Hello friends! I’m excited to say that I have Bethany from Stella Kenton Body Shop taking over the blog today for a fun DIY guest post. Bethany is one of the best when it comes to handmade, vegan, all-natural bath and beauty products-so she’s the perfect person to teach us how to make our own lip balm. I hope you enjoy.
Hey y’all, I’m so excited to do this guest post on Angie’s blog! As some of you may know I own Stella Kenton Body Shop and I make lotions, lip balms, body oils and much more. Today I’ll be showing you how to make one of my favorite lip balms, Orange Cocoa.
What you’ll need for DIY Lip Balm:
2 TB Beeswax or 1 TB Vegan Wax
3 TB Raw Unrefined Cocoa Butter (or 2 TB Raw Unrefined Cocoa Butter and 1 TB Shea Butter)
2 TB Moisturizing Oil (Sweet Almond, Coconut, Apricot, Grapeseed, Olive Oil)
Essential Oils
Pyrex type of measuring cup
Shallow Pot for the stove
Container of your choice (this can be an old lip balm tin or tube, an empty mint container, old makeup tins/pots, anything that can handle a little bit of heat)
**Quick Note** 2 TB equals 1 ounce. This recipe can easily be cut in half or doubled to fit your containers.
How to Make DIY Lip Balm
First, fill the pot halfway with water and make sure your measuring cup can fit safely in the pot with the handle on the outside edge. It’s okay if the measuring cup handle sits over or in the water, but be aware that it is going to get very hot. Turn the stove onto low-heat.
Next, measure out 2 TB of Beeswax or 1 TB Vegan Wax (when using vegan wax, cut the amount in half) and pour it into the Pyrex that should now be fairly warm. After adding the wax, measure out your Cocoa Butter and/or Shea Butter and add it to the wax. I’m using a raw Unrefined Organic Cocoa Butter, the unrefined butter is going to give this balm a delicious cocoa scent and flavor. Refined butters do not have the cocoa scent.
Turn the heat up very slightly and let the wax and butter mixture melt. This should take 7-10 minutes depending on the heat. While waiting for it to melt, get your containers lined up and ready.
Once it’s melted add your moisturizing oil and stir with a butter knife. I’m using Sweet Almond Oil, but the others listed above all work great!
Next, depending on how strong you like it, add 35-50 drops of an Essential Oil of your choice. I’m using Orange Essential Oil (45 drops), but Grapefruit, Peppermint, Lemon and Lavender all smell amazing with the cocoa butter. You can even use raw honey!
Give the mixture a quick stir and take the Pyrex out of the water. You’re going to want to use a towel or potholder, the handle will be hot. Now pour very slowly into your desired containers. The balm mixture rapidly cools once it’s moved away from the heat, so you may need to put it back in the warm water if it starts to harden or pour extra slowly.
The balm will take 20-25 minutes to completely cool and harden before you can use it.
This recipe can easily be tweaked to your specific preferences. If you aren’t a fan of the Cocoa Butter smell, use Refined Shea Butter. It’ll come out just the same and there are tons of flavor options you can use.
I’ll be coming back and forth to check for any questions you may have in the comments.
Happy balm making!
Read more from Bethany by checking out these posts:
Planning for a Fall Heirloom Garden
On to the Next Step!
See ya in space, my friend…
Follow Bethany here:
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Bethany is giving one lucky winner a 2 ounce Sweet Grapefruit Body Scrub and an Orange Vanilla Hand & Cuticle Stick! Giveaway ends on 11/3/15 and is open to USA only. Entering below agrees to all T&C in the Rafflecopter.