need to make this and your natural deodorant.
I was wondering if there is a substitute for shea butter since my daughter is tree nut allergic.
Thanks
Linda
I used Coconut oil, and hemp oil. The hemp is beautifully smooth on the lips. Gave the chapstick a funky green color.
I also added chocolate Stevia for a hint of sweetness.
As long as you have the wax, you can pretty much include any oil into it… Including vegetable, canola, and olive oil.
What about cocoa butter or mango butter?