11/04/2026
Days of bathe. โ Day 3: Lip Balm!
Let's talk lips!
How many of you have at least 5 tubes of lip balm scattered between your purses, cars, nightstands, and random coat pockets. (And your dryer... don't lie. You know you have done it).
But have you ever wondered what's actually IN your lip balm or why your lips feel more dry after you used some brands?
I feel so proud of my lip balm recipe. It is one of those recipes where I started off making a basic recipe I found online and it evolved as I learned more and studied different ingredients that would be beneficial to a lip balm.
I make our lip balms with a blend of wax, oils, and butters chosen to help soften, condition, and protect your lips.
So, what goes into our lip balm, and why?
Beeswax โ Helps create a protective barrier on your lips that slows moisture loss. It also helps give our lip balms some structure and helps with the melting point of the finished product.
Sunflower Oil โ Rich in fatty acids that help soften and condition the skin. It's a lightweight oil that contributes to a smooth application.
Coconut Oil โ An emollient that helps soften dry lips and gives our balm a smooth, creamy feel.
Jojoba Oil โ Technically a liquid wax rather than an oil (we talked about this the other day when I went over Whipped Cleanser). Jojoba helps condition lips and reduce moisture loss while providing a silky feel without excessive greasiness.
Cocoa Butter (this will be replaced the next round of lip balms due to pricing, but the butter I replace it with will provide the same benefits) โ A rich plant butter that helps soften lips and adds firmness and creaminess to our formula. I am exploring sal butter and kokum butter as an alternative to the cocoa.
Cetearyl Alcohol โ I can hear at least 27.5% of you say something like... "alcohol in lip balm? Won't that dry my lips out"? Absolutely valid question, but before you panic, this isn't the drying alcohol you're thinking of. Cetearyl alcohol is a fatty alcohol that helps improve texture, firmness, and glide. It's actually an emollient, meaning it helps soften the skin and like many of the other ingredients, it helps provide that barrier that our lips really need, especially in the coldest of winter months. Plus, this also helps increase the melting point of my lip balms..meaning you have a few extra degrees in the summer before you have a puddle of liquid lip balm in your cars cup holder.
Vitamin E (Tocopherol) โ I use this as an antioxidant and it helps protect the oils in our formula from oxidation, which can cause them to go rancid. It also has skin-conditioning properties that we can never ignore.
Flavor Oil โ Because sometimes you want your lip balm to smell like something yummy. Our lip-safe flavor oils add a slight scent but no sweetness. VERY RARELY will I add a sweetener or use a pre-sweetened flavor. I just prefer to not deal with the use of these sweetener, if I am honest. The other issue I find with sweetened lip balms is that they "trick" your brain into thinking the lip balm taste like the flavor I put in it, but honestly it taste like nothing but sweet. It is basically an illusion. When I think they taste good, guess what I do?!? Lick my lips. That is a terrible idea, so I prefer them unsweetened.
What makes our lip balm special?
I didn't just want my lip balms to feel good for five minutes. I want a lip balm that glides on smoothly, leaves your lips feeling soft, and helps protect them from moisture loss. PLUS, not make them feel drier after a few minutes than they felt before you put it on. Some lower quality, more affordable brands actually have very little in the way of moisturizers in their lip balms. They may provide a temporary barrier to cold and wind, but moisture isn't even on the table.
One little thing worth knowing: Lip balm doesn't actually add water to your lips. Instead, ingredients like oils, butters, and waxes help soften your lips and reduce the amount of moisture they lose.
*bonus* I also make a moisturizing lip scrub. Perfect for removing dry skin from your lips AND add additional moisture. My lip scrub isn't the simple version of an oil and sugar mixed together. Although, that does do the job of exfoliating, it does very little in the way of moisturizing. Mine actually have a very moisturizing base with sugar added in to provide the exfoliation.
Anyway, if you saw my post yesterday, I shared that I just got an order of 500 lip balm tubes. If you have a favorite flavor or a flavor you'd like me to make let me know! Except blueberry. I tried that... most people hated it. ๐