The consistency I look for in a lip balm is almost entirely dictated by how my lips are feeling. If I’m feeling extra parched and lizard-like I’ll reach for something sticky (like this or this) that has the power to stubbornly cling to my lips and really lock in moisture. If I’m feeling pretty good, a lighter, slicker lip balm is much more up my alley. Given it’s the middle of summer (how did that happen so fast?!) right now, I’m in the mood for something smooth and a touch glossy, and that’s exactly what this Chamomile Citrus Vegan Lip Balm is.
Carnauba wax is a brittle, glossy, plant-based wax. It comes from the coating of the leaves of the Copernicia prunifera, which grows in north eastern Brazil. Unlike beeswax, which usually comes in big chunks or wee pellets, carnuaba wax comes in thin, shardy flakes. Its glossy nature makes it popular in everything from cosmetics to candy coatings to wood polish. Carnauba creates thinner, smoother concoctions than beeswax, which lends itself to creamier, tackier balms and salves. The glossy, silky feel of carnauba is a huge part of why I chose it—it’s perfect for lightweight, summer lip balms!
The rest of this balm is a blend of some lovely, lightweight oils. Babassu oil is actually one of the first oils I ever purchased (I think I bought a bag off eBay back in 2011), and I’ve recently re-stocked it after a good five years without having it in my pantry. If I’m being honest, I find babassu to be fairly indistinguishable from coconut oil. Both coconut oil and babassu oil are soft, white oils that liquify on contact with the skin thanks to their relatively low (~24°C) melting points. Babassu oil is nice, don’t get me wrong, and it is an excellent substitution option for anyone with a coconut allergy, but I’m not sure I’d encourage you to go out and buy a tub if you’ve already got coconut oil at home (unless, of course, you have an oil problem like me, in which case knock yourself out haha!).
I chose two other lightweight oils to round off the blend—silky, summery apricot kernel oil and creamy mango butter, which sinks into the skin lightning fast. If you don’t have ’em I’ve provided a list of alternatives at the bottom of the recipe, but I do really like this blend for its’ light-yet-hydrating summery goodness.
The last bit of this lovely Chamomile Citrus Vegan Lip Balm is the essential oil blend: a fruity, warm blend of South African Chamomile and citrussy litsea cubeba. If you’ve spent much time in these parts you’ve likely read about my love of South African Chamomile before. Also known as Cape Chamomile (Eriocephalus punctulatus), South African Chamomile is really very different from the chamomiles you’re likely more familiar with—Roman and German. South African Chamomile is all green apples and warm hay to me, without the strong herbal notes that come through in Roman and German. It’s also not blue, which is rather neat (this is because Cape Chamomile doesn’t contain any azulene). Sadly, it’s a bit hard to find these days, though, as New Directions discontinued it (boo), but as with most things DIY, you can customize the essential oil blend to anything you like! Mint is always a popular choice for lip balm, as is benzoin (vanilla-esque) and lavender. You can also leave the lip balm unscented if that’s your jam.
As with all lip balms, all there is to do is measure-melt-pour-ignore (aka let cool), and you’re done! Let’s make some Chamomile Citrus Vegan Lip Balm 🙂
Chamomile Citrus Vegan Lip Balm
4g | 0.14oz carnauba wax
6g | 0.21oz babassu oil
5g | 0.17oz mango butter (USA / Canada)
9g | 0.32oz apricot kernel oil (USA / Canada)
0.1g | 2 drops Vitamin E MT-50 (USA / Canada)10 drops South African chamomile essential oil
2 drops litsea cubeba essential oilPrepare a water bath by bringing about 3cm/1″ of water to a bare simmer over low to medium-low heat in a small saucepan.
Weigh the first five into a small heat-resistant glass measuring cup. Place the measuring cup in your prepared water bath to melt everything through.
Once everything has melted, remove the measuring cup from the heat and dry the outside of it off with a dish towel. Set the measuring cup on a towel or hot pad to insulate it from the counter and stir the mixture with a flexible silicone spatula to combine everything.
