My new e-booklet is just out:
Simple Handcrafted Body Care.
If you like this recipe, you’re going to love the booklet!
I’m so excited to share this new thing I learned how to make. Chapstick! How fun is that? Ever since high school I have always carried chapstick around with me. My closest friends at the time did too. Though it’s been over 15 years since we’ve graduated and moved around the country, when we do get together we are usually giving each other gifts of our new favorite chapstick. I’ve tried lots over the years, some are great, some not so great. Many chapsticks actually make my lips drier, has that happened with you? I wonder why that happens.
Anyway a few weeks ago I was wondering if I could make my own chapstick with all of these butters and creams I had laying around. You must know, up until two years ago, I never had much interest in making lotions and potions before, but that easy hand lotion recipe was irresistable, I had to try it. I had no idea what an insane addiction the whole thing would turn out to be, I now challenge myself to figure out what else I can make so that I can stay out of the drug store. I’m just warning you, if you dare to start dabbling in the lotion making, you too can turn into a crazed chapstick making fool like myself. Consider yourself warned. Now onto the chapstick.
I don’t think I ever would have attempted to make this had I not found empty chapstick tubes. I find chapsticks that come in tins or sliders a pain to put on in the middle of my busy day. So when I found the tubes and saw how cheap they were along with this easy formula for chapstick making, I couldn’t be stopped. And I love it! It smells so good, just like coconut and chocolate. It glides on smoothly and it makes my lips feel oh, so hydrated. You’ve got to try it! This recipe makes enough for 7 tubes, so you get to give a tube to your 6 favorite people too.
Homemade Chapstick Recipe
1 1/2 tsp. Beeswax
1 7/8 tsp. Coconut Oil (or in other words just shy of two teaspoons)
1 1/8 tsp. Cocoa Butter
3 tsp. olive oil
3 capsules Vitamin E
7 empty chapstick tubes
Like everything else, I put everything minus the Vitamin E into my trusty Pyrex measuring cup and melted it all. I did this over a double boiler, but you can do it in the microwave if you like. I add the Vitamin E afterward so that it doesn’t lose any of its helpful properties by being heated too much. This will make the tiniest amount of liquid and you won’t believe that it will fill all seven tubes, but it will, perfectly. I carefully poured them into the tubes and waited for them to cool. Then they are ready to go!
See, super easy! And inexpensive too, I haven’t calculated the exact cost of each tube because the measurements of ingredients are so tiny, however I think each tube costs less that 50 cents to make, including the empty tube. Can’t beat that price.
I think a label would look GREAT. And, it would make it yours. I want to make the chapstick and the lotion. I wish I didn’t work full time.
Where can i get beeswax?
You can get beeswax at Michaels or Hobby Lobby in solid form and just grate it. Make sure you use your weekly coupon or it is pricey!
You can Get beeswax from the pharmacy
Like from either Walmart or Target The Major stors
Please help me,,when i make my lotion oils separate from water.I do have a lot of Bees wax which i was using to make soaps but i have to make lotions as soaps process takes 4 weeks to harden (its not profitable).
I LOVE this idea! And you’re right, the tubes are so cheap!
However, the links aren’t working in the article, so I don’t know where you were getting the cocoa butter, etc.
Here is the link… http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/
I just ordered a number of items from them to make mother’s day gifts. They have their chapstick tubes on sale this month for .22 if your interested. Good luck!
WOW, this is so cool! I love it! I use chapstick like crazy in the winter. I have in my bag kiehls, burts bee, Chapstick, you name it.
These are great! And, you could infuse your oil with herbs or put in essential oils. If you ever get out to Sebastopol, Beekind sells empty chapstick tubes
What a great recipe and perfect timing! I used to own a tiny soap company, so your recipes fascinate me. I tried the deodorant one and like it except for the oil stains on clothing… It would also be better poured into roll on deodorant containers since it is so hard at room temp.
Anyhoo, I will try the lip balm recipe. I also never go anywhere without chapstick, so I spend a lot on it.
A suggestion for good suppliers would be Majestic Mountain Sage. They have an entire page of lip balm/chapstick containers on their website, good prices and they’ve always been good to work with.
