Friday I tried my hand at making lavender lip balm. Many of the books I have been reading in preparation for beekeeping have chapters in the back of the books with recipes for cooking with honey and also crafting with beeswax. If you are thinking of only beeswax candles, you are missing many other cosmetic uses for beeswax, as I found out. Since my plan is to plant a large garden of lavender plants this spring ( when the snow finally dissipates ) I looked for recipes using beeswax, honey and lavender. This recipe for Lavender-Shea lip balm was easy to make, and the final product is amazing. Not too greasy but really soft and lightly scented. My weather beaten lips became softer with just one application! The only down side was the clean-up, since the beeswax hardens so quickly. I recommend having measuring spoons and measuring cups reserved just for this project, because the oils are strong and tend to linger on the spoons and they needed numerous washings. Tins, tubes or pots are available online for a few cents a piece at numerous sites. I ordered all my supplies from Rose Mountain Herbs and Bulk Apothecary because I wanted organic ingredients, but there are other great sites for supplies for this type of craft. I'm looking forward to making other lip balms in different flavors. I can't wait to be able to use my own farm's beeswax though. If you feel adventurous and want to try making this lip balm, here is the recipe for Lavender-Shea lip balm.
1 Tablespoon Shea butter
2 Tablespoons Sweet Almond Oil
1 Tablespoon Organic Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Beeswax
15-20 drops organic Lavender essential oil
A few drops of vitamin E oil
Lip balm preparation- I used beeswax pastilles, so I did not have to grate beeswax off of a block of beeswax. Much easier! Place Beeswax, Shea butter, Olive oil, and Sweet Almond oil in a glass Pyrex measuring cup and place in upper half of a double boiler. Gently heat these ingredients until melted. Remove from heat and add vitamin E oil and Lavender essential oil. Pour this mixture immediately into your tins or whatever containers you decide to use. When entirely cool, put lids on your containers. This recipe makes 1.5 ounce lip balms in a quantity of 10 containers. Once you use this lip balm you will never go back to store bought chap sticks again, and most importantly you know you are using pure products on your lips and no chemicals!
Everything needed to make lip balm
The finished product
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