Lip Love!

Posted by Andrea

Your lips are like a scarlet ribbon; your mouth is lovely. (Song of Solomon 4:3a)

I am obsessed with lip balm.

My husband, my mother, and my best friend Valerie can all testify about my pitiful dependency. Because I hate to be without lip balm, I have stashed my “lip love” tubes all around: in the car, in the van, in coat pockets, in nearly every bag or backpack I own, and in both girls’ bags as well. In spite of my preparedness, I still have had to make emergency trips to the drugstore in order replace precious tubes that have been lost. In dire situations, I have even bummed balm from JT.

After our MOPS group created homemade sugar scrubs, I was inspired to make my own lip balm. I figured if I made it at home, I would probably never have to be without it. I was surprised to discover that lip balm is easy to make and contains simple ingredients that don’t usually cost too much.

Lip balm recipes are posted all over the internet. Over the past several months I’ve collected and tried several, but this recipe is my favorite. Keep in mind that you may have to “play” with the recipe in order to create a balm you like. If your balm turns out too hard, melt it down and add a bit more oil. If it turns out too soft, melt it down and add more beeswax.

Creamy Cocoa Lip Balm

2 tablespoons cocoa butter
1 tablespoon beeswax
½ teaspoon honey
2 tablespoons jojoba oil
1 Vitamin E capsule
1 tube of lipstick (any color you choose)

Melt the cocoa butter, beeswax, and honey. Stir very well to prevent lumps from forming in the balm. Add vitamin E and oil. Stir very well. Add color to the balm by slicing off a small amount of the lipstick and stirring into the melted lip balm mixture. (This will not color the lips, but will just give your lip balm a pretty color.) Pour into small airtight containers.