Super Simple Homemade Lip Balm Recipe: 3 Ingredients

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If you are just starting to make homemade body products, this homemade Vanilla Lip Balm recipe is excellent to begin with. It’s super simple, only 3 ingredients that just need to be melted together.

If you are just starting to make homemade body products, this homemade Vanilla Lip Balm recipe is excellent to begin with. It's super simple, only 3 ingredients that just need to be melted together.

To make homemade lip balm, all you need is beeswax, shea butter, and coconut oil. You can also add extra scents and flavors to your lip balm, such as vanilla, if you wish.

Homemade Vanilla Lip Balm Recipe

I love not having chapped lips in the winter, but I don’t like regular lip balm from the store. I know there are a lot of natural choices out there, but they can be expensive and hard to find. Plus they still often contain “natural flavors” and artificial fragrances….whatever those might be.

Some lip balms even contain gluten, so if you are very sensitive like I am, it might help to make homemade.

It turns out that it’s really easy to make your own lip balm that is perfect for adding moisture to dry lips! It only takes a few ingredients with this simple recipe for homemade Lip Balm and you can “flavor” it with any scent you want.

Lip balm is a must-have for those of us that live in a dry place and whose lips need some healing, especially in the winter months..

I love vanilla-scented anything, so I was happy to find a vanilla oil on Amazon. It didn’t mix in as well as I wanted, but it still scented the lip balm.

(Vanilla isn’t truly an essential oil, but it’s much better for you to use in homemade goods than a fragrance oil since the oil is at least made from real vanilla.)

And hey, if you love simple recipes like this, you might also enjoy my book, Little House Living: The Make Your Own Guide to a Frugal, Simple, Self Sufficient Life. It’s filled with over 130 mix and DIY recipes that are easy and from scratch!


Shea Butter Lotion

Ingredients for Homemade Lip Balm

If you want to add some Vitamin E oil or Organic Rosemary Extract to act as a natural preservative, you can do that as well. Just a few drops will do since this is a small recipe.


vanilla extract

Common Questions About Making Lip Balm

Can you use lemon or lime oil in homemade lip balm?

No lemon, lime, and most citrus oils are phototoxic and should not be used on skin. Sweet Orange Oil is the only citrus oil that is not considered to be phototoxic.

Can I use vanilla extract in lip balm?

Most extracts are made with alcohol, which is very drying to the skin. I wouldn’t recommend adding regular vanilla extract to flavor this recipe. Use a safe essential oil or a fragrance oil that is made for the skin.

Can you use mint extract in lip balm?

Same answer as above. The alcohol in an extract isn’t good for your skin. Use Peppermint Oil instead of extract.

How can I make vegan lip balm?

To make vegan lip balm, replace the beeswax with an equal amount of Candelilla wax.


Recipe for Homemade Lip Balm

Tips for Making Homemade Natural Lip Balm

  • If you are looking for a true essential oil to use in this recipe that would have the same notes of vanilla, I would recommend Balsam of Peru Oil. It has a wonderful woody, vanilla-like scent that would be perfect for lip balm.
  • So here’s all you need to make a batch of at least 10-12 lip balms, depending on the size of the containers you have to put them in.
  • Use a small saucepan to make body products like this, not one of your regular cooking saucepans. The beeswax is nearly impossible to clean out, so I just use a pan I picked up at the thrift store. Here are more tips on How to Clean Beeswax.
  • Don’t want to make your own Lip Balm and would rather buy it instead? I love the natural lip balms from Made On!
  • If you don’t have coconut oil or don’t want to use it, use sweet almond oil, avocado oil, or jojoba oil instead.

Extra tip: Want to make gloss instead of balm? Here’s my recipe for Homemade Lip Gloss.


honey

Variations to Homemade Vanilla Lip Balm


HOmemade Lip Balm Tubes

Step by Step Instructions for How to Make Lip Balm

Step One: Melt together the beeswax, shea butter, and coconut oil in a small saucepan over a medium-low heat. You could even do it in the microwave in a microwave-safe or glass bowl if you are pressed for time.

Step Two: Remove from heat. Add in the drops of essential oil depending on how strongly you want it flavored (or you don’t have to add any). I added about 12 drops to mine.

