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I love making my own cosmetics. I’ve made foundation, natural bronzer, homemade lipstick and even mascara (recipe coming soon!).
In the comments of my homemade lipstick post, I had multiple people ask if there was an alternative to the beet root powder since theirs didn’t seem to be incorporating correctly.
A natural option that shines…
After much experimentation and research, I finally found another option that I absolutely love.
It is called Mica and it also provides a wonderful, subtle shimmer. Mica is a brittle silicate mineral and it comes in many colors. It is considered safe and non-toxic, with a green rating of 2 by the Environmental Working Group.
I’ve been experimenting with Mica in homemade cosmetics a lot lately and have a lot of new recipes to share in the next couple of months, but this shimmer lip balm was by far my favorite. It provides a slight shimmer and subtle color that accentuates the natural color of the lips and brightens your smile without looking fake or unnatural.
Why not just use regular lipstick? Glad you asked (but you might not be…)
Though they seem harmless, many lipsticks contain toxic ingredients, which is especially problematic due to the close proximity to the mouth. Some things found in conventional lipsticks:
- Cochineal Beetles– These beetles eat the prickly pear plant in South America. They are collected, boiled, dried and crushed into a powder to make a red dye used in many cosmetics (and some foods!)
- Ambergris– Street name: whale vomit. This waste from the digestive system of sperm wales (eww) is sometimes used in perfumes and lipsticks.
- Chemicals- Lipsticks are also notorious for containing artificial chemicals
Finding Natural Ingredients:
In this recipe, I used the following ingredients:
- Organic virgin coconut oil
- Raw, organic Shea Butter (can also use Cocoa Butter)
- Beeswax
- Rose Red Mica Powder and Natural Gold Mica Powder
I also found the following supplies really helpful for this recipe:
It is hard to see in the photo, but this natural lip balm provides subtle color and shine. Here’s how to make it:
Shimmer Lip Balm Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon shea butter or cocoa butter
- 1 tablespoon beeswax pastilles
- 1/2 tsp mica powder color of choice (I used a mix of red and gold)
- 15 drops peppermint essential oil
What to Do:
- Melt coconut oil, shea butter/cocoa butter and beeswax in a double boiler over medium heat.
- When melted, stir well and turn off heat.
- Add mica powder and (optional) essential oil.
- Using a glass dropper or [url:7]plastic pipette like this one, carefully transfer the mixture into [url:8]empty lip balm containers. This must be done quickly before the mixture hardens. I filled 8 empty containers when I made this.
- Let cool for an hour until mixture has completely hardened.
- Use as regular lipstick/lip balm.
Ever made your own lip balm or lipstick before?
DIY Reusable Rice Heat Packs
I’ve done this before a ndlove using honey and lemon, the honey helps moisturize as well. And i plan on trying a bit of cocoa powder with mint. My mother uses darker lipstick so i think if i mix the cocoa with the rose with would give a deep mauve color, i doubt it would give the color intensity of herlipstick, but i’m it would blend better or give her the tint she goes for.
Just bought a bunch of ingredients to make this lip balm but I have a question…You mentioned that this recipe makes about 8 tubes. How quickly does the mixture harden? I’m debating whether or not to get the lip balm filling tray or to just use a dropper. Does one filled dropper fill a tube? Thanks!
I tried a variation of this using beet root powder and it didn’t incorporate into the melted oil/wax mixture at all. What am I doing wrong?
Much as I like your recipes, I must admit that I dislike the smell of coconut oil. Is there a sustitue that I could use?
You could use Almond oil rather than coconut oil. It makes a nice lip balm, also Jojoba oil could be added.
Yes! I always buy expeller pressed coconut oil, no odor, no taste. My family of 9 is not a fan of coconut flavor, but I wanted to use in cooking for benefits, it’s wonderful and use in other herbal preparations I make from time to time. I purchase from Wilderness Family Naturals.
Is there a co. that provides certified ethical mica? (About 60% of mica comes from rural India and uses child labour!) That’s a different aspect altogether but an important one!
It would be GREAT if we could see a picture of you wearing the lip balm. I like to get an idea of what the end product looks like before I start investing in the ingredients, and I’m sure a lot of other people out there would appreciate it, as well. Thank you for all you do!
I am very excited to try this recipe. Has anyone used any of the other colors? There are Rose red and pink colors as well. The description in Amazon for the red was that it has a slight orange tinge – that would not work well on my skin tone, so I thought I would try the rose red. do you need to add the gold? They said the rose red shimmers.
Can you use Hibiscus powder instead?
Yes, it just needs to be really fine to incorporate correctly
I have been trying to make something similar here and having a challenge. I’m wanting to make a cream blush stick and my recipe is similar to your recipe here. My issue is that I’m using beetroot and hibiscus powders and the are gritty and do not break down. The color is there but the pigment isn’t enough and the more I use the grit is a problem even when I try to strain it it solidifies too quickly and the Brit is still there.
Any ideas?
Thanks
If you are looking for a plumping effect in your lip balm, try just a couple of drops of cinnamon oil. Gives a nice tingle, and bee sting effect. Don’t use to much though!
I am making body butter with Shea Butter and coconut oil but I want to make flavored and colorful ones for kids and adults. Do you have any ideas? I don’t know where to start from when it comes to choosing or making natural colors such as pink or yellow. I also wanted to make something that would blend in evenly to skin without it leaving the solid color on the skin.