‘Tis the season for horrible lizard lips, and this lip balm is my lizard lip savior. This super simple, wonderfully effective Sticky Coconut Lip Balm came about thanks to Susan, who commented on my Quick Guide to Coconut Oil & Beeswax Ratios back in 2014 to tell me that she uses a blend of equal parts coconut oil and beeswax for a sticky lip balm that was brilliant for long, dry winters.

How to Make Sticky Coconut Lip Balm from 4 simple ingredients

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I started using the 1:1 blend from my experiments as a lip balm, and I’ve frequently found myself mixing up a single tube of the stuff to have on hand when it’s fiercely dry out. I knew it was worth sharing with you guys when I found myself hunting through the pockets of all my jackets and hoodies looking for that one tube as it was the only thing that would do the trick on particularly dry days. It’s definitely a bit tacky, so I find I’ll apply it liberally at night before turning in, letting it work its lip softening magic while I’m asleep and won’t be bothered by the tackiness of it.

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How to Make Sticky Coconut Lip Balm from 4 simple ingredients How to Make Sticky Coconut Lip Balm from 4 simple ingredients

If you’re familiar with using beeswax to thicken oils, you’ll know a 1:1 blend is usually worthless. Far too hard, far too sticky, and generally unenjoyable. Coconut oil is a weird one, though. It’s thin and oily as soon as it touches the skin, making it a poor moisturizer on its own in very dry climates, but when blended with equal amounts of beeswax, it ends up being an awesome pairing. Add a wee bit of healing Vitamin E MT-50 (USA / Canada) and some fresh peppermint essential oil (USA / Canada) and that’s it. There’s just enough slip to apply it, and then you’ve got this fantastic sticks-around-for-hours lip balm on that seals in moisture and helps your lips soften up and stop feeling like lizard skin (ugh).

How to Make Sticky Coconut Lip Balm from 4 simple ingredients How to Make Sticky Coconut Lip Balm from 4 simple ingredients

And, best of all, it’s so easy to make that it’s barely a recipe. Four simple ingredients (two of which are optional, honestly) come together in a flash to make a fistful of Sticky Coconut Lip Balm that you and your reptilian winter lips will love. Bam!

How to Make Sticky Coconut Lip Balm from 4 simple ingredients How to Make Sticky Coconut Lip Balm from 4 simple ingredients

Sticky Coconut Lip Balm

11g | 0.38oz virgin coconut oil
11g | 0.38oz golden, honey-scented beeswax
10 drops Vitamin E MT-50 (USA / Canada) (optional—helps boost healing and extend the shelf life of the lip balm)

10–15 drops peppermint essential oil (USA / Canada) (optional/replaceable)

Weight the coconut oil, beeswax, and Vitamin E MT-50 (USA / Canada) into a heat resistant glass measuring cup and place the measuring cup in a small saucepan of gently simmering water. Heat through until everything melts.

Remove the measuring cup from the heat and stir everything to combine with a flexible silicone spatula. Add the peppermint essential oil (USA / Canada), stir again, and pour the lip balm into lip balm tubes (I find this one is so sticky that I really don’t enjoy applying it with my finger from a tin). This recipe will fill 5 tubes pretty much perfectly. For labelling, I love these funky kraft labels. Enjoy!

If you decide to use a different essential oil be sure to choose one that’s not orally toxic (tea tree and wintergreen, for example) and one that’s not photosensitizing (the citrus essential oils). Spearmint, cocoa, and coffee would all be great!

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How to Make Sticky Coconut Lip Balm from 4 simple ingredients