Step Three: Use an eye dropper (or an old clean medicine dispenser will work) while the liquid is still hot and fill your containers. If it starts to cool before you finish just heat it back up to the liquid state. You may want to place your tubes on parchment paper before you add the liquid for easy cleanup.

This batch makes about 10-12 small containers or tubes. I purchase my empty containers on Amazon. (And they are reusable, of course, so they pay for themselves many times over!) I’ve used both the standard lip balm tubes and the little plastic “pots”. Either will work great! You could also get little tins to put them in as well.

Set the tubes/pots aside once they have been filled and let them cool without being disturbed.

vanillalipbalm

Storing Your Homemade Lip Balm

Remember that in warm temperatures, this Vanilla lip balm recipe might melt, so keep it in a cool place or in the fridge if you have to. Enjoy!

Looking for a printable recipe for the DIY lip balm recipe? Get it below!

Homemade Lip Balm Recipe

How to make your own lip balm with just 3 ingredients!

Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Servings 12 lip balms
Creator Merissa

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Step One: Melt together the beeswax, shea butter, and coconut oil.
  2. Step Two: Add in the drops of essential oil depending on how strongly you want it flavored (or you don’t have to add any). I added about 12 drops to mine.
  3. Step Three: Use an eye dropper (or an old clean medicine dispenser will work) while the liquid is still hot and fill your containers. If it starts to cool before you finish just heat it back up to the liquid state. You may want to place your tubes on parchment paper before you add the liquid for easy cleanup.
  4. This batch makes about 10-12 small containers or tubes. I purchase my empty containers on Amazon. (And they are reusable of course so they pay for themselves many times over!) I’ve used both the standard lip balm tubes and the little plastic “pots”. Either will work great!
  5. Set the tubes/pots aside once they have been filled and let them cool without being disturbed.
  6. Remember that in warm temperatures this Vanilla lip balm recipe might melt so keep it in a cool place or in the fridge if you have to. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

Variations to Homemade Vanilla Lip Balm
Add Peppermint Oil instead of the vanilla for a fun minty scent
Skip all of the essential oils for an unscented version (use expeller pressed coconut oil as well)
Add in a bit of honey for an additional moisturizing quality
Add Mango Butter as an alternative to Shea Butter
Add Cocoa Butter instead of Shea Butter for a “chocolate” scented lip balm!

Container of lilac lotion with dried lilacs around it and a wooden background.

More DIY Skincare Project Ideas

Decided that you’d instead not make your lip balm? You can support a small business and still get a wonderful natural handmade lip balm from Made On!


Body Products Ebook

Have you ever made your own recipe for homemade Lip Balm? How did it turn out? What flavors do you like to add?

Me and Kady

Merissa Alink

Merissa has been blogging about and living the simple and frugal life on Little House Living since 2009 and has internationally published 2 books on the topic. You can read about Merissa’s journey from penniless to freedom on the About Page. You can send her a message any time from the Contact Page.

This Homemade Lip Balm blog post was originally posted on Little House Living in 2012. It has been updated as of October 2023.

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120 Comments

  1. Having allergies must be the mother of all invention! 🙂 They sure make finding all sorts of items a pain, and reading labels a new past-time… Cool ideas.

    1. Well, if we all had Pure Organic diets, allergies would mostly be a thing of the past. I’ve never in my entire life, except in the last 10-25 yrs., heard of So Many people getting allergies!!! its because of a lot more artificial substances in our life; via furniture etc etc!!

  2. This sounds good.
    I’ve been getting chapped lips this summer! I think I lick my lips when I’m in the pool or when outside working… sweating, you know?
    So…you get the vanilla essential oils from amazon. I’m guess the little jars too?

    where does one buy beeswax or shea butter? Do you have to buy them online or are these items carried in stores?

    thanks in advance, Pat

    1. You can buy beeswax locally most of the time….if you can find local honey then chances are you can also get bees wax there.

      1. Mountainroseherbs.com sells all kinds of glass containers, herbs, essentials oils, teas. Just basically natural stuff. I use them for herbs and sometimes henna for my hair. I believe they carry lip balm containers.

    2. I found a local place here in silverdale wa called steadman’s I bought 1 1/2 pound block of beeswax and tried 8 different flavors of honey was fun for my kids and I bought some blackberry honey as well. Check michaels for containers as well. I love amazon.

      I have most of my stuff to make things now just have to buy pan at dollar store to melt stuff in and start making gifts.

