Dear Oily,
A friend of mine was telling me all about all the grroooosss stuff that could be hiding in my tube of chapstick. I’m not really a lipstick and makeup kinda girl, but I LIVE on chapstick, especially during the winter.
I’m feeling a bit crafty and want to get my DIY on. Do you have a simple chapstick recipe that uses essential oils?
Thanks!
Luscious Lips
Dear Luscious,
Let me start by telling you that your friend was right to warn you about the grossness in chapstick!
Back in the day, I was chapstick obsessed. I loved it. I’ve never been much of a lipstick or stain girl, but chapstick has always been my thing. I used to keep them all over my house: next to my bed, in my purse, next to my laptop, in the bathroom, and naturally, I had to have one in my desk at work too.
Then I learned what I was actually putting all over my kisser. One common brand found in most drug stores has oxybenzone, propylparaben, phenol, octinoxate, benzyl benzoate, and fragrance (on your lips.. where you may ingest it!) amongst other things. Yikes! Not on my lips. No thank you. I do not need to be giving out chemical kisses!
After learning about what is actually in chapstick, I stopped buying the giant pack of cheap stuff at Costco. However, spending extra money on a “good” brand meant I couldn’t buy enough to leave them everywhere anymore. Up to $6 for a single tube? I’d be broke!
The Solution
Fortunately, I found out that making your own chapstick is super easy, cost effective, and allows you full control over everything you put into it. You can even tweak it throughout the year, tailoring the ingredients to keep your lips luscious depending on the weather and maybe how many kisses you are giving out at the time. No one wants those scabby, dry, winter lips!It’s also super convenient to make a TON of tubes all at once so you can keep them for yourself (and squirrel them away around the house) or give them away as presents to your friends so they can enjoy non-toxic kisses too!
Recipe: Chocolate-Peppermint Chapstick
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons organic coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons organic almond oil
- 1 tablespoon (.5 oz) organic beeswax
- 1/4 teaspoon vitamin E oil
- 3/4 teaspoon cocoa powder (unsweetened)
- 8-10 drops Young Living Peppermint Essential Oil (get it here!)
- 12 empty chapstick tubes
Method
- Melt the coconut oil and beeswax in a double broiler. If you don’t have a double broiler (I don’t), a heavy-duty glass measuring cup inside a pot with some water on the bottom works well too; it also makes it easier to pour later!
- Once the beeswax is fully melted, lower the heat (or remove from heat) and mix in the other ingredients. I suggest simply lowering the heat because you do not want the beeswax to solidify too quickly. Make sure to mix it up really well so there are no chocolate hunks floating around.
- Find some way to pour into the chapstick tubes without making a gigantic mess (good luck!). I’ve tried using funnels, but then the beeswax gunks up the funnel until it’s fully clogged. The glass measuring cup is pretty hand for this step.
This makes about 12 tubes of chapstick (maybe more if you don’t spill as much as I do each time).
Now go kiss someone...
You can easily modify this recipe by using a different liquid carrier oil instead of almond (maybe you prefer jojoba), by switching out the peppermint for orange (hey, that’s a good idea! I think I’m going to go try that), or by omitting the chocolate and peppermint completely and using different essential oils.
