Recently I have had some very strange and frustrating lip issues! Woke up one day in January with big puffy red lips. I looked as if I had botox or lip injections! To be honest the look wasn't terrible, but the tingling and burning sensation and all around discomfort was not enjoyable at all. A week later I went to the walk-in clinic only to be told I could be allergic to something I ate, touched or breathed and may never figure out what it could be. I was sent home with a sample of Benadryl which did nothing.
For the last few months the lip puff has been ongoing! One day it swells up, stretching the skin and causing everything to burn the skin. Then the next day, the lips would de-puff and then get very chapped. The cycle seemed endless. It was getting very uncomfortable, and also fairly embarrassing!
So last week I read something about raw honey being soothing to the skin on the lips. Diagnosis by Google has been my thing lately! I threw some raw honey together with some coconut oil and castor oil. My lips felt soooo much relief right away! The problem was that it was messy concoction to carry around in my hand bag! So I upped the game and decided to make a balm! I found lots of different recipes online. They all varied so I ended up pulling elements from several. Below I put together a recipe and will walk you through what I did to whip up my easy lip balm!
Supplies:
- Pot for water
- Heat proof glass measuring cup or another vessel for double boiler
- Measuring spoon
- Stir stick or small whisk
- Little fillable pots, jars or tubes. I found I had some small tins that I used to use as jewellery packaging that were perfect for this project. There are lots of container options to be found online or you could re-use something you already have.
Ingredients:
- 4 tsp cosmetic grade organic beeswax. I used pellets but you could also grate a block of beeswax.
- 7 tsp organic virgin coconut oil
- 7 tsp organic castor oil
- 3 tsp raw honey preferably organic, but I didn't have any on hand
Optional Ingredients:
- 2-4 drops essential oil
- natural lip stick to add a hint of colour
Ok, so here we go!
1. Simmer (not boil) a couple inches of water in a pot with measuring cup sitting in the water as a double boiler. You could also use a bowl instead of measuring cup as it might sit above the water better. I don't think my measuring cup is actually supposed to be sitting on the bottom of the pot, but I had to make do!
2. Add beeswax to the measuring cup. Stir until all melted.
3. Add castor oil and coconut oil to beeswax and whisk together.
4. Once well blended, remove from heat and add raw honey. Next time I would use a more liquid type of honey vs. the one I used. I think it would blend into the mixture more easily.
If you want to add a little extra something-something to your balm, follow steps 6 and/or 7. If you want to keep it simple, skip to step 8. I poured some of the liquid in it's unscented and colourless form and reserved a batch in my measuring cup to tint and flavour.
6. Add a little bit of your favourite lip colour. I used a slice of Burt's Bees Lip Crayon as I was trying to keep it fairly natural. It's better to add less and keep adding than to add too much colour.
7. Stir in 2-4 drops of essential oil. Whisk until well blended!
8. Pour the mixture into your containers. Careful not to burn yourself. A pot holder comes in handy. Also make sure to protect your surface from spillage. You can simply pour or use a dropper to distribute if easier.
10. Taa daa! Treat your lips to this luscious balm!
I made a little batch of natural and a little batch of mint flavoured pink! Had fun sealing them with co-ordinating washi tape. Now they are ready to pass along to friends and family!
Hopefully you'll find this lip balm as lovely to use as I have. It's not sticky and has good staying power. It is fun and easy to make and cost effective! The best part is knowing exactly what is going on your lips. Now here's hoping I found the remedy to my issues and a perfect balm to use all the time!
Happy mixing and making!
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