  3. I am going to have to try this. My teenage daughter is on a lip balm kick! I have never seen anyone with so many lip balms at one time. My question is what do you, or did you put your balm in once you made it? Thank you for posting this. 🙂

  4. This sounds great! It would make lovely gifts, and my girls would enjoy it, too! Thanks for all of your great tips.

  5. Wonderful 🙂 we made some a few years ago,,,guess it’s time again 🙂 have a great & Godly day 🙂 ~eva

  6. Can you tell me what size these little jars are? I’m having alot of trouble finding small CLEAR ones for some reason…are they called “Pots or jars?”

    Thanks!

  7. I have never heard of anyone other than myself and one of my daughters being allergic to sunflower. It’s wonderful to be able to make great natural alternatives to the natural alternatives! 🙂

    Blessings!

    1. I also have a sunflower allergy in addition to celery. Super fun to deal with when nobody believes you. 🙁

      1. Seems like it’s that way for many allergies! For some reason I’ve found that people find the corn and carrot allergies hardest to believe, but I’m not sure why!

  8. I just tried this recipe last night, and love it. The lip balm is truly the best stuff I’ve ever tried. Perfect consistency and moisture level. I used peppermint oil instead of vanilla as the beeswax & shea butter have a fairly strong scent that I wanted to cover up a little. But it was really quick and easy to do. Grating the beeswax was the hardest step…pastilles next time! The recipe is simple and easily adjustable. I’m so glad I found you Merissa – yeah for Pinterest!

      1. It does not infuse as well if you do it during the process but you can infuse it into just the oil over low heat for 3 hours.

  9. Is the shea butter absolutely necessary? Would just beeswax and coconut oil suffice? I have plenty of those two ingredients and was wondering if I could just substitute the shea with extra coconut. Thanks!

    1. You can easily make this without Shea butter, just use more coconut butter. I start with a 4:1 ratio of coconut butter to beeswax (4 T coconut oil to 1 T beeswax). This makes a soft balm, but still firm enough for use in a tube. You can also increase the wax for more firmness and lasting power. The more beeswax, the longer it will last on the lips.
      Also try less, the balm becomes more like a healing salve. I have use 12:1 ratio of cocnut oil to beeswax to make a substitute for vasolene.
      You could also substitute cocoa butter for the Shea butter which increases the smoothness and emollient power. It imparts a wonderful chocolate small, and mixes well with orange essential oil. Just add about the same as the beeswax and gradually crease as desired.

      1. Yeah, I do equal parts coconut oil, cocoa butter, and beeswax for my lip balm. I am extremely chemically sensitive and even a lot of essential oils trigger migraines and other problems for me. But even fragrances that don’t actually make me sick are often overwhelming to me because I keep everything in my home and on my body completely unscented. I find that the cocoa butter’s chocolatey smell is subtle enough not to overwhelm me but yummy enough to feel like I have a decadent-smelling lip balm on. 🙂

  10. I love making my own products as well! I bought that same vanilla oil from amazon and have had so much trouble with it…it all tends to settle in the middle bottom of the lip balm. I have used a few other oils from them and have had no problem. I think maybe I’ll use some pure vanilla extract the next time.

  11. hello! i really really liked your recipe! i bet it tastes so good too 😛
    i have cocoa butter, do you think i could use it instead of shea butter?
    thank you 🙂

    1. I use the cocoa butter and it works great. Plus the chocolate scent in the house with the honey scent from the bees wax is amazing!

  12. You had mentioned using around 12 drops of Vanilla Essential Oil. So in your opinion would you consider the vanilla smell afterwards to be more light, or heavier? I love scented chap sticks but most I find give off very little scent. I’ve read on several sites to “just add the essential oil to your liking” so I guess my 2nd question would be does it smell the same while you are making it as it does once it’s solidifies? Thanks!!!

      1. I too am allergic to cocomotoprophynl betane – made from coconut oil so am wondering the same? I love how the coconut oilk feels on my skin – unti the reactions begin. I am going to try to experiment. Now the next challenge is to find a suppliet that doesn’t charge an arm and a leg to ship to Alaska!!! Thanks for your site…I LOVE it!

  13. Hi, I would really love to use this recipe, but I am severely allergic to coconut oil, and I was just wondering if there were any other alternatives you know of that would produce the same result… thanks so much!

