With Movember around the corner, this mustache wax is just the thing for encouraging owners of creepy little No’ mo’s to style their newfound facial hair into something dashing and well-groomed.
It comes together in a jiffy, and this recipe makes a very manageable amount (~15g/half an ounce) to avoid finding yourself swimming in wee tins of ‘stache wax. It’s a simple blend of liquid jojoba oil and sticky beeswax, spiced up with an intriguing blend of essential oils that’s reminiscent of a cologne you can’t quite place. I think you’ll like it.
Because of beeswax’s unique tackiness, I do not recommend swapping it out for any other wax, but you could use a different liquid carrier oil if you want.
Now, because every mustachio is different, the amount of wax in this recipe is a range instead of a hard number. The lower end of the range provides a light hold—something stiffer than a beard balm, but not hugely so. You will not be sculpting facial hair into a chin octopus with the 4g of beeswax version.
More wax makes for more hold. If you want a medium hold, try the 6g version. If that’s still not enough, melt it down and bump it up to 8g. You can add more than 8g if you like, but I do recommend doing a bit of melting and testing to see what works best for your mustache. If you’re planning on experimenting I do recommend leaving out the essential oils until you find the right amount of wax for you—constantly reheating them will destroy them. This kind of customization is why I love making stuff like this instead of buying it 🙂
Mustache Wax
10g | 0.35oz jojoba oil
4–8g | 0.14–0.28oz beeswax4 drops palmarosa essential oil
2 drops anise essential oil
1 drop basil essential oil
4 drops red mandarin essential oilWeigh the oil and beeswax into a small heat resistant glass measuring cup over a double boiler and melt together.
Once everything has melted together, remove the cup from the heat and stir in the essential oils. Pour the mixture into a 15mL/half ounce tin and let it set up before labelling (I love these labels) and using.
If you prefer more hold, re-melt everything and add another gram or two of beeswax. Review this guide for an idea of how beeswax and liquid oils play together. If you’re planning on experimenting I do recommend leaving out the essential oils until you find the right amount of wax for you—constantly reheating them will destroy them.
I don’t have a ‘stach but I want to smell it!
Me too, Paula!
The last time Marie claimed a scent blend made you wonder where you’ve smelled it before, but couldn’t quite place it, she wasn’t kidding.
Driving me crazy!
Cj
😉 Take another look at the scent blend in this recipe, I just found it again and… dayum!
I gave this to my boyfriend to test/sample/adopt, but I still huff it when I visit 😉
Dear Martha Stewart,
Thank you for sharing this. Can this recipe be used for a beard balm? Where can I get these ingredients in the Calgary, Canada area?
Love what you do!
Bob
Hey Adam/Bob 🙂 You’d probably find this recipe to be a bit thick and tacky to want it all over your beard, but this is just the thing. As for shopping in Calgary, check out The Apothecary in Inglewood and Soap & More off Blackfoot Trail.
I can’t wait to make this for the men in my family ! I would love to see if you have a beard conditioning oil that you’ve made, as well as beard & mustach wash. My husband and his bearded friends take much pride in their beards. I just love that they do this !!!
Also I wanted to let you know your boot balm is fabulous !!! I make 20 jars a year and give them to the guys at my honeys work for Christmas. I’ve been told it’s the best they have ever used !!!
Thanks ,
AK
I actually already have a beard oil on the roster, with a tester dude lined up and everything! 🙂 Stay tuned 😉
I’m so thrilled you (and all the dudes) love my boot balm—yay!
Oomg I thought this was wax to get rid of the stache… this is where I should put down the wine glass, I think! very very funny. Oh well, I’ll just use the regular bought stuff to get rid of mine. 😀
Also, thank you sooooooooo so much for changing the captcha thing!
It’s still a work in progress, this one definitely doesn’t work as well as the old one did :/ Hrm. Darn spam bots!
Ha, oops! I mean… you could always embrace it and go for a full, stylish stash 😉 It is Movember, after all! Hahahaha.
do you think this has enough hold for it to be used as a hair pomade?
Well, you can make it as thick as you’d like, but I think this would be pretty gross to have in your hair in large enough amounts to have much hold—it would be incredibly sticky, and if it was hot out it probably wouldn’t work very well :/ I don’t have short hair, though, so perhaps I have no idea what I’m talking about. LisaLise has a recipe for something pomade-y that uses mostly lanolin, maybe check that out?
I made this today for my eldest son. He’s my viking-ish boy and very proud of his beard and moustache, although it all blends together as one since he has no wax. But he will when he comes up for Christmas!
Smells Devine, Marie. Had to exchange tangerine for the red Mandarin, hope it is a close match?
I’m game for more men’s products if you want to go there more. I can only make myself so much and yet I can’t seem to stop concocting your recipes. Oh, it’s such a burden!
Ooh, what a lucky guy! Tangerine, mandarin, and clementine are all good swaps for one another (though I highly recommend clementine in particular as it smells amazing!). I need to build myself a stable of men who would use more products… I seem to have a knack for dating men who are very low maintenance haha.
Great recipe
Love it
I doubled it so I could make 1oz
(Made a little more then a oz)
20-16
20-8
An went in the middle 20-12
Really like the finished product.
I hate beard balms, to shiny.
I Will use the 20-8 an 20-12 to give a little shape to my beard. It makes a nice beard wax also Not shiny at all. I also used Grapeseed oil instead of jojoba.
Thanks for the recipe an all the great videos.
Keep up the good work
Wonderful! I’m so glad you’ve developed something you like, and that you wrote it down so you can do it again 😉 Happy making and thanks for watching/reading!
Would I need to add any Vitamin E or preservatives in this recipe? And if so, how much would you advise?
You can include vitamin E at 0.5%—check out the FAQs for more information on the basics of preserving 🙂