This pretty ruby lip tint gets its ruby colour pop from an infusion of alkanet root—Batschia canescens. Native to the Mediterranean, it produces bright blue flowers and dark red roots that have been used as a dye for hundreds of years.
Alkanet powder itself is pretty unassuming. It smells slightly herbaceous and is dark and a bit reddish. Once it starts to mingle with oil, though, its lovely red hue becomes readily apparent. I steeped mine like a cup of tea—though for several hours longer than tea should be steeped.
The rest of the lip tint is a simple lip balm base, with smooth coconut oil, fragrant cocoa butter (USA / Canada), and moisturizing sweet almond oil (USA / Canada). I did the infusion before adding the beeswax as it’s easier to infuse something that will readily stay liquid—something that won’t happen once beeswax joins the party.
In the end, this is a really lovely lip tint—definitely not a stain or a lipstick. It adds a subtle hint of extra pink and a touch of shimmer and gloss. Give it a try, I think you’ll love it 🙂
Ruby Lip Tint
1 tsp powdered alkanet root
10g | 0.35oz virgin coconut oil
6g | 0.21oz cocoa butter (USA / Canada)
16g | 0.56oz sweet almond oil (USA / Canada)8g | 0.28oz beeswax (USA / Canada)
1 pinch | 1/32 tsp silver mica (I use these cute measuring spoons to measure tiny amounts like this)
20 drops peppermint essential oil (USA / Canada)
Measure the alkanet root out into an empty disposable paper tea bag or disposable infusion bag. Tie it off and set it aside.
Weigh the coconut oil, cocoa butter (USA / Canada), and sweet almond oil (USA / Canada) out into a glass measuring cup. Place the measuring up in a pot of barely simmering water to melt the oils.
Place the bag of alkanet root in the measuring cup with the oils, ensuring the part with the alkanet root is in the oils. Let it infuse for a few hours—I went grocery shopping. If you leave the house please turn off your stove and let the oils infuse at room temperature. I popped mine back on the heat when I got home for another 20 minutes or so.
Once you have a nice, deep colour, remove the bag of alkanet root, pressing it firmly with a spoon or spatula to remove as much oil as possible. Discard the alkanet baggie (makes great compost!).
Remove the oil mixture from the heat and add the beeswax. Melt everything together.
Once the wax has melted into the oils, remove from the heat and stir in the silver mica and essential oil. Decant into lip balm tubes—this recipe should fill about 9.
Let set up before labelling (I use these cute labels!) and capping. Enjoy!
Don’t have some of the oils or butters called for in this recipe? Read this for information on how to make good substitutions.
For reference—the lip tint on my pasty arm 🙂
I love your post. Would you happen to know how to make the color more pigmented like regular lipsticks? What adjustments would you make?
Thank you!!!!
In my experience you need a solid pigment to get the opacity and vibrancy one expects from lipstick, and alkanet isn’t a good solid pigment as it is water soluble and not all that potent. Check out my colourant guide for more info 🙂
Is there anyway for the root to be used in a more potent formula to create more of a lipstick opacity? I love the color!
In my experience you need a solid pigment to get the opacity and vibrancy one expects from lipstick, and alkanet isn’t a good solid pigment as it is water soluble and not all that potent. Check out my colourant guide for more info 🙂
This is perfect for summer! The slight tint is what I look for unless it’s a “dressy” day. Being a mom, that isn’t most days. You have wonderful recipes. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Jennifer! Enjoy 🙂
Perfect timing! I have officially given up on beet root powder after yesterday, my third (and final) failed attempt at using it in a lip balm or gloss. And I have alkanet root powder on the way to me in the mail! Thanks!
Woo! Have fun 🙂
Lovely! Thanks a bunch for the reference Marie! 😀
🙂
very pretty! thank you!
🙂
Thank you for the recipe I make a similar balm and I infuse the alkanet root in olive pil which is part of my recipe for 2 weeks up to 1 month it imparts a more rich tone to your lip balm .
Very neat! If you were so inclined you could do a continual infusion like I do with herbs, and then you could always have lots of coloured oils on hand 🙂
Great idea! I already infuse oil with alkanet for my soaps, why not save a little for lip balms. Love it!!
Thanks! 🙂
Ha there it is! It’s lovely, thank you for sharing!
🙂
I had no idea that you could use alknet root like that. I’ve read about using it for CP but I guess the colour comes out better when not exposed to lye.
Cool, eh? Enjoy! 🙂
Ohhh, I love this – it’s perfect for me! Thank you!!
Enjoy!
those are gorgeous, such a nice red. every time I use alkanet in lip balm they are more of a purple… do you think the silver mica is what kept yours from being purple?
Hi Emily! I think it’s more the concentration of alkanet than the mica—this alkanet produces a purple in lower does 🙂
I finally got the chance to make this. It turned out great! I got impatient and didn’t let the alkanet infuse long enough. I ended up with pink balm, almost no color on my lips. Although I will infuse longer next time, I love this recipe. It is smooth, moisturizing, and has the perfect amount of mint.
Awesome! You can also get a deeper colour by just using more alkanet for the infusion 😉
I’ll try that next batch. Thanks for the tip.
🙂
Hi Marie!
I was wondering what were the benefits of sweet almond oil vs. olive oil for lip balms.
Thanks so much,
Kathryn
Hi Kathryn! I like that sweet almond oil doesn’t really taste or smell like anything… I find olive oil can be a bit salad-y for use on my lips 😛
Lol ok thanks!
