The skin on your lips is thinner than skin on other parts of the body and more vulnerable since it has constant exposure to air and moisture from your mouth. This is why lip balm is beneficial to relieve chapped lips and perhaps add a few other perks too, such as a glossy look or pleasant scent.
However, you might be surprised to find out what is really contained inside your favorite tube of lip balm. Here is some information about lip balm ingredients and how to make your own DIY version at home.
What Does Conventional Lip Balm Contain?
Standard lip balm that you find in grocery store checkout lines often contain a lot of ingredients that your lips don’t really need. Parabens are often contained in conventional lip balm and give products their colors and synthetic fragrances. Petroleum in lip balm may be contaminated by toxins that come from the chemicals used to produce it. You may also want to avoid BHA in lip balm because this is a preservative that has been tested for its carcinogenic effects.
The Best Lip Balm Ingredients
Not surprisingly, the best lip balm ingredients are the most natural ones, such as hemp seed oil and castor oil. Choose lip balms that are hypoallergenic and fragrance free for the best hydration and least exposure to potential irritants.
Lanolin is a type of wax that comes from sheep, and it is good for sealing in moisture on lips and other parts of the skin. Other good ingredients for lip palm are mineral oil to trap moisture, shea butter and cocoa butter to soothe chapped lips, and vitamin E for its antioxidant properties. Also, beeswax can be a good lip balm ingredient for making the product feel less greasy and staying on your lips longer.
Why Try Natural Lip Products?
It is possible to have a type of “addiction” to lip balm if you use this product excessively and even feel panicked if you accidently leave the house without it. This can occur because the ingredients in your lip balm actually cause irritation, prompting you to use more of the product and resulting in an endless cycle of damaging and nourishing your lips. To break out of this cycle, consider trying a lip balm with different and more natural ingredients to see if that affects your dependence and usage.
DIY Lip Balm Recipes
If you’re feeling inspired and want to take the best care of your lips, here are a couple recipes for making your own natural lip balm at home.
Coconut and Honey Lip Balm
INGREDIENTS:
- 3 tbsp. coconut oil
- ½ tsp. honey
- 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp. beeswax pellets
- About 10 empty tubes with lids for finished lip balm
DIRECTIONS:
- Combine all ingredients (except honey) in a double boiler with the heat on low
- Let the ingredients completely melt and then stir in honey
- Pour the mixture into the empty lip balm tubes
- Allow the product enough time to solidify in the tubes and place caps on them to close
Shea and Essential Oil Lip Balm
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 tsp. shea butter
- 2 tsp. coconut oil
- 2 tsp. beeswax pellets
- 5 drops vitamin E oil
- 10 drops essential oil of your choice, such as lemon
DIRECTIONS:
- Add beeswax, coconut oil, and shea butter into a double boiler
- If you don’t have a double boiler, add these ingredients into a heat-safe bowl that fits on top of a small pot of water that you’ll heat on the stove – bowl should not touch the water below it
- Once melted, add vitamin E oil
- Turn off heat and add essential oil drops
- Stir and transfer liquid into lip balm containers using a dropper
- Allow the liquid in containers to set for about an hour so it cool downs and solidifies