It’s winter here at Formula Botanica HQ and while it’s a wonderful time of year for many reasons, our lips may not agree. With fewer and thinner layers of skin compared to other parts of our body, lips require extra care to maintain their moisture balance and resilience. They need even more care in the winter months, when a lack of moisture both externally and internally can deplete the lips of their natural moisture, leading to dryness and discomfort.
Let us introduce you to a wonderful solution with our mint and mocha lip balm formulation. This balm acts as an occlusive barrier against the elements, protecting the delicate skin of the lips from harsh environmental and indoor conditions where moisture is depleted by heating systems. By providing a protective layer, lip balms help seal in moisture, preventing dehydration and chapping. Regular application becomes the key to providing this defense, ensuring that lips remain supple, hydrated and shielded against the challenges posed by the winter weather.
You can make this easy lip balm at home in just 10 minutes. It makes a great gift for friends, family, teachers, colleagues or other recipients and you can get creative with the packaging too. Everyone needs a lip balm in their life and will appreciate the thought that goes into a handmade, homemade beauty gift. So, let’s get started.
Packing your lip balm
Instead of using regular plastic lip balm tubes, we encourage you to get creative and consider more fun and eco-friendly options. You may like the eco push tubes made of cardboard or the eco pots which can be available in different colors. You might find a small glass jar if you don’t mind a finger application. Retro drawers are also a fun option. In choosing the packaging, you can get even more creative with lovely papers, stickers, ribbon or small paper pouches to make the presentation even more beautiful, as well as personalized for the recipient, the season or the occasion.
Key Ingredients in Mocha Mint Lip Balm
Honeycomb: Natural beeswax is a cornerstone ingredient in many lip balms, offering a wealth of benefits to combat dry lips. Its emollient properties form a protective barrier, sealing in moisture and protecting lips from harsh environmental conditions. This barrier effectively locks in hydration, preventing moisture loss and helping to repair chapped or dry lips.
Additionally, beeswax has soothing properties to calm irritated skin while providing a soft, nourishing touch. Its inherent hygroscopic properties attract water molecules, further contributing to lip hydration levels. As a key ingredient in lip balm formulations, beeswax plays a key role in revitalizing and maintaining soft, supple lips, making it an invaluable ally in the fight against dryness.
If you prefer a vegan alternative, you could explore rice bran or carnauba candles. If substituting beeswax, pay attention to the melting point of the wax you choose as it should have similar properties (hardness and melting point) to beeswax to ensure optimal results. For tips on this, see these posts:
6 vegan candles for organic cosmetic compositions
Vegan and cruelty-free cosmetics: what every natural manufacturer should know
Cocoa butter: this is known for its healing properties. Its rich composition of fatty acids, antioxidants and vitamins makes it an excellent conditioner that deeply nourishes the lips. The presence of polyphenols and flavonoids contributes to improving elasticity and reducing roughness. The scent fits the mocha theme nicely.
Want to give it an extra twist? Try adding a touch of a darker brown vegetable butter like a kombo butter or bacuri butter to make the balm more “mocha” looking.
Coffee CO2 extract: it is rich in antioxidants and caffeine and has proven ability to stimulate and rejuvenate the sensitive skin on the lips. Its caffeine content stimulates circulation and its powerful antioxidant profile helps fight free radical damage.
If you don’t have CO coffee2 extract, just skip it and increase the butter or oil by the same amount.
A few words about the safety of essential oils:
Peppermint essential oil has been selected for its cooling and soothing effect on dry, chapped lips. Remember that because your lips have fewer layers of skin you should consider safety and generally keep essential oils below 0.5% on the lips.
Our formula: 10 minute lip balm
It does: suggested test batch size: approx. 100 gr.
Wording: a hot process, anhydrous formulation.
Time Required: 10 minutes.
Level: entry-level composition for personalization and customization.
| ONE | Honeycomb | Cera alba | 22.00 |
| ONE | Cocoa butter | Theobroma cocoa butter | 27.00 |
| ONE | castor oil | Ricinus communis seed oil | 20.00 |
| ONE | Sweet almond oil | Prunus amygdalus dulcis oil | 28.70 |
| si | Coffee CO2 extract | Arabica coffee seed extract | 1.50 |
| si | Tocopherol | Tocopherol | 0.50 |
| si | Peppermint essential oil | Mentha piperita oil | 0.30 |
| Total: 100.00 |
Equipment:
- Libra
- Glass glasses / stainless steel bowls
- Hot plate
- bathroom
- Stainless steel spatulas, spoons and pipettes
- Protective gloves
- Suitable container – twist lip balm tube or container with lid
Method of Construction
- Friday
Sanitize your utensils and work area and wear appropriate PPE according to GMP.
- Weigh the butter, oils and wax
Weigh all the ingredients of phase A into a glass beaker or heat-resistant jar.
- Heat the butter, oils and wax
Heat phase A in a water bath until the wax and butter are completely melted and thoroughly mixed.
- Weigh extracts and vitamin E
Weigh the ingredients of phase B while phase A is heating. Once you remove phase A from the heat, it won’t take long for the balm to start solidifying around the edges, so you want to have phase B ready.
- Remove phase A from heat and cool
Let phase A cool a bit until you start to see the balm just starting to solidify around the edges.
- Add phase B
Add phase B to phase A. You may see some of the balm start to solidify, so just stir the balm and scrape the sides of the glass to keep everything wet.
- Pour the balm into the tubes or packaging of your choice
Leave some space at the top after the initial pour and keep a small amount of balm in the glass. The balm will solidify quite quickly and you may notice a split at the top of the balm.
- Liquify the reserve balm in the glass
Place the glass back into the hot water bath for just a few seconds and stir to re-melt the balm. Pour it over the top of the tube for a smooth finish.
- Label and date
Label and date your batch.
Composition tips
- Heat all your heat-stable ingredients to their melting point. In this formula the beeswax has a melting point of about 62-65°C. Once heated you can remove the glass from the hot water bath and let it cool. When adding the heat-sensitive ingredients, you may notice solids forming in the glass. This is nothing to worry about. Mix the balm and you’ll probably notice that everything liquefies quickly. If not, just a quick dip in the hot water bath will liquify everything nicely without endangering the heat-sensitive ingredients.
- Remember, balms cool very quickly so the ingredients don’t stay warm and moist for long. If the balm starts to solidify in the glass before you pour it into your pack, just submerge it in the water bath again for a few seconds and stir to melt the rest of the balm and continue pouring.
- When you pour the balm into lip balm tubes, you may notice a split at the top of the balm. To fix this, there are a few options. A hair dryer could be used to heat the top enough to smooth out the balm, or a better option would be to keep some of the balm in the glass and, when pouring it into the tubes, leave some space at the top when you do I pour first. Allow to solidify and form the cap, then heat the balm in the beaker and pipe on top for a smooth finish.
Recommended suppliers
Many of the suppliers below ship internationally. We have given the basis of their homeland.
Aromatazone (EU).
Aromatics (UK)
Alexmo Cosmetics (EU)
Manske (EU)
Soap (UK)
Elementary (EU)
Lotioncrafter (USA)
Essential Wholesale (USA)
O&3 – The Oil Family (UK/EU)
Go Native (New Zealand)
Naturally Balmy (UK)
Soap & More (Canada)
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Therese is on the Formula Botanica Teaching Team after joining as a Grading Tutor in December 2022. Therese’s years of experience as a cosmetologist/esthetician and later a certified holistic health coach led her to a passion for compounding quality natural ingredients and Formula Botanica was just the school she needed to start progressing and mastering her wording skills.