Birgitt
http://birgitts-place.dreamwidth.org/
Where did you find the chap stick tubes at?
LOVE this idea. My lip balm runs right at 3 bucks, but I recently found some on clearance for $1.79 & stocked up. But 50 CENTS sounds even better! thanks
Mountain Rose Herbs sells the empty tubes (assuming that’s what you need) for .30 but have them on clearance right now for .22 Here is the address if you’re interested
http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/
Thanks for posting about the chapstick and also a few days ago about the lotion. I have been making soap for a few years and love it. Now I am ready for a few other things. Thanks for the great post. Sincerely, Emily
I keep wanting to do this, then I just forget. Perhaps I’ll plan a day to do it with my neices this winter, they would LOVE it.
Two capfuls of vitamin E oil? Please be more specific. That would be an eight of a cup based on the size of my cap
http://www.lipbalmtubes.com/Lip-Balm-Tubes-c-1.html
Lip balm tubes
Cyn- It’s three capsules of the Vit E. That would be about 1/8 of a teaspoon.
How many IUs are the capsules you use? Mine are 200IU and I’m thinking it might not be enough, so I’ll have to convert. Thanks! Abby
I might have to try this. I’ve been using Burt’s Bees because it’s the only thing besides plain vaseline that I’m not allergic to. But now I’m allergic to it too. I don’t know what the ingredients are that are causing the allergic reaction. These ingredients look safe. Thanks for the post!
Lana, I wonder if it’s the mint. I wish Burt’s would leave it out. I know this sounds strange, but i keep an extra chapstick to use on my unruly eyebrows, and the mint ‘vapor’ stings my eyes. Also if you use Burt’s (on your lips) before eating, everything tastes like mint.
And who wants to ‘munch on’ the sunscreen in Chapstick. I’m definitely going to try this.
Lana, Burt’s Bees, if that is what you are allergic to, has Soybean Oil in a lot of their products. Some of them even have wheat, or oats that may have been cross contaminated with wheat. Soy, Wheat, and Oats (contaminated with wheat) are all common allergens. Additionally, many vitamin E’s have soybean oil in them so please be careful with vit E if you are allergic to soybean. My daughter and I cannot have wheat, gluten or soy. Most of Burt’s Bees, much as I have liked the products, are off limits for us. Thus, the research that led me to this page.
Brenda
For those with allergies or sensitive skin…good old plain lanolin makes great lip balm, too! I noticed it is one of the ingredients in Carmex, but happened to slather some on after feeding my little one the other day and it lasted a really long time! I bet you could blend it in with some coconut oil & E for a great taste & health benefits instead of or in addition to beeswax
I did an allergy test a few years back and Lanolin (also known as wool alcohol, made from sheep) is what I ended up being allergic too. So that leaves out many Burt’s Bees along with so many products for me. I stick to all natural everything and the basics. Shea butters, mango butters, coconut oil, etc.
Thanks for this simple recipe!
Cupuacu Butter is a natural replacement for lanolin. I make my lip balm from it, Shea butter, coconut oil, palm oil, apricot kernel, beeswax, & candellila wax. If you don’t care for beeswax, use carnauba instead.
Lana,
Reading the ingredients on Burt’s Bees, I see soybean oil. Soy is one of the Big 8 allergens, so I would look there first. Of course, if you have a soy allergy, you are probably having major problems with processed foods. (I am soy intolerant, so I can tell you they are in everything.)
I have no idea what tocopherol is though, so I have no sense of whether that could be an allergen….
Hi tocopherol is vitamin E. I have no idea if people can be allergic to vitamins. Be careful to check the label of vitamin E capsules because it could contain soybean oil or sunflower oil also, which is in my liquid vitamin E oil that I got at Wal-mart.
Thanks Amanda. Excellent point. I have returned vitamins before because they made me vomit and I assumed it was because they used soy. I had not thought to check Vitamin E capsules. Good grief!
Fortunately, I am only intolerant, not allergic, so the reaction is unpleasant, but not life threatening. I can use Burt’s Bees, despite the soybean oil, because I am not swallowing it.
