Natural Shimmer Lip Balm Recipe

Katie Wells Avatar

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Natural Shimmer Colored Lip Balm Recipe
Wellness Mama » Blog » Beauty » Natural Shimmer Lip Balm Recipe

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:

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:

What to Do:

  1. Melt coconut oil, shea butter/cocoa butter and beeswax in a double boiler over medium heat.
  2. When melted, stir well and turn off heat.
  3. Add mica powder and (optional) essential oil.
  4. 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.
  5. Let cool for an hour until mixture has completely hardened.
  6. Use as regular lipstick/lip balm.

Ever made your own lip balm or lipstick before?

This natural shimmer lip balm recipe combines coconut oil, beeswax, and shea butter or cocoa butter with natural mica shimmer pigment and essential oils.

Katie Wells Avatar

About Katie Wells

Katie Wells, CTNC, MCHC, Founder of Wellness Mama and Co-founder of Wellnesse, has a background in research, journalism, and nutrition. As a mom of six, she turned to research and took health into her own hands to find answers to her health problems. WellnessMama.com is the culmination of her thousands of hours of research and all posts are medically reviewed and verified by the Wellness Mama research team. Katie is also the author of the bestselling books The Wellness Mama Cookbook and The Wellness Mama 5-Step Lifestyle Detox.

Comments

102 responses to “Natural Shimmer Lip Balm Recipe”

  1. Joa Avatar

    I just tried this recipe this morning – I used Rose Gold mica in my formula, although the color looks nice in the container no sparkle or tint transfers to lips or skin!? Should I double recipe for lingering shimmer (more like Burt’s Bees Lip Shimmer)?

  2. Vi Avatar

    Can you recommend a source for vegan, clean, natural micas for natural skincare and lip balm?

  3. Deepa Avatar

    Hi, is there any way, we can use beet juice to get the tinted color.

  4. grace Avatar

    when i try this the powder sinks to the bottom and doesnt get absorbed into the liquid mixture, any tips? what am i doing wrong?

  5. Rachel Avatar

    I wonder if you or any of your followers has ever used clay, such as French pink clay to tint lip balm. I use it in soaps but don’t know if it’s safe for lips or effectively adds color. Would love some feedback!

  6. Shannon Avatar

    Hi! What oil can be used in place of Coconut Oil for people who have nut allergies? Thank you!

  7. Amanda Avatar

    So I tried the shimmer lipstick recipe I used silver and gold mica…Making one batch and trying to separate before putting in the lipstick tubes did not go as planned with the gold; so I just put the gold in a small jar and put the silver in the tubes. I’ve gotta say: It turned out GREAT!! Not only does this recipe mix well, the application is smooth. I used the smallest recommended amount of mica in the recipe so I may use more the next time I make it. Also will try without the essential oils. All in all a great recipe. Thanks!

  8. Mick Avatar

    My first try at lip balm called for beet powder. It not only didn’t really mix well and felt grainy on my lips. Here’s the real kicker- It looked the right color when it was done and hardened but left absolutely no tint of color on my lips or my granddaughters lips. I even put it on the inside of my arm. No tint of color whatsoever. I’ll be trying this one.

  9. michele Avatar

    I’m trying to make a lip balm with clear red tint. Beetroot powder doesn’t dissolve in oils and is gritty. Mica is too pearly for what I want. Any ideas for me?

  10. Becky Avatar

    Ummm I don’t think ambergris is toxic and is one of the most exquisite ingredients in natural perfumery and is also used in high end desserts and to flavour special coffees. At 100$ US for one gram I highly doubt people Use it in any mainstream cosmetics, nor would it be useful. I think your info is misleading. Also, it’s fecal matter-not vomit. Ambergris is floating gold and it hurts to see it so misunderstood.

  11. Kathy Avatar

    I just made the lip balm and it turned out wonderfully. I was wondering what is the shelf life?

  12. Amy Avatar

    I’m kind of obsessed with keeping a lip balm in my pocket all the time and most natural brands get smooshy from the body heat. Bursts Bees lip shimmer holds up, but at $5 a tube I could buy a lot of ingredients instead. So my question is, can anyone tell me if this recipe holds up in your pocket all day? I also wondered if it’s possible to reuse Burt’s Bees (or whatever brand) tubes. Does anyone have experience with that? Thanks!

  13. Ann Avatar

    Hey Wellness Mama can you please send me a sample and if I like it I’ll just be your first customer lol

    Thank you.

  14. Kira Avatar

    Is there a way to make this into more of a lip gloss instead of a lip balm? I bought new lip gloss tubes and would love to fill them but if I followed this recipe the product would defiantly never come out.

      1. Kira Avatar

        Wouldn’t that also get stuck? I tried following the lip shimmer balm recipe and subtracting all the ingredients besides the castor oil and mica powder. I used the same ratios and while it works it’s starting to separate in the tube and my lips also absorb all the castor oil after about an hour. I have yet to try it on top of lip balm and will let you know how it goes but I’m still looking for a recipe that is easy to make, will look like lip gloss, and won’t get stuck in my lip gloss tubes. I’m open to anything (liquid lipstick would work) as long as it works.

  15. Caroline Avatar
    Caroline

    This was a big disappointment for me, sad to say, and a huge mess! The result ended up being a dull sludge (I used a combination of pink and bronze micas) with no discernible shimmer, and the overall texture was very waxy. I used a digital scale to measure all the ingredients, so that should have been okay. I also used a small funnel to pour the mixture into the tubes… it clogged up pretty quickly… couldn’t even imagine using a dropper or pipette! If I decide to try this again, I think would want to tinker with the recipe a bit by reducing the amount of beeswax to see if that yields a “glossier” lip gloss.

  16. Lipsa Avatar

    Are Mica powders all natural? Safe on all skin types? Thanks!

  17. Bree Colbern Avatar
    Bree Colbern

    Another awesome recipe… Works incredibly. And it adds such a nice gloss while nourishing my chapped lips!

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