Stir in the essential oils, and pour the lip balm into tubes or tins, and let it set up. Enjoy!
Substitutions
- You can use candelilla wax instead of carnauba
- You can use virgin coconut oil instead of babassu oil
- You can use refined shea butter (USA / Canada) instead of mango butter
- You can substitute another lightweight oil like sweet almond, grapeseed, or sunflower seed for the apricot kernel oil
I don’t have litsea cubeba Essential Oil is there any substitute?
Lemongrass would be a good choice 🙂
Hi, I’d like to try this recipe for 1 – 2 lip balm tubes. Please confirm how many tubes your recipe filled. I know the pics show 6 but didn’t want to assume.
Thank you.
Yesssss, LOVE it!
Wheee! Thanks 🙂
If you’re looking for a source for Cape Chamomile, I buy it from here http://www.floracopeia.com/Essential-Oils/Essential-Oils-A-E/organic-chamomile-oil-cape.html
Thanks! But that price $17 USD/3.75mL… mine was $14.03 CAD (11USD) for 15mL!
I’ll keep watching your site for it then but at least there’s another source if it’s a ‘must have’ for someone
Fingers crossed NDA starts carrying it again!
Thank you for sharing what the babussa oil and South African Chammomile oil is like. I had no idea. The essential oil sounds delicious.
You’re very welcome! I hope you get a chance to get a whiff of the real thing some day 🙂
I think you might be the only other person I know who is as obsessed with lip stuff as I am. One of my kids thought the ball would be in my purse so dumped out the contents of my purse. “MsPenny, you has a lot of mouth goo”. Thought it was a a good opportunity to practice counting, there were seventeen different tubes in my purse! Don’t even get me started on the number of gloss applicators!
Anyways, I can’t wait to try this! If I get my act together I’ll give this a go tomorrow!
Muahahahaha—there can never be enough “mouth goo” ! Though… 17?! Dear lady, I think you may actually be carrying a duffle bag, not a purse 😛
Computer, ipad, umbrella, fan, wallet, work phone, business phone, personal phone, various orders and kids stuff… you’re right. I don’t need a duffle bag, I need a trolley!
Oooh! The Mary Poppins bag! Does Michael Kors make one?
North Face.
Just kidding! I use a beach bag/purse for work these days!
Hi, recipe looks good as always. I do have a question though regarding the gloss look. How can I get lip balm to not be glossy. More like Burt’s Bees lip balm. Is it just a question of increasing the beeswax ratio?? I really need some help since the lip balms I’ve made so far are very shiny. Thanks for all your help. Claudia
That’s a pretty core part of the formula; more wax is part of it, but not all. The two stickier recipes I link to at the start of this post are both non-glossy and would be a good place to start your explorations 🙂
Thank you for your quick reply. Claudia
African chamomile is not available is it okay to use roman?
Yup! “You can customize the essential oil blend to anything you like! Mint is always a popular choice for lip balm, as is benzoin (vanilla-esque) and lavender. You can also leave the lip balm unscented if that’s your jam.”
Marie,
I’ve just fallen down the lip balm rabbit hole and as I am tinkering I am finding I really enjoy creating lip balms. With this specific recipe I do have the candelillia on hand. For butters I have sal and shea and I have both babasu and coconut oils. My question is, I am finding that my balms feel grainy in the tube. I’ve read some of the butters can be the culprit, as well as some of the waxes. How do you combat that, or do you?
What kind of grainy? Are we talking flour grainy or big (sand-sized), visible grains type grainy?
sorry, I didn’t get a notification that you’d responded. My first go round I used mango butter, bees wax, candelilla wax, and avocado oil among a few other things. The first couple of applications out of the tube the balm was smooth on the lips. After that though the feeling of that first layer felt sandy. Not on the lips, just in the tube.
I’d suspect the mango butter, though it’s really not a strong culprit (it’s usually shea butter). I’ve got an FAQ you can peruse for more info 🙂
Marie, I clicked the FAQ for post on grainy-ness and it appears that i need to be invited to view – who do i ask?
I’ve updated the post—check it out now 🙂