I made a bunch of these tubes of chapstick as stocking stuffers for my family/extended family. They were a hit!! Any idea what to add to give it a little SPF?
I’m so glad to hear they were a hit! Who doesn’t love chapstick?
Oh, I wish I knew how to add SPF. Maybe I’ll look into it.
Zinc would give you a natural spf – but I’m not sure how much would give you a 6 or 15 spf. perhaps google knows…
Coconut oil is a natural SPF…. as well as most plant that grow in tropical climates….
They shea butter I purchased today states on the label that it is a natural sunscreen due to the “rich content of vitamins E & F”
I’d rather risk sun damage than ingest sunscreen. researchers are taking a second look at the effects of absorbing it through the skin, so I don’t think putting it on your lips is a good idea. this is from a website about toxins in health and beauty products:
Oxybenzone – Oxybenzone, also known as benzophenone-3, 4-MBC and homosalate, is a sunscreen agent and UV light absorber. It is the active ingredient in most sunscreens. The higher the SPF of the sunscreen, the higher the concentration of oxybenzone is likely to be. It is also common in sunscreen moisturizers, facial moisturizers, sunscreen lip balms, skin care lotions, lipstick and hairspray. It is associated with photoallergic reactions in the sun, and is very easily absorbed through the skin. Oxybenzone also assists other ingredients to penetrate the skin. There is scientific evidence suggesting that oxybenzone is a hormone disruptor and may be toxic to the nervous system. A 2008 study from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine found that oxybenzone exposure to pregnant women was associated with low birth weight baby girls. According to the Centers for Disease Control, it is detectable in 97% of people tested in the US.
Through the process of elimination, I figured out that I was allergic to oxybenzone; any product that had this ingredient (from chapstick to moisturizer) caused me to have an allergic reaction. Not fun! I stay away from the stuff
Many chemical SPFs can cause reactions in people and upset your skin. However, it seems that many natural SPFs are tolerated well. I too was hoping to learn how to add an SPF to this chapstick recipe so I could make some with SPF and some without. Working outside in the sun especially in high elevations has given me plenty of lip sunburns over the years OUCH!
Your blog brings me such inspiration! Thank you for your contributions. I haven’t tried the chapstick yet but am going to next week. I’ve been making my own lotions and creams for a little while now and it’s just really nice to be able to compare recipes and results.
First of all, THANK YOU for the chapstick recipe. I’m just waiting for all my supplies to arrive in the mail so I can try m y hand at the recipe! Sooo excited!
Yes, please, please , please make a label for the tubes. My tubes look rather boring naked!
Again, thank you!
Karen
Im so bummed I just found this recipe. I randomly stumbled upon your blog, its very nice and very useful. I will have to make these for a birthday or just as fun gifts anytime. I will make sure to try the lotion as well. Thanks!
It would be nice to get the answers to some of the readers comments. I’ll check back later
This looks like something worth trying! I’m allergic to most products that go on or touch the skin so I’ve turned to making my own stuff. Paying for hypoallergenic products at the store can get rather expensive. Thank you for all the recipes and ideas!
Any update with the chapstick labels?
Even if you don’t get around to creating a pdf to share, what do you use to label your chapstick? Avery labels? What size? Thanks!!
Thanks for the reminder abby! I still have yet to make any. I haven’t labeled the ones I’ve made either. But I’ll try and get some designed and posted soon!
ElementsBathAndBody.com sells labels for chapstick tubes.
If you go to Majestic Mountain Sage, they have empty tubes and a variety of colors of caps for $0.15 each {$11/100 tubes, $4/100 caps}. Awesome deal!!
I read through the comments and saw someone ask about a way to add SPF to the chapstick. One way to maybe add some SPF would be to add Shea Butter to the mix somehow. It has a natural SPF of 6. I know that’s not a lot but I figure that’s better than nothing, right? Hope that helps
P.S. I LOVE reading your blog, I just stumbled upon it a few weeks. I’m about to start my own too, since I just started on my venture of making homemade products about 3 months ago
I’ve been making my own chapstick for several months. It is SO easy and inexpensive. I make about 50 at a time and give them out as gifts. People love them and are always asking for more. Thanks for the good idea.
