Imitation Burt’s Bees Lip Balm

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Homemade Burts Bees Imitation Peppermint Lip Balm Recipe
Wellness Mama » Blog » Beauty » Imitation Burt’s Bees Lip Balm

Burt’s Bees Original Beeswax Peppermint Lip Balm was my gateway product into the world of natural living…really.

I was a devoted conventional makeup girl and had a drawer full of the latest glittery, scented, brightly colored lip glosses available. And my lips were chronically dry (wonder if it was from the chemical cocktail I was slathering on multiple times per day). One winter, tired of Carmex and other restorative lip treatments, I grabbed a tube of Burt’s Bees at a checkout counter on a whim.

I loved the light peppermint scent and how well it nourished my lips. I became an exclusive Burt’s Bees user for years…

And then, as most stories often go in the land of corporations, Burt’s Bees was bought out by Clorox and their formula now contains canola oil and soybean oil (which I don’t eat and also don’t want on my lips).

So as most stories go, in the land of Katie’s endless DIY projects, I decided to create a homemade copycat version sans industrial seed oils.

This was the result. I recommend this as an easy lip balm recipe and it makes a great gateway product into the world of homemade deodorant and toothpaste. Fair warning, once you start making some natural products, you are just a hop, skip and jump away from detoxing your armpits and mud shampoo (not that either of those is a bad thing…)

Homemade Lip Balm

I’ve shared my shimmer lip gloss and homemade lip balm recipes before but this recipe is specifically designed to look, feel and smell like Burt’s Bees.

Another bonus, besides avoiding the franken-oils, is that this version is much less expensive than buying pre-made options like Burt’s Bees (and you can even re-use the tubes to save even more). I also omitted the lanolin in this recipe, since it irritates my skin and I haven’t found that it is necessary, but feel free to add a small amount if you have it on hand.

Kids love helping with homemade projects like this (and they are really fun for adults too!). This DIY lip balm locket is another fun way to take your lip balm with you.

Before you start, make sure you have the ingredients and equipment on hand.

If you’re switching from conventional lipstick and want some color and shimmer naturally I recommend adding a tiny amount (1 tsp) of mica powder like this one. It has natural color and shimmer and blends perfectly. You can see an example in this post.

Imitation Burt’s Bees Lip Balm Ingredients

Lip Balm Instructions

  1. Melt beeswax, shea butter and coconut oil in a double boiler or small glass bowl over a small pot of boiling water, stirring constantly until melted.
  2. Remove pan from heat but keep over the still-hot water to keep the mixture melted.
  3. Add essential oils to your preference. I just added peppermint in this recipe. I recommend adding a few drops at a time and testing a tiny amount on your arm to make sure the scent is to your liking.
  4. Once you’ve added the essential oils, use the pipette or a dropper to fill the lip balm tubes. This must be done quickly since the mixture will start to harden as soon as it is removed from the heat.
  5. Let tubes sit at room temperature for several hours until cooled and completely hardened before capping them.

Notes:
Use an extra teaspoon or two of beeswax if you prefer a thicker and longer-lasting lip balm or slightly less if you prefer a smoother and softer lip balm. Since there are no water based ingredients, you can re-melt and add more of each ingredient during the melting process until you get the exact texture you want. When experimenting, I’ve put a few drops of the melted mixture onto a piece of parchment paper and let harden in the fridge so I could test it before putting the mixture into tubes. Have fun with it! This makes 12-14 tubes.

Another great DIY I love is my Mint Chocolate Lip Scrub for Deliciously Smooth Lips.

Ever made an imitation product? What was your gateway product into natural living?

Make this copycat Burts Bees Lip Balm with the natural peppermint/beeswax scent using just natural beeswax, coconut oil, shea butter 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

227 responses to “Imitation Burt’s Bees Lip Balm”

  1. Kris Avatar

    Love your recipes! I’m a newbie…. can you use any peppermint or orange essential oil for lip balm?

  2. Ivonne Avatar
    Ivonne

    hello, I have a problem I do the lipstick according to the indications but after a week a small balls are formed in the lipstick. Why can this happen?

  3. Jennifer Avatar
    Jennifer

    I honestly hadn’t heard that they were bought out and changed the recipe. Good to know and great looking recipe! It reminds me of some I’ve seen on another site I love.

  4. Kylee Avatar

    Hello my name is Kylee and I was wondering if you could tell me about your experience in lip balm and see if you know if homemade lip balm is better than store bought lip balm sincerely kylee I hope I here from you soon.

  5. Ivonne Avatar

    Hi, I would like to know…if the recipe doesn’t have a preservative product. How long does it last?

  6. Heather B Avatar
    Heather B

    I keep my chapstick in my pocket when I’m in the form does anyone know if the posted ratio of wax to oil stays firm when pocketed?

  7. Cassey Avatar

    I halved this recipe yesterday to make lip balm for my boys’ Easter baskets, (because I didn’t want to make that many tubes), and I used a different essential oil instead of peppermint since my littlest is only 3. The finished product is AMAZING! It is super smooth and ultra-moisturizing. In fact, I was so pleased with it that I stashed a couple of tubes away for myself! If you’re thinking about making lip balm, this is your recipe.

  8. JW Avatar

    Hi There! Thrilled to find this recipe! I find myself coming to your site first these days. Question: can this mixture be stored in the fridge over time to remelt later, if I don’t have enough lip balm containers on hand? (or if a friend ask for some and provides his/her own container?) Many thanks for your time and research into all your recommendations!

  9. Gina Avatar

    Hello
    For your recipe as posted :

    Imitation Burt’s Bees Lip Balm Ingredients

    2 tablespoons beeswax pastilles
    2 tablespoons shea butter
    2 tablespoons coconut oil
    30+ drops peppermint essential oil

    Would it work if I added 2 T. of cocoa butter and some Vit. E?
    Gina

  10. Janice Avatar

    I dont have the pellets for the beeswax just the block how much of that would I need to get the equivalent of the pellets

    1. Lynn Avatar

      I use the block as well and just use a vegetable peeler or knife to shave off enough to get the 2 Tbsp of beeswax. I find it works out fine and this recipe is very forgiving if you’re not exact.
      Go ahead and give it a try.

      Lynn

  11. Gail Avatar

    I have a block of beeswax so how much of that would you use instead of the 2 tablespoons beeswax pastilles. My gateway was toothpaste by the way. Thank you in advance.

  12. Ann Avatar

    Hello. I love your recipes. My family is addicted to my/your chapstick. I’ve had trouble with shae butter hardening with little balls inside the chapstick. Is there anything I can do to avoid this? Have you tried cornmint essential oil for the minty smell? It’s one of my new favorite oils.

  13. Rose Avatar

    It seems like 30 drops of peppermint EO for 6 TBS of lip balm is a lot. Is this correct or is it a typo and should be 3 drops?

  14. Naomi Avatar

    Hi Katie, love this recipe! Do you know how long the balm will last? Will it turn rancid? I’m planning on putting it into jars which usually last a bit longer than tubes! Thanks

  15. Tess S. Avatar

    Hi! How do you clean out the lip balm tubes to re-use them? I have lots of tubes but I need to clean them out for re-use. Thank you!

  16. Eilish Avatar

    Hey, thanks for this recipe! I just made a triple batch and got about 36 tubes. I weighed everything out but I found the recipe as is was too stiff after doing your suggested arm test. I ended up adding more shea butter and almost double the coconut oil but they’ve turned out so nicely. I tinted half and left half plain peppermint. And I can’t believe how quick and easy it is! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!!!

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