One item that is a must have if I was stuck on an island is lip balm. I love it so much! If you are staying hydrated then you don't need lip balm too often, but with drier winter months or even scorching heat can call for some good nourishing lip balm. It was the first item I decided to DIY and found the process so simple and enjoyable. Not to mention it is a quick and easy gift to make for your friends and co-workers! The first task to any DIY recipe is to do your research on ingredients and find DIY bloggers who you trust. One of my favorite DIYers is Marie from www.humblebeeandme.com. She has so many wonderful recipes and information on her site. Two of my favorite lip balm recipes are her Intensely Moisturizing Shea Butter Lip Balm and Sugar Plum Lip Balm. I have listed the recipes below and instructions at the end since they are the same for both recipes, but I highly encourage you to visit the site since he has information for substitutions and links to ingredients. Lip balm tubes are sold on Amazon. Make sure to get ones that are BPA free!
Intensely Moisturizing Shea Butter Lip Balm (Intensely Moisturizing Shea Butter Lip Balm)
Heated Phase
4g | 0.14oz beeswax
5g | 0.17oz shea butter
3g | 0.1oz cocoa butter
4g | 0.14oz calendula infused olive oil
4g | 0.14oz avocado oil
Cool Down Phase
A few drops of vitamin E oil
5 drops of the essential oil of your choice (I used cardamom)
Sugar Plum Lip Balm (Sugar Plum Lip Balm)
Heated Phase
6.75g | 27% beeswax
6.25g | 25% babassu oil
1.5g | 6% cocoa butter
5g | 20% sweet almond oil
5g | 20% plum oil
Cool Down Phase
0.125g | 0.5% benzoin resinoid
0.0625g | 0.25% cardamom essential oil
0.125g | 0.5% vitamin E oil
0.1875g | 0.75% plum-purple mica (optional)
Prepare a water bath by bringing about 3cm/1″ of water to a bare simmer over low to medium-low heat in a small saucepan.
Weigh the heated phase ingredients into a small heat-resistant glass measuring cup. Place the measuring cup in your prepared water bath to melt everything through.
After about 20–30 minutes everything should be completely melted through. Remove the water bath from the heat, remove the measuring cup from the water bath, and dry it off with a dish towel. Stir with a flexible silicone spatula to incorporate.
Add the cool down ingredients and stir to incorporate.
Pour the lip balm into tubes or tins (this recipe will fill five standard lip balm tubes), and leave it to solidify (20–30 minutes) before capping.