Can you post or email me your bulk recipe for Chapstick?
I so want to try this! I have been reading this blog and the recipes and just adore everything. I’ve never made my own stuff like this but really want to give it a try!
I am going to make this!!! I do have a question though. If the beeswax and cocoa butter come in a solid form, do you measure it while it is solid like butter or melt it and then measure it out? Also any ideas to give the chapstick a bit of color?
you could probaly use food coloring
I’ve heard that you can use lipstick to add colouring. Just throw in about half a stick of lipstick after you’ve melted the ingredients, and stir it in until it melts too. I haven’t tried it, but apparently it works!
There are different ways to add color to your lip balm.If you want it brown, add cocoa powder or carob powder. If you want a yellow, add ground tumeric. If you want a red, add arrow root powder. Oh, and in answer to your first question, you can measure it in solid form or melted form. Though, I prefer to do it in melted form by just melting the beeswax partly then measure it. At first I was shredding solid beeswax then measuring it…but that took forever!
Hope these are the answers your’re looking for!
I have found on CamdenGrey.com some mineral powder that can be used as is as an eyeshadow or on lips….or You can add it to chapstick for color,I bought some and am planning on using it soon- the color is gorgeous!!!!! And I Myself have a question as well…. is it safe to stray from recipes and experiment???? I want to make a larger batch of chapstick all at once and I’m just wondering if as long as there is beeswax/Shea butter in the mixture it will harden just fine??? I bought Aloe gel and glycerine….and kinda want to experiment,but I want to make sure it will still harden.
Brittany, I’ll have to check out the camdengrey site. You know, I haven’t experimented much with the chapstick recipe. I think as long as you keep the beeswax/cocoa butter (as both cool to a hard texture) in proportion, it ‘should’ work out. Keep me posted.
One of my girlfriends sells lots of awesome supplies for soap making on etsy. It’s really useful as you can get smaller amounts of micas (for coloring), lip balm tubes, waxes, etc… and she ships within 2 business days too.
Her website is: http://www.saharassupplies.etsy.com
I am so happy to have stumbled across your site! I was reading a few posts about allergies- I have found that I am horribly allergic to the burt’s bees lipstick line. I didn’t know which ingredient was bothering me until I found another chapstick product (I, too am a chapstick junkie) and it irritated my lips as well. Turns out I am beeswax sensitive. I now have to carefully read the labels on lip products to ensure the absence of beeswax — unless I want a temporary swelling, haha. Would lanolin work in the same proportions as the beeswax?
Julie, I would try using a hard wax as a substitute. I would be afraid that lanolin is too soft and it won’t set up hard. So the swelling from your sensitivity doesn’t give you Angelina Jolie lips? 😉
where do you get the empty chapstick tubes??????
I bought mine here: http://www.lipbalmtubes.com/Lip-Balm-Tubes-c-1.html they have a wide variety as well as lip balm containers etc.
You can get some at http://www.soapgoods.com for 24 cents but one drawback is that they only come in white. I’m pretty sure that they come with caps…
With all the oils in this recipe, does it end up being kind of greasy? I would use it as a balm, not in a stick, so am looking for less mess.
I’ve tried using plain shea butter as lip balm. I like it, but it is quite greasy. Would this be less so?
Hannah, nope not greasy at all. Well, at least I don’t think so!
Silky- I think would be a good description. Not greasy.
Hi there, I was googling recipes for chap stick because I tried making it myself and ended up failing MISERABLY. Your recipe is AMAZING, I sent a few tubes to my husband who is currently underway and he like them!! I just had one question, if I were to add a couple drops of essential oil to the mix would that affect it in any way? If so what substitutions or compensations should I make?
Hi Navywifey! So glad the recipe worked and that your husband likes it too! I think adding in the essential oil would be fine, let me know how it works out.
I used 2 drops of Sweet Orange oil, it’s wonderful, I don’t think it changed it much, it still hardened up nicely.
I’m sorry, one more question!! How would you go about adding color to this mixture? Would you use a powder, wax or liquid?
