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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?
Thank you for sharing! Would you be able to suggest an alternative for the beeswax? Thanks 🙂
Hi Wellness Mama I would like to say a huge thank you for your hard work and dedication you have put into what you do. You have inspired me to make my own products and I have even started selling them. However I am experiencing a problem with my moisturisers and Lip balms after 1 to3 months of them being made it looks like the balm is bubbling, it has tiny white bubbles. Have you experienced this before. I have a feeling it could be the coconut oil? could that be?I really hope you can help me with this….
Thank you
Mine is too! Would love to know why
Hello, I wonder if I can use beet root powder in a coffee filters tied on the top so that the color can filter through instead of putting it directly into the mix.
I haven’t tried it, but it is a good idea… let me know how it works if you do!
Thank you so much!! I will. And also I will try vanilla and peppermint extracts instead of essential oils
…what do you think??
Can I know how long will the lip balm last?
Since there is no liquid in this recipe it will last as long as the oils themselves, so several years.
The mica keeps settling on the bottom. How can I fix this??
Hi Katie, I was wondering if you are wearing your own lipstick in you promo pic and if so what colour mica did you use please- I have a similar complexion to you and love the colour! Thanks, Anna
Yes I am. I think it was a mixture of Bronze and Rose Red mica powders (so double the amount listed in the recipe)
we love this lip balm! have made several batches & I share it with my friends as gifts. my teen girl & even my boys (without the mica 😉 ) love it!! thanks so much for sharing your recipe!
Thank you for posting your recipes. I’m interested in adding the red color mica to my lip balm. When I went to Amazon and saw that there are other reds to choose from, I was wondering how one would know which one to choose? I have fair skin, medium/dark brown hair and look best in cool colors. I don’t want to buy several to find the right match.
Another question: I bought some shea butter then the next day on your site that I bought the wrong kind that is not raw and is not unrefined. 🙁 Anyway, I also saw another brand that looks good from Life Flo, they do not state it is raw, but is unrefined. Do you know if a product (of any kind) says unrefined, does it mean it is raw as well?
I’m really big on bright vibrant red lipstick and was wondering how I would go about achieving this using this recipe or is it possible with this recipe or would I have to use a different recipe. I’m trying to switch over to using organic products but don’t want to give up my red lipstick.
This won’t be bright red, but maybe check some of the natural companies like Jane Iredale for a natural bright red one
Something that works very well for both lipstick and blush is Australian Red Reef clay. It’s a deep, rusty red color and only a tiny bit is needed to make lipstick. It doesn’t have the shimmer that mica has and it mixes well in the oils. It can be combined with mica powder to make different shades. It’s also really good for your skin, like bentonite clay. I bought mine on Amazon.
I also imagine this would be a great “copycat” for RMS living luminzer and buriti bronzer if you use the gold shimmer and copper shimmer! Way more cost effective to make it yourself!
Thank you so much for your blog; I read it every day. I am concerned about the Mica in this recipe. I’m not understanding how they pigment the mica. When I emailed the company they said their mica powder is natural but that doesn’t necessarily mean the pigmentation is natural. If you have information about how they color the Mica that would be really helpful to me.
I’m working on getting a full list from them as well as their sourcing and I’m planning to write a post about it once I get it 🙂
Does the mica just add color to the balm so it looks pretty, or does the color actually transfer to the lips? Is it more of a natural look, or does it look intense like a lipstick? I hope that makes sense. Thank you!
It does add color that transfers to the lips but it is more of a natural shimmer look than an intense lipstick.
I just have to say I absolutely love your blog and I want to thank you for all that you do! Awesome recipe!
Last year I made sugar scrubs, lotion bars and chocolates for gifts from this website. All were a hit! I found myself using my lotion bar for chapstick, but it wasn’t packaged so I could take it places with me. So this year I decided to make the chapstick and try my hand at this lipstick recipe. So far I love it!! I used the red mica, and the color is great! I can’t wait to give these to my friends and family!
I have been searching for a “Natural” colored lip balm on Pinterest all evening, most I found most used Petroleum Jelly which I really don’t consider natural. I read your blog a lot and should have known just to go straight to Wellness Mama and see what you had available. I won’t make that mistake again; save myself some time.
After much research I decided mica was an okay product to put on my skin, my largest organ which absorbes everything I put on it very quickly. Thanks for your careful consideration and instructions in all the things you SUGGEST to us. After you suggest each of us has to decide for ourselves what we want to use or not use.
Love this recipe! Quick and easy. Put half a cap ful of peppermint oils in mine! 🙂 oh my mica settled a bit to the bottom of the container even though it looked great and shimmery at first. Did I not heat long enough? I even stirred in the individual balm pots
just finished making this and plan on making more fore Christmas. I absolutely love it but i did it without the mica powder due to various reasons.
Katie- question, I just made my second batch, I used mica and beet root powder for color. The mica mixes really well, the beet root powder was clumpy when I poured it in, any suggestions?
Also, weird question, how did you clean up? can you