Peppermint Lip Balm

If you've ever stood outside checking fence lines, collecting eggs, or simply soaking in the crisp morning air, you know how hard the cold can be on your lips.

But not anymore, friends! This peppermint lip balm is a five-minute miracle that's become a staple in our homestead survival kit. Made with rich cocoa butter and a tingly hint of peppermint, and offers protection with a beautiful glossy shine.

As an added bonus, its made with just a few simple, natural ingredients, right in your kitchen. And in almost less time than it takes to brew a cup of coffee, you'll have a batch of lip balm that puts any store-bought version to shame.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Tips + Tricks
• How To Make Cocoa Peppermint Lip Balm
• Measuring By Weight
• Batch + Storage
• Storage:
• Ingredient Links
• Supply Links
• Pin This DIY Mint Lip Balm Recipe!
• Comments

Ingredients

Coconut Oil

Coconut oil is a fantastic addition to lip balm because it is made up of mostly saturated fat and can lead to significant improvements in hydration.¹ Unrefined coconut oil is a white solid at room temperature, but melts quickly on the lips.

Beeswax

Beeswax is used to both add structure to the balm and help protect the skin. It works as an occlusive to reduce water loss by forming a protective barrier, a humectant to lock in moisture, and an emollient to soften and soothe the skin.²

Cocoa Butter

Cocoa butter is a creamy, fatty wax that is solid at room temperature. It smells faintly of chocolate and has a rich, silky texture. Cocoa butter is a great at helping to protect your skin from moisture loss.³

Sweet Almond Oil

This pale yellow oil is an excellent emollient (skin soother) and moisturizer.⁴ If you can, pick up cold pressed almond oil, as it is produced without solvents or heat.

Peppermint Essential Oil

Peppermint essential oil is responsible for the scent and tingle of this luscious lip balm. But it's not just a pretty face, peppermint oil alters the skin permeability and can prevent the skin from drying by the sun and wind.⁵

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is very thick and sticky, so it is used in minor quantities in this recipe, and it acts as an anti-oxidant, helping to protect the oils from going rancid.⁶ I used Vitamin E capsules from the vitamin aisle at the grocery store - but you can use a dedicated skin care product, or omit it.

How To Make Cocoa Peppermint Lip Balm

Melt The Oils:

1. In a small heat proof bowl or double boiler, add 18g sweet almond oil, 10g beeswax, 10g coconut oil, 10g cocoa butter.
2. Heat the oils over medium low heat stirring regularly, until completely melted.
3. Remove the melted oils from the heat, add 10 - 15 drops of peppermint essential oil. Then, if using, puncture 2 Vitamin E and squeeze into the heated oils. Stir until completely combined.

Package The Balm:

1. Working quickly, transfer the melted oils from the double boiler to the lip balm tubes or lip balm pots. If the oils solidify during the packaging process, return them to the double boiler to melt before distributing again.
2. Place the lids on the lip balm and transfer to the fridge to chill quickly. Encouraging quick chilling can prevent gritty textures in your lip balm.

Pro Tip: If you don't have a lip balm filling stand (neither do I), just toss a rubber band around your lip balm tubes to hold them together, pop them into a small glass jar and pack in some paper towel to keep them steady during filling!

Measuring By Weight

I use my kitchen scale to weigh the ingredients for this recipe because I’m a firm believer in the accuracy that weighing provides. Beeswax often comes in irregular, inconsistent shapes, and cocoa butter is quite firm at room temperature.

Measuring them by weight is not only easier but also ensures precision, especially when scaling the recipe for larger or smaller batches.

Batch + Storage

Batch:

Although the ingredients seem like they are in ultra small quantities this recipe gives about 10 lip balm tubes, or 4-5 small lip balm pots. I like working with this quantity because I'm not making these to sell, I just like to have lip balm around, and to gift it to friends and family.

That said, if you love the recipe, feel free to scale it up - the results will stay consistent across batch sizes because I have developed this recipe by weights versus volume.

Storage:

I find the shelf life of this homemade peppermint lip balm to be about a year, so keep that in mind while you're making it - I try to only make up what I can use or gift within a reasonable timeframe.

I store mine anywhere and everywhere you may keep lip balms. Pockets, nightstand, purse, car, computer bag, desk, makeup drawer. It doesn't require any special storage considerations, though, there was one I left in my car console for an entire year, and it got gritty - I'm not sure if it was from freezing during the winters or getting very hot in the summer. It still works and I still use it, but the texture in the tube is less silky.

Pin This DIY Mint Lip Balm Recipe!

Sources:

_¹ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15724344/

² https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36999457/

³ https://health.clevelandclinic.org/cocoa-butter-benefits

⁴ https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/almond-oil-for-skin

⁵ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0753332222009489

⁶ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tocopherol