Navywifey, I think you can add color by using something called ‘mica powder’. Someone provided a link to where you can buy some or you might try googling it. You could try adding a bit of your favorite lipstick too!
Hi,
So you can add color by shaving a few pieces off of your lipstick!
vermont chic, yes you can!
I didn’t read all the comments, but I like the simple tube look too – maybe just a craft brown label on the end of the cap or only on part of the tube would leave enough of that simple look?
Wow, I just hit on this site and so glad I did.
I bought some supplies to make lip balm but haven’t started yet.
Now that I have your receipe, maybe I will get it right the first try!lol
Thanks for posting!
Best Recipe I legit just finished making this 30 seconds ago! Perfect givts for my friends!
After reading thru all the questions and comments, there is one that nobody asked. Maybe because they don’t live where I live? I live in Florida. It is usually 90 to 100 degrees here. Will this chapstick recipe melt in my purse or pocket?
I also live in Florida. It only melted once–and that was in the dryer! lol It did get a bit soft when I went for a run with it in my pocket, but no, it didn’t melt. I have avoided leaving it in my car though.
Does anyone know where to find small bags where you can put in 5,6,or 7 tubes of chapstick in to give as a gift
Just at cvs or walgreens. They sell little gift bags that would be perfect!
will be trying soon, looks easy and fun, good christmas gifts!!! I just pinned this and your beeswax recipe they looked so great, very nice job!!!
You have surely inspired me..thank you!
how full did you fill the tubes? I got 6 1/2 fillled. and the way I measure, rough tsps, I thought I had more ingreds than stated.. hmm..
Hoping she’ll chime in because I’m having the same problem. The first time I made this recipe, I filled 6 1/2 tubes, this time I doubled the recipe (to make more) and it only filled 12 1/2 tubes instead of the 14 it should have… I even adjusted this time to make sure I was really packing the beeswax and butter into the spoons because the first time I made it it was awfully oily, more like lip gloss. This time it’s a little less oily because of that, but the tube amounts are still really off.
I love the recipe, just need to figure out what I’m doing wrong here as I fill my measuring spoons very level, not under, not over. =/ Thank you!
P.S. I boil water in a pot and put my small glass pyrex measuring cup in it until everything is melted, then take it out and pierce the vitamin e capsules to add that to it and stir with a fork, then pour.
How many ounces of beeswax would I need?
.25 oz
I accidentally ordered Shea butter rather than Cocoa butter (not exactly sure how that occurred) but I went ahead and substituted it in you recipe – so far so good. I also added flavoring in one of the batches – mint. I added about 1/4 tsp to the batch, but it wasn’t as strong as I wanted it, I’ll be adding more in the future to see how it pans out.
Just FYI, I got my .15 oz lip balm tubes from SKS bottling – $22 for 144 tubes & caps – http://www.sks-bottle.com/340c/fin8a.html
They also have filling trays – e.g. fill 60 tubes at once…
I live in Florida and was wondering what you do to prevent the coconut oil from melting in the tube after you have made it. Temperatures are seldom below 75 degrees even in the winter.
If you need a harder outcome (I always liked the Old Fashioned Chapstick, before it was so lip glossy) you can add food grade paraffin wax (available wherever you buy your canning supplies). It makes it more solid, less glossy feeling, and it stays on longer! Then I add a little of my favorite lipstick (I dig the last of it out of the lipstick tube. A great way to keep from wasting that last little bit in the bottom of your nearly empty lipstick tubes that you can’t ever reach) to give my homemade Lip Balm a sheer bit of color. Feels great & makes it look great, too. Also, a but of essential Sweet Orange for a light Citrus flavor, as I hate those mentholated flavors!
Great suggestions Lisa! I will have to try incorporating a little color into my next batch! Thank you.
