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Homemade Natural Lipstick Recipe

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Natural Homemade Lipstick Recipe with color variations Homemade Natural Lipstick Recipe

I’ve gotten several requests for my natural lip balm, lipstick, and Chapstick recipes, and while I’ve been making these for years, I finally got around to actually measuring the ingredients so I could tell you the recipe (I usually just made it by eyeballing the amounts).

Surprisingly, lipstick can be a source of harmful chemicals and since it is used on the skin (lips) and near the mouth, these chemicals can be easily absorbed. These homemade variations let you create a personalized lipstick color that is chemical free and inexpensive to make.

If you aren’t a fan of colored lip sticks, you can make this recipe without any added color options to achieve a basic natural lip chap.

The Base Recipe

This base recipe will create a smooth, clear lipstick that is very moisturizing and protective. It is made from completely natural ingredients and is safe for us on the lips or skin. If you want, you can add color with the following add-ins to create a color of your choice.

Optional Color Add-Ins

Other notes: I got all of my supplies from Mountain Rose Herbs, including the plastic container, which was $0.30.

What to do

Melt the beeswax, shea butter/cocoa butter and coconut oil in a glass jar without a lid in a small pot of simmering (not boiling) water. It should melt quickly because so little of each ingredient is used.

When melted, remove from heat and add any optional ingredients like color or scent. To get the hue in the picture above, I used a tiny pinch of beet root powder (1/8 tsp or less), 1/4 tsp cocoa powder, 1/8 tsp bentonite clay, 1/8 tsp cinnamon and a drop of peppermint essential oil (just because I like the smell). I think I added slightly more cocoa powder after mixing to darken it up slightly but I didn’t measure that one.

Once all ingredients are mixed well but still liquid, use a dropper to pour into the lip chap container. I used the glass dropper from an old tincture bottle. Fill just below the top as it will expand slightly as it cools. Leave to cool for at least half an hour. Store in a cool place (under 80 degrees) or it will soften.

Enjoy!

Ever made your own cosmetics? How did it go? What hue would you make of this recipe?

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About Wellness Mama

Wellness Mama is a full-time housewife with a background in nutrition, journalism and communications. Her passion is helping others achieve optimal health through a “Wellness Lifestyle.” She has helped hundreds of clients lose weight, increase athletic performance, improve fertility, and overcome numerous health problems and diseases. Connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, & Pinterest.

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DISCLAIMER: The statements made here have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. These statements are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure or prevent any disease. This notice is required by the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.

  • Tammy

    What is the texture like if you leave out the bentonite clay?

  • http://wellnessmama.com Wellness Mama

    It is more smooth and glossy

  • Tammy

    Thanks for the speedy reply! I think I’ll give this a try.

  • Maggie

    Question on using the beet root powder as a coloring agent… I have used beet root powder as a coloring agent in lip balm and found it to be a very grainy, unpleasing texture. What do you find this does to the texture of the lipstick? I tried straining the beet root powder granules out of my lip balm and then the little color that was left all sunk to the bottom of my tin when the mixture cooled. Any tips?

  • http://wellnessmama.com Wellness Mama

    This seemed thick enough that it stayed but it was a very fine powder.. You could use the natural food coloring of you’d prefer though

  • http://www.facebook.com/hoswald Heather Oswald Bucaram

    When I make mascara, I use coffee, which tends to be grainy. I just sit and smash it to smithereens while I’m watching T.V. with my mortar and pestle. Anything will turn into a really fine powder with enough elbow grease.

  • http://twitter.com/lillianjuliaD Lillian Davenport

    oh, I like this idea and I just might try it! I go through lipstick very, very slowly and it goes bad before I’m even halfway done with it, plus who the hell knows what they’re putting in it at the MAC factory? This seems fun!

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=556446856 Amy Knecht

    Is there anything I could add to make it stay more solid when it’s warm? It gets pretty warm in my house in the summer because we don’t like to run our cooler too much, plus I often carry lip balms and glosses in my pocket when I’m out and about, so I’m afraid of it melting.

  • http://wellnessmama.com Wellness Mama

    Add more beeswax until you get it as solid as you want… the more you add, the less lipstick will transfer to your lips each time, but it will stay solid at high temps.

  • viv

    have you used the clear lipstick containers? how did they work out for you?

  • http://wellnessmama.com Wellness Mama

    I have… They look a little messy with the color on the inside but they work…

  • Karey

    I’ve made a lipstick using alkanet as the colorant. Do you have any opinions on that? Since I’ve not tried beet, am wondering which truly adds color to the lips. And after reading the comments, because I use more beeswax and mango butter, so to be less melty in my pocket, I think they don’t allow much color to transfer I’m guessing. I love my homemade and don’t really need the color so much, just the emollient qualities.

