Let's Talk Lip Balm

April 14, 2011

Last weekend this homemade lip balm post was stumbled upon.

My resident technical director tried to explain what happened and I kind of understand (I have a hard time processing what I can't put my hands on). But what I do understand is this - that lip balm post, written over 2 years ago, generated some serious traffic on the blog this week.

My lip "balmed" lips. Up close and personal.

The high point was Sunday with nearly 4,000 visits to the blog. Of course, things have let up a bit and traffic has steadily dropped since then but I am still well above my average for daily visitors. If you are one of these new visitors WELCOME!

The irony is that I am too busy right now with moving to make lip balm! The good thing is I make large batches that last a long time. So currently we're using up dibs and dabs from months long past until after we move and I'm able to make another batch.

Things you might like to know about my lip balm recipe:

I designed this recipe by tweaking others. Feel free to do the same to mine. In fact, I encourage you to.
Feel free to share my recipe, but if you do so on a blog or website please link back here. You may use my photos also, just provide a link back here. Contact me if you have any questions about that.
In my experience the essential oil does not mix well with the other ingredients. You must keep stirring the mixture while pouring. Kind of tricky. For this reason I don't recommend making a smaller batch than the recipe I've shared. At those quantities it gets really hard to measure and mix.
My recipe ~~produces approximately 6 - 1 oz tins~~. The most recent batch, with my usual recipe produced 2.3 oz total. (What's up with that?) So, let's take the average: you can expect around 3 oz of lip balm from this recipe.
My friend Spring has used this recipe as inspiration to make her own lip balm in a couple different flavors. Both as Christmas gifts (great stocking stuffers) and as a fundraiser for adoption costs. I love empowering people to reach their goals (homemade gift giving, diy thriftiness, earning extra income) and add beauty to their everyday with something as simple as a lip balm recipe.
My husband took this lip balm with him during a weeklong backpacking trip through the Teton Mountains last fall. Where, quite literally, the sun shone all day, everyday. This lip balm did not protect his lips from the sun (ie: they got burned) but it was still moisturizing. My next big experiment will be to make a sun blocking variety for outdoorsy types.
When I tuck my kids in at night it's usually after I've had a shower, brushed my teeth and applied lip balm. My youngest likes a good smooch to get all that yummy goodness on her lips before falling asleep.

Questions you've asked about my lip balm:

What is hard honey? We eat raw, unpasteurized Maine honey. It's not liquid. If you are using liquid honey I recommend less or your recipe might be too runny. Your own local honey and beeswax will give it a unique color and flavor.
Where do you buy the supplies? I buy all my supplies at our local health food store or grocery store. Here are a few places you buy lip balm supplies online: Voyageur Soap and Candle, New Directions Aromatics, Elements Bath & Body, Mountain Rose Herbs, eBee Honey.
Will the lip balm melt if left in your car on a warm day or in your pocket? If it gets warm enough, yes. Keep upright and be careful when opening on a hot day.
Is Vitamin E the same as Vitamin E oil? Yes.
Can you use other essential oils? Yes, but some essential oils are irritating to the skin, especially for sensitive skinned folks. I'd be careful with cinnamon and orange for example.
Will it work in a tube? Absolutely. See supply notes above for where to buy tubes in bulk.
Does it go bad? Hasn't happened yet. I make large batches and they keep for months, sometimes years later I'll find a tin half used and still good. If you are concerned, keep unused tubes/tins in the fridge till you are ready to give or use them.

Seriously, if you've never made lip balm before you really should try, at least once. It's super easy and inexpensive (per unit). It makes great gifts and is appreciated by a lot of people.

Do you have any questions or experience with making lip balm? I would love to hear it.

And if you are new here, again, Welcome. I don't usually post so many close up photos of my lips. I hope you'll decide to stick around a bit. And if you're here just for how-to body care tutorials be sure to check out my Homemade Soap, Body Care & Herbal Remedies resource page.