  14. Hi! I’ve really enjoyed your homemade recipes…thank you! I have tried two other lip balm recipes and because I live in the hot desert…have been frustrated that they turn liquid if I don’t keep them in the fridge. That does not work if I’m trying to make a balm to keep in my purse! They even turn to liquid just at room temperature! Before I try this recipe, do you know if it will stay solid at 70 degrees or so? I’ve wondered if that problem could be solved by just adding more beeswax, but I’ve not done this making of beauty products enough to know if that would work. I have lip tubes to fill rather than small jars. Could you offer any suggestions? Thanks so much!

    1. It won’t stay solid because coconut oil’s melting point in somewhere in the upper 70’s. You could try adding more beeswax and you can also use tubes, that’s what I used last time to make these with good success.

          1. I made a batch and used chapstick tubes. I ended up with 20 tubes! I made some lemon, some orange, some peppermint and some lemon-peppermint! What an awesome recipe, Merissa! Thank you so much for sharing. If I bag them and put them in the fridge, how long is the shelf-life?

  15. I found a box of 25 of the little clear containers at Joann’s for $10 and I used a 50% off coupon – $5. They are in the jewelry making department. Etsy.com has heart, star and daisy shaped clear containers. They are adorable.

  16. I live in the desert, too! I haven’t tried this recipe, but I have found that beeswax mixed with coconut oil will stay solid even in warmer climates.

  17. Vanilla essential oil is a water soluble EO. Other oils may work better because they are fat soluble (which all the ingredients are fats). This would explain why many people have said it doesn’t mix in well– you know what they say about oil and water!

  18. Thank you for this recipe! Instead of vanilla EO, I used peppermint. It is wonderful!!! The recipe is so easy, I made the lip balm while my supper was cooking.
    My lips had cracked due to a cold and I put some lip balm on before I went to bed and when I woke up the next morning, my lips were healed up. I am handing them out as Christmas happy’s!

  19. Hi! Great recipe! Shea butter has natural SPF of 6. I’ve used it in my lip balm for over 20 years and have yet to have burnt lips. 🙂

    Just remember, if you sub an oil, you’ll get a different product, because each oil/butter has different properties and shelf life. Maybe try sesame in place of coconut, but you’d need a bit more shea or beeswax because it is a bit softer.

    1. They are always going to have some oily properties because of the coconut oil in them. You could add more beeswax but the oil won’t go away completely.

  20. Can’t wait to make this lip balm with my kids! Four daughters who go through a lot of lip balm, it would be great to make it ourselves.

  21. Found this recipe for your lip balm on Pinterest, and tried a reduced version. Cut everything in half. I didn’t have vanilla essential oil so I used vanilla extract and even added ground Cardamom . My lips feel luscious and smell wonderful! This is my first winter in Washington State and my dry chapped lips are giving me the fits. Hoping this keeps the chapping away. Thanks!!

  22. I’m really excited to try this recipe!! I want to start using essential oils, but I’m having a hard time deciding on which ones to buy! Young Living, Do Terra, etc… Can you tell me a little bit about Edens Garden? I’ve never heard of them. Thank you!

  23. I’m really excited to try this recipe!! I want to start using essential oils, but I’m having a hard time deciding on which ones to buy! Young Living, Do Terra, etc… Can you tell me a little bit about Edens Garden? I’ve never heard of them. Thank you!

    1. I’ve really only bought the Vanilla Oil from them so I’m not sure about their other products, sorry! I usually use a brand called Nature’s Alchemy.

  24. I just made a batch and used 2 TBS grated beeswax, 1 TBS each cocoa butter, Shea butter, 2 TBS coconut oil and 14 drops peppermint EO. Yummy. I’m not much of a balm or lipstick gal but my lips are painfully chapped. The peppermint oil kind of gives it a cooling sensation.

  25. I just made these. All I can say is thank you! They are awesome! For some that don’t know I melted my Shea Butter first then let it refirm up then remelted it into my batch it makes a smoother finished product. Thanks again!

  26. I use a simple recipe because my daughter is allergic to petroleum products including food coloring. To infuse the oil I scrape the pods into the oil and heat on low for 3 hours or let set for 3 weeks.

    1T bees wax
    1T cocoa butter
    2T olive oil infused with vanilla bean.

    I heat them together in the micro til they are liquid and pour them into containers.