  • Kate

    I usually use 1tbs of beeswax with 3 tbs of coconut oil and 1tbs of castor oil (cause I like it glossy) and I don’t have melting issues. I always have one in my pocket.

  • http://www.facebook.com/bmurawski2 Brittany Murawski

    is there an alternative to the beeswax? I am highly allergic to it but would love to try

  • http://wellnessmama.com Wellness Mama

    Mountain Rose Herbs has a non-bee sourced emulsifying wax that would probably work as well.

  • http://www.facebook.com/melissa.duncan.965 Melissa Duncan

    I’m so excited to try this! I just ordered my butters today and my natural dyes should be coming in this week :D . Ever since I started doing some research, my whole outlook on what I put on my body has changed. Thank you for posting these recipes for people like me!!

  • Elizabeth

    I made this with cocoa butter and a drop of peppermint oil and it is like I have a York Patty on my lisp. Yum! The peppermint makes it tingle like “real” chapstick. This recipe made 2 tubes with a little left to apply to everyone in the house :) Just a note: I had no problem filling the first tube but by the time I had gotten to the second the mixture was hardening already. So move quick!!

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  • Nancy Roberts

    Thanks for the recipe! I love lipstick and I will be pinning this recipe for a reference! Blessings!

  • http://www.facebook.com/rhauptman Rebecca Hauptman Cashman

    What if you like light pink? What would be a good natural color ingredient to make that with?

  • http://wellnessmama.com Wellness Mama

    You could just add a tiny bit of the beet, or infuse some hibiscus into the oils for a lighter shade.

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  • http://twitter.com/Jane_Hendry Jane Hendry

    Hi there – I don’t think you can add any water based ingredients to an oils/fats/waxes recipe, so I don’t see how adding “drops” of red food colouring would work.

  • http://www.facebook.com/holly.parnham Holly Parnham

    The melted oils to not leak through bottom of tube? I thought maybe to put a few droppers of oil in the bottom until they set,then fill rest of tube. Any thoughts?

  • http://wellnessmama.com Wellness Mama

    My tubes were solid on the bottom so I didn’t have that issue, but depending on the tube, that might be a good idea…

  • disqus_KFnXbdYh0C

    Tried this and the commenter below who said that they didn’t see how adding water-based food coloring to an oil mixture would work was totally right. I bought organic natural food coloring (made from beet root powder) that was $18 just to try this and it did not disperse in the oil/butter/beeswax mixture at all. Really disappointing. Had to add 10+ drops and mix like hell to get even the faintest hue.

  • Kristine

    Do you think this might work as a natural cover up like the one from here: http://www.amazon.com/Ecco-Bella-Medium-Beige-Flowercolor/dp/B000URVDIG/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=2NVZU822CJHJU&coliid=I2DO6LOUVDAB7S if you make it brown?

  • http://wellnessmama.com Wellness Mama

    It might… let me know if you try it how it works…

  • n.e.ellis@gmail.com

    Any tips on getting the colors to mix with the oils? They seem to clump for me and not make a smooth color.

  • http://www.facebook.com/anna.derengowski Anna Derengowski

    Try using a wax with a higher melting temperature like candelilla or carnauba.

  • Guest

    Is there a way that I can use herbal vaseline instead of beeswax so it could become more shiny?Im really having trouble finding the other types of oils and i dont want to use petroleum jelly.

  • Methredel Som

    What’s a good substitute for coconut oil? I’m very allergic to coconuts and cocoa.

  • Vivian

    Does anyone know where I can get the lipstick containers??
    Thanks :)

  • http://wellnessmama.com Wellness Mama

    Amazon has some and so does Mountain Rose Herbs

  • Vivian

    apart from coconut oil, what alternative can I use? also what can I do if I would like it smell like honey?

  • Vivian

    how do you store the product after ?

  • http://wellnessmama.com Wellness Mama

    In small tubs or old lipstick tubes…

  • http://twitter.com/AngelicaKamen Angelica Kamen

    Hello there! I tried with cocoa powder- it’s perfect, but I need help finding good beet powder! Where do you get yours?! Thanks so much!

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  • Vivian

    I mean do I have to put any preservatives in the product or how to I store it after to get longer shelf life? e.g refrigerator?

  • Rose M.