Hi there, just wanted you to know I made the chapstick last night and it was fast and easy! I was a little scared to try it, but it was a simple project and the results were wonderful. My daughter and my niece each tried it and said it was as good or BETTER than Burt’s Bee’s lip balm….and they love that stuff. I added peppermint essential oil to one batch and that turned out awesome(I love mint). I also made some as per the recipe and those were equally nice. I used almond oil on one batch just due to olive oil allergies of the receipient and that worked great too. Thanks so much for sharing your PERFECT recipe! The only bad thing is that my store is out of chapstick tubes, so I won’t be able to make anymore for Christmas. I will definately plan on these for Mother’s Day though! Now on to try your beeswax lotion!
For the gal who asked about small bags to put several in to give as gifts, organza bags will work perfectly for what you’re looking for! Try size 10x12cm. They will look beautiful. You can get them really cheap on Ebay!
Can soy wax be used instead of beeswax
I don’t know Pam. Make a half batch and give it a try.
Oh no, I just realized that I don’t have any coconut oil. Is there anything else I can substitute?
wow deos this really work
Where do you get coconut oil from?
How do you clean everything afterwards? Wax is hard to get out with just soap.
I am wondering what I could use instead of coconut oil, I am allergic to anything coconut. It has been a trial to find soap and lotions that work and don’t contain coconut in some form.
i would like to make some how would i doo flavors
You are awesome! I just made your chapstick and it turned out super good
it’s smooth and yummy on my lips. Thank you so much. Now I don’t have to worry about my 4 year old daughter sneaking it to her room and eating it LOL she asked for lemon scent chapstick (because of Strawberry Shortcakes friend Lemon Merang
I made the chapstick and I love it! I’ve been using for a few weeks now. I had to remelt and add a little more beeswax to it because it was too soft and mushy for me. i also added peppermint E.O. to make it cool and tingly on my lips and a little honey to make it taste good. Wow did it turn out great!
can you tell me how much honey you used to make this? I also wanted to add it to mine but wasn’t sure of the amount to use. Also, did you increase the wax to make up for the extra liquid?
Could golden jojoba oil be used instead of the olive oil and vitamin E, it already has a high amount of vitamin E and great moisturizing properties.
Also http://bulkapothecary.com/bottles.htm has tub and cap sets for .14 a piece.
First, half a batch is hard to measure out with those tiny measurements! But second, I just made half a batch and it feels so good on my lips! (Note to self: buy smaller, glass measuring cup!)
Will the recipe change if I dont use cocoa butter? I love your recipe!!! I am going to try it when I have time! I love your website!
,Zoe
Do the Mountain Rose Herbs Chapstick tubes come with caps?
Anybody know how I can modify th
e recipe to make it more liquid at room temp? I prefer the squeeze tube kind of lip gloss since the solids melt in Arizona… I’ll also need empty squeeze tubes. ?
I don’t have cocoa butter so I increased the bees wax and used Shea butter. I also added essential oil for scent – about 6 or 8 drops
Sherry,
How much beeswax and shea butter did you use? I want to use shea butter instead of cocoa butter but I want to make sure my proportions/measurements are right.
Thanks!
There are several places to buy tubes: A Sonoma Garden is one. Just google home made chap sticks.
We discovered I have a rare allergy to glycerin when I had a horrible reaction to my allergy shots! I love all the homemade recipes since I can no longer use many OTC products. I can’t wait to make some chapstick.
DID NOT READ ANY REPLIES: just wondering about the melting factor if left in the car, any ideas or does it this even melt. florida sand life
Such a good recipy an the microwave idea is awsome
LOVE IT! just made some, perfect for my lips, I teach P.E. outdoors and my lips get a lot of sun exposure….can you add zinc oxide to add an SPF, if so, how much do you think?
I love this recipe, and so has everyone I gave it to as gifts. I added some essential oils to mine and made labels for the ones that were gifts. i posted about it with a link back here on my blog at http://athenahandmade.blogspot.com/2012/05/all-natural-lipbalm.html. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
“Many chapsticks actually make my lips drier” That used to happen to me all the time until I realised it was the glycerin they put in most lip balms. You see, glycerin pulls up the moisture from the inside layers of your lips to the outer layer. So you get soft lips for a while, but when you keep using it the glycerine is actually driyng your lips from the inside out, so you end up with your lips being drier than before.