Kathryn
🙂
Hi! I’m really new to DIY cosmetics. Could I use a lip care base instead of the wax and butters separately? MakingCosmetics has a natural lip balm base that seems to be made of different waxes and oils plus Vitamin E. Do you think it would work just as well? Your blog is such an inspiration and where I got the idea to start making my own stuff 🙂
You should be able to, you’ll just have to keep the mixture warm enough to keep the wax liquid for the entire time you’re infusing the herb 🙂
Hi,
I love this! One question; how do you manage to not have air pockets in your tubes? I have that problem nearly every time! Thanks for your post!
Hey Suzanne! It sounds like you’re waiting too long to pour your lip balm; if it’s liquid it can’t leave air pockets 🙂 Try pouring it while it’s still fairly hot and fully liquid.
Hi! I’ve been going through so many of your recipes… Love them all! Very very excited for your book! 😀
I had a snafu in making this lip tint, though. My alkanet, purchased from a Canadian supplier, turned very brown in oil instead of purple or red. 🙁
Would you mind sharing where yours is sourced from? The colour is gorgeous! 🙂
Thank you for your continued efforts of testing, sharing, and teaching! 😀
Mine is from Saffire Blue 🙂 Is there any chance you’re heating the oils (and the root) too hot? That can’t happen if you’re using a water bath, but you might be getting discolouration if you’re infusing over direct heat. Thanks for reading!
Oh, that’s odd. Mine’s from there, too! I actually tried first with just a room-temp infusion, and then with a water bath, but both times it just turned brown. 🙁
Maybe it’s the batch I got. I’ve just ordered some from Voyageur; hoping that will turn out a bit better. 🙂
Thanks for your response! 🙂
The differentiation in colour from batch to batch with herbal colourants is a huge part of why I prefer iron oxides in anything where reliable colour is required. People do love herb infused things, though! Sadly, they just aren’t as reliable 🙁
Hi Marie, can mango butter be used instead of cocoa butter?
Hey Nancy! Those two butters are very different, so they don’t make good alternatives for one another. Check out the link at the bottom of the recipe for more information 🙂
I have recently found your site and receive your emails – great information, great ideas, and a refreshing break.
I read your post about substituting essential oils as I would like to use something other than peppermint oil – I find it dries out my lips too much. What is the purpose for the peppermint – scent, therapeutic or physical benefits, or just because you like it? 🙂
I prefer unscented lip treatments but would be interested in trying something like vanilla or fir (very relaxing scents for me) if essential oils are needed to make the recipe work.
Any thoughts? Thank you for all of your hard work in keeping up your website and creating all of these fun projects.
Just scent! And the ingredients smell great on their own so this is lovely without any added EOs 🙂
Hi! I just did it and I’m in love with it. The colour is very subtle. I used only shea butter and the alkanet root as I wanted a creamy texture and it ended lovely. But, I did some research and alkanet root is supposed to have a certain degree of toxicity. Maybe it’s toxic only if you consume it, but I just wanted to ask if you have checked that out. Thank you!
From everything I can find you would have to be consuming an incredibly large amount of it for it to be a concern; none of the sources I found even had a dangerous dose listed. Considering it has a history of use being consumed, I’m certainly not concerned about its presence in a lip tint 🙂
¡Thank you!
Hi.. Can I use beetroot powder instead of alkanet root? I like pink tones and beetroot is nice and dark in pink 🙂
You can try it, but you are not going to get pink out of it—check out the photos at the end of this post to see the colour you’ll get from beetroot. It’s definitely a lot more red than pink.
Also, can I use Kokum butter instead of Coco butter? I just realized I am out of my coco butter and delivery will take time *Not patient 😛
I have also read that Kokum butter has a very similar to coco butter and can be replaced. But I trust you the most hence waiting for your reply 🙂
You should be able to—everything I’ve read says it’s a good swap 🙂
This is a little of topic…..but seen as you shared the labels you like……what kind of printer do you use to print these “cute little labels”? 😉
My right hand lol. Everything is hand written.
Please How Do I Make Only One Lip Balm Only And Not Many, Thank you
You’ll need a scale accurate to 0.01g, for starters. This post should help you sort out the rest 🙂 Generally speaking, though, it’s not really sensible to try to make less than 4 or 5 lip balms at a time—that’s like trying to make a single cracker!
Would coffee filters work for infusing the alkanet?
Yup! Just be sure to tie it off well 🙂
Hai, do you think its possible for me to change the alkanet to fruit extract powders (strawberry, beet root)??
I have not had any success with such things, but you can always try!
Hi the lip tint looks lovely but I have read that alkanet might be damaging to the liver and also cancerous – so I would hesitate to put it in a lip product that is partly digested.
Assuming that is true; what is the dosage required to be problematic? I’d suspect it’s nowhere close to what you might be exposed to here. After all, we know bacon is a carcinogen and people still readily eat it as the dose makes the poison 🙂
Thank you! Do you know if alkanet is FDA approved as a colorant in lip balms? I’d like to make and sell lip balm, but when I look up the fda’s list of approved colorants, it says that alkanet is no longer permitted. However, I’m wondering if this is only as a food coloring and it is t even addressed for cosmetics? Any insight you can provide would be very helpful. Thanks!
I’m not American and I don’t sell things, so I can’t be of much help here. I know the FDA lists all approved cosmetic colourants somewhere in the maze that is their website, you’ll just have to find the right page. Good luck!
Hi Marie!
I realise this post is very old now, but I’m wondering if you remember if these lip tints faded much?
I’m working with Alkanet at the moment and have my samples in mini glass jars. One that I gave to a tester that has been sat on a bedside table has lost its colour all round the exterior (inside is fine). I’ll be using tins but I do wonder whether the colour will hold, even with no light exposure?
Thanks