    Love this recipe! I’ve been looking for an all natural lipstick recipe for the longest time! All the other recipes I’ve found said to add eye shadow or dye. I couldn’t find a natural alternative to dye my lipstick naturally. Thanks!

  • Rose M.

    Can you make your own beet powder?

  • http://twitter.com/arinashaifuddin Arina Shaifuddin

    If somebody makes this lip balm and then sell it by themselves, would you mind if they did not inform you in advance? Thank you.

  • http://wellnessmama.com Wellness Mama

    I write the recipes to help others out, but if someone is using the exact recipe, I would appreciate attribution.

  • Sally

    Will the red lipstick have the same effect if I apply beet juice to it? I can sadly not find ANY beetroot powder close to me. I really want to try this out.

  • http://wellnessmama.com Wellness Mama

    I’m not sure that beet liquid would mix in with the oils…

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  • Vivian

    Hello, I have follow the steps above to create my product but it ends up so dry after 2-3 days?? what did I gone wrong?? thanks

  • http://wellnessmama.com Wellness Mama

    Hmmm. I haven’t had that problem… is it in a closed container?

  • Vivian

    YUP!!! did I do anything wrong with the ingredients?? like too much shed butter?

  • http://wellnessmama.com Wellness Mama

    Possibly…. maybe try adding more of the oil or beeswax?

  • Vivian

    but when i put lots of oil, the colour is so oily and it doesn’t work

  • Vivian

    hello, i have just made my lipstick, but it ends up too oily and the colour doesn’t come out, what should i add more to give a stronger texture?? shea butter or beewax?? Thhanks

  • http://wellnessmama.com Wellness Mama

    Shea butter

  • Tishana Trainor

    *mind blown*

  • Kaitlyn Martin

    I’m curious to see how well the color turns out before going through the process of making this myself. Would you mind posting pictures of your lips with and without the lipstick on? Thanks :)

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=203002387 Penny Brown

    How do you make your own mascara?!?!?! I want that recipe bad too!!! ;) ….whose elbows did you grind to dust? hehe

  • Adios

    That’s so cool!

  • Dragonsmuse

    Hi! I love the recipe :) but, my friend wants me to make a black lipstick…any idea what I should use to make that color?

  • http://www.facebook.com/ashley.gruetzmacher1 Ashley Gruetzmacher

    Activated charcoal

  • http://www.facebook.com/ashley.gruetzmacher1 Ashley Gruetzmacher

    Bulk apothecary

  • http://www.facebook.com/jennifer.h.hirtle Jennifer Hnasko Hirtle

    I too have tried this recipe but the beet root is grainy and then just sinks to the bottom of the container. I remelted it and added cocoa powder and the color looks great in the pot but goes on almost clear and then again the color is at the bottom of the lipgloss tin. Any tips for getting the color to go onto the lips? I do like the texture but want a little color.thanks

  • http://www.facebook.com/catherine.diebel.5 Catherine Diebel

    FYI, if you add some (ultra mortar & pestle ground) cinnamon or cinnamon oil, it will slightly irritate the lips and give a natural ‘plumping’ effect :)

  • Deb

    Making your own mascara? Please share the recipe!! I would be so grateful for that.

  • Karla

    If you want it shiny just use olive oil.

  • Karla

    You could make your own beet powder. Peel and slice beets very thin, then put them in a dehydrator overnight. They should be nice and crispy, let them cool and them grind them to a fine powder in a coffee grinder.

  • http://www.facebook.com/leighann.whitten Leigh-Ann Whitten

    I can’t use shea or cocoa butter… could I just leave that ingredient out?

  • Kyrie

    The best way to add any water based colorings to chapstick/lipstick is to remove some of your mixture of oils and etc. You can put it into a little bowl or something. Let it solidify a bit, and mix your coloring in. Then mix the solidified part back into the melted oils and wax until it is melted and mixed together. Then you can pour it into your containers. I did this with red (food grade) dye to make my chapstick pink. (I use my own recipe for chapstick, and it is more like a lip gloss so I wanted color) It worked amaaaazing and I adore my homemade glossy pink chapstick.

  • http://twitter.com/joyinHisWord joyinhisword

    when i added the beetroot powder …it isn’t mixing to add color! what to do?

  • http://twitter.com/joyinHisWord joyinhisword

    i had the same experience…wanting to make it in pink

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  • Cathy

    I have the same problem that many of the other commenters seem to be experiencing. Mixing the beet root powder into the oil-based waxes/butters simply does not work. The color clumps up sinks down to the bottom of the container, and does not mix at all. I really wanted to love this recipe for a natural lip tint, but it just didn’t work. :(