The same thing always happens to me with lotions, they dry out my skin rather than moisturise it. It’s so hard to find lotion without glycerine, which is why I decided to make my own….. just I never did yet.
Also I have a question. I bought a bottle of wheatgerm oil and I don’t know what to do with it. Any ideas?
Does it make a huge difference on the UI of the Vitamin E? What kind of capsules do you use?
Jezica, I don’t think the UI makes a difference, buy whatever you can find!
Are you able to reuse the tubes? Not sure how well they’d wash up
I haven’t tried to reuse the tubes, but I bet you could with some careful cleaning first.
I used all tubes that had old chap stick or had gone through the dryer. The dryer tubes were nice because they were pretty clean (I did not do this on purpose and I don’t really recommend it!) But, the ones I cleaned out myself I twisted the old chapstick to the top and then put the tube in boiling water for just a bit (a few seconds), then I used a q-tip to clean it out as best I could. There was still a bit of the smell of old chapstick, but once I put the new chapstick in I didn’t notice it anymore and it seemed fine.
http://jenncatt.blogspot.com/2012/08/lipstuff.html
I made lipstuff, thank you so much for the inspiration and direction!!! <3
I really can’t stand the chocolate smell, is there anything else I can use besides Cocoa Butter? Please, someone. I also dooo not like Coconut smell.
a simple Vanilla recepie next time maybe? please.
Do you know how to make soap? I want to make my own hand/body soap without all the wierd ingredients you can’t read that they put in everything. Is that possible?
where did you find the empty tubes? and what did you use to flavor them?
I’m allergic to coconut oil can I use something else in place of this?
I am so in love with this recipe! Thank you. I’ve been giving it as gifts to friends and telling them about your blog. I work at a CSA in WI and have bees myself, so I got to use my own bees wax. I used 2 drops of Sweet Orange which cut/complimented the tiny hint of cocoa (which didn’t bother me in the first place, I just love orange). I’ve always wanted to try making it and have known for years that I wanted to try, so as chapstick is destroyed in the dryer I toss the tubes in a jar, so far I’ve just used recycled tubes. It might be nice to get some new ones though… maybe someday.
Thank you!!
Hi.
I don’t know if anyone said this but the reaon why other chapsticks make your lips dry is because the usually add vasolin (it has another name, I forgot) made from fat. It makes your lips dry and isn’t good for you lips
Is there anything I could use instead of coconut oil? I can’t stand the smell of coconut.
By adding scent to it, you won’t be able to smell the coconut oil..in the end you’ll end up smelling the beeswax if you don’t add scent..
You can get empty tubes at bulkapothocary.com for $.06 each and they come in clear, white and black. You can also get printable labels. They work great. I can’t wait to try this recipe.
Cool you should make more similar to the hand lotion and chapstick recipes,if you can.
Have you made them, Hannah? I agree, I would like to see some other recipes for chapstick and lotion, but I also like to make my own recipes….
How do you clean your pyrex? I did some projects with beeswax over this last week, and cleaning out my pyrex was a nightmare! Ack!
I want to use breast milk, what do I change?
Do you need to clean your new chapstick containers before using them?
Can I substitute Shea butter or Mango butter for the Cocoa butter? Will it work the same and have the same consistency? Also, how much product does this recipe yield? In terms of .15oz lip balm tubes, how many will this fill..
Thanks!
Jessica, I haven’t worked with Mango butter, but shea butter is softer than cocoa butter. It will still work, but the chapstick won’t set up as hard. As the recipe states, it will make 7 tubes worth.
Thank you! Once last question, does this chap stick have a “chocolate” scent since you use cocoa butter?
Jessica, yes it does have a chocolate scent. Hopefully that’s a good thing for you…it is for me!
Do you know of something to replace the cocoa butter with? Might sound crazy, but I’m not a big fan of the chocolate scent!
I cannot wait to try this recipe! I’ve tried making chapsticks before and they turned out horrible and oily, with a terrible taste. But I love chapstick in tubes, much more convenient in a tube. Plus I always have to carry around a lip brush if the gloss/chapstick comes in a tin/slider as I’m weird about not putting my fingers into things like that. I feel it just spreads bacteria from your hands (and the rest of the world) into the mixture than you’re lathering it on your face and body. Not good. This may have been asked already, but I haven’t been able to read ALL the comments as I’m in a rush at the moment, but if you wanted to change up the flavour could you add essential oils?