    1. I also am allergic to all petroleum products. My doctor recommended I only use pure lanolin and it has been a godsend. I would love to be able to use this in a better form than straight out of the jar, as it is a little sticky and not a great smell. Any suggestions?

  27. I made homemade lip balm last year but , didn’t make that much. I ‘d love to try your recipe and make more. It gets really windy here in the afternoons and we always use it. Thanks for sharing at the party! Theresa @DearCreatives

  28. Awesome! I go through Chapstick like crazy! This should save me some $$ and they would be great gifts too! Thanks for sharing on Tips and Tricks!

  29. Crazy question but could I use homemade vanilla extract? I have no vanilla oil . I know I could purchase some but I’d have to wait for a better time to purchase it. Thanks.

      1. You can get natural vanilla oil in glycerol. It is available from cosmetics ingredients suppliers. It mixes well with oils and is how you make commercial vanilla lip balms from natural ingredients. You can also make a vanilla oil in any light oil ( so liquid at room temp) by heating slightly. It smells terrible when heated but works a treat. There is actually a recipe in my second book (Recipes for Natural Bath and Beauty Products: Over 100 Easy Plant-Based Recipes) but basically you heat the oil with vanilla pods for a few minutes – do not burn it- and this will give an oil which is vanilla scented. It makes quite a mild scent but does work in lip balms. This was first published in Make Scent magazine a few years back ( I own the copywrite but feel free to use but please do not publish on websites without crediting me.)

  30. I used chapstick containers, as it was what I had on hand at the time. Does anyone know where I can purchase labels for these? I made four varieties and don’t want to get them mixed up when I give them out to family and friends. Thanks!

    1. We just get the sticky labels (like for packages) and print a pretty label from the computer that we wrap around the tubes. They make some rectangular labels that are just the perfect size for these! I believe we found them at an office supply store.

    1. Regular vanilla won’t blend in as well and it also contains alcohol which can be drying to lips. You could use vanilla bean paste and try to blend it in to the mixture (although that may leave some pieces) or you can leave it our entirely too.

    1. You could try cocoa butter if you are able to use that instead. You may want to add a bit more beeswax though since cocoa butter will melt easier.

  31. i made mine in a double boiler and once melted added 2tbsp of tea leaves, let sit for 15 minutes and then strained it. The strawberry rhubarb blend from David’s tea turned out amazingly!

  32. A few drops of castor oil added to your favorite lip balm recipe is amazing. Gives a little bit of gloss and really makes the balm last longer on your lips. We recently retired after running a soap and skin care company and those balms literally flew off the shelves.

  33. hi i wanted to know what ratio to use if using bees wax, almond oil, and shea butter. I want them to stay hard in the pot if i take them with me. also which vanilla will work the best?

  34. Hi there!
    Is this a smooth lip balm that really glides across your lips, or is it more of a waxy balm?
    Thank you!

  35. This may be a silly question, but is the coconut oil that you use in your homemade products the naturally scented or the unscented? I like coconut oil, but don’t fancy the smell when the scented stuff is heated.
    I used to use the scented on my body when I got out of the shower, let it dry before dressing, but when I sweat it would leave a terrible smell on my clothes (worse than sweat) that I was unable to launder out.

    Thanx Merissa

  36. I tried this but my lip balm turned gritty after a couple of days. What would cause that to happen? Everything was well melted when I poured it into the tubs.

      1. No, I bought all my ingredients new and they were stored inside the house, so they didn’t melt. I’m just not sure where I went wrong. Thanks for your help.

  37. Thank you so much for this recipe. I LOVE your book, as well! We made lip balm for my daughter’s birthday party and it was such a hit!

  38. Is there an alternative to Shea butter? Or what of we skip it entirely?

    Excellent recipe btw, precise and easy to understand.

    1. You could use something similar like mango butter or cocoa butter if you don’t have shea butter. Without the shea butter (or an alternative) the blend won’t quite have the same texture.

  39. i make my own lip balms, too. Using the same ratio of 1-1-1, I use candelilla wax, coconut oil, and castor oil. Like many of your other readers, I too like to use peppermint oil for flavoring/scenting.

  40. I love
    your muffins recipes and soaps but i have trouble here in Ireland getting the lye or pour soap base I GROW MOST OF MY OWN HERBS ANd forage some moreI WOULD LOVE JOUR BOOK PLEASE