Not that long ago I posted a tutorial on making a chocolate lip balm, whilst this was indeed a tasty treat for your lips, it didn’t feel very nourishing or last very long (this could be as a result of constantly licking ones lips constantly because it was so sweet). I decided to take inspiration from Reform Stead and make something a bit more hearty for the winter. 
I also realised that its possible to melt down lip balm that didnt work, with my chocolate lip balm, the top layer went funny as it was basically honey and cocoa only, making it gooey and not in a good way. I decided to melt it down, clean out the tubes and make something else. I put it in a double boiler, water outside and inside the pyrex dish, it took about 20 minutes to melt but totally worked without affecting the tubes at all.
This lip balm is firm and when you put it on, it feels waxy but in a good way, you can tell its providing a protective shield.
DIY Nourishing Winter Lip Balm
Makes: 11 lip balms Making time: 1 hour Dry time: 24 hours minimum Overall time: 25 hours
- 2 tablespoons grated beeswax or beeswax pellets
- 2 tablespoons shea butter
- 1 teaspoons sweet almond oil
- 1 teaspoons castor oil
- 10g Mango butter (I used a small piece from the pot)
- 20 drops cherry essential oil
Now to make these nourishing balms
1. Over a ban marie or double boiler (or cheat like I do and use a Pyrex jug in a pan with water) add the beeswax, shea butter, almond oil, castor oil and mango butter in a small heat proof bowl. Bring the water to the boil and then allow to simmer, until the mixture is just melted. You can stir the mixture but you dont need to stir it constantly.
2. Whilst your oils and butter are melting together, get your lip balm containers ready. I find it easy to put five (5) together and wrap a rubber band (loom bands work perfectly) around them, this stops them falling over when filling them. I also like to put them in a small plastic container, so that if there is any spillage, its contained. I find it easier to use my Pyrex jug making lip balm, as the spout on the jug allows for easy pouring.
3. Once fully melted, turn off heat and take container out of the pan. Allow your oils and butters to cool. If you add in the essential oil now, it can damage it. You dont want it to solidify but just to be cooler. Once it has cooled down, add in your essential oil and stir well. You may decide to add more or less the recommended amount, thats ok. Once you get a scent you are happy with, call it done. 
4. Pour the mixture into the lip balm tubes and allow to cool completely. Do NOT pour all of the mixture into the tubes (leave 1-2 teaspoons spare). As your mixture cools, A (small) depression will form in the center, use the spare balm that you didn’t use to fill this in, leaving a even finish. Simply reheat the leftover balm and add it to the tubes. Allow your lip balms to set over night.
Technically now you are done with your lip balm, HORRAY. Like last time, I decided to take it a step further and created the labels for the tubes. I had a few glossy adhesive sheets, which were perfect for this! Be sure to clean the outside of your tubes before applying the labels! You will have drips and this will affect the adhesion!
So here are a few resources that I found and were SUPER helpful (ish). Whilst I dont sell my products I still want to present them in a professional way. Labeling Your Products : Lip Balm gives great advice on how to create labels that meet a USA legal standard, even offering a free downloadable template. I wasn’t sure how to even create a template, as I wanted mine to be unique and this free template was the right size for small lip balm tubes. I tried using it but Word and I started getting into a fight and my images were shifting and yeah… In the end I measured my tubes, length and width (kind of guessed here) and then went into word, made four columns, sized them accurately for the tube and went from there. Oh and if you didnt know, you can get all kinds of great royalty free photos at Pixabay, a great selection you can use across all your crafts!
Notes: You can change the scent by using a different essential oil, I would actually suggest sweet orange oil but I think cherry works well for winter or any season.
I bought my lip balm tubes on Ebay but they can be found a variety of different stores.
Remember to share with friends! 🙂
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