So I found this recipe today, and would you know it – while I was reading the instructions, my first order of Beeswax pellets arrived! What better way to test them out than to try this? I only had one empty tube to use so I cleaned it out very well (to get out the old chapstick) and gathered my ingredients. Because I only had the one tube, I tried to just figure out in my head what the modified recipe would be. Here’s what I came up with:
1/2 tsp Beeswax Pellets
1 1/2 tsp Coconut Oil (extra virgin is what I have)
1/2 tsp Sweet Almond Oil (instead of olive oil – same properties but not as much of a smell)
1/2 tsp Cocoa Butter
1 ml Vitamin E Oil (I just used one of my daughter’s left over medicine droppers – the cocoa butter and coconut oil have Vitamin E also so I didn’t want to use too much)
I melted the oils in the microwave, added my Vitamin E oil, and then just to try and add a little bit of flavor/smell, I added a few (3-4 of each) drops or Vanilla extract and Almond extract (for food) and a little bit of brown sugar for the “sweetener”. The amount of liquid that the recipe created was PERFECT for just the 1 tube with almost NO wasted extra. I put it in the fridge to harden and then pulled it out. I think in the future I might add more Vanilla, Almond, and brown sugar. But overall, it does what it’s supposed to do – make my lips feel uber soft. Not oily at all, but just the right amount of silky, has a very tiny nutty smell from the cocoa butter and coconut oil, and uses all natural ingredients so I don’t have to worry about putting chemicals on my lips. I will definitely be making again. Thank you for sharing this! – Erin
i am soooo excited to try this!:) due to all of the positive responses im pretty certain i wont regret trying this!:)
Wow
I read every last comment and i must say that I am definitley going to make this using this recipe.
I was inspired by The STEVE HARVEY Morning show. Carla makes lipsick and I thought I would like to make my own chapstick! I started Googling and found this site!
Thanks everybody!
Tara Jones
5/23/2013
I just made these and I have to say it is not only super easy but FAST! It took me all of 20 minutes to make a dozen! Thank you so much! Never buying store bought again. Did I mention it lasts a long time? It’s been an hour and my lips are still slippery!
I’ve read all the comments, and have a question that hasn’t been asked yet: How long will this homemade chapstick be good for? I mean, how long until it “expires” or goes rancid? Thanks so much!
It should be good for a couple of years at least! All the ingredients have a pretty long shelf life.
Where is the SPF? A persons lips are susceptible to the UV rays as well as the rest of the body. Love the idea of making my own lip balm being as I have an addiction to it, but will continue to purchase mine being as it has aloe, and vitamin moisturizers and most importantly SPF.
I was just wondering if you could some how incorporate breast milk into the recipe?
Hi Heather and Jo,
I didn’t use all of the ingredients in the recipe, and this gloss does end up being a bit sticky, (but totally yummy if you like the taste of breast milk). It’s great for dry lips and dry skin, not to mention healing scratches and scrapes quickly. Could be used as a nipple balm too. The three ingredients I use to make a homemade breast milk balm are breast milk, coconut oil, and honey. I keep the balm in the refrigerator, as coconut oil melts at room temperature.
Almost forgot to add this very important safety note: because of the honey, this balm must be kept away from babies.
My favorite chapstick recipe is super simple: melt cocoa butter, pour into tubes, let cool. Use. Works better than any recipe I’ve ever tried, and tastes yummy too.
Can you add essiental oil to the chapstiek.
Yes you can. You might want to make up a recipe first because it has a pretty strong chocolate flavor already from the cocoa butter.
Can you use metal tins instead of tubes.
Of course!
I have been making homemade chapstick for a whole now. How long will cocoa butter last. Bought it last November and it came in a 1lb. bag. Still over 3/4 left
jamie, cocoa butter lasts a long time. I’m sure that bag you bought last year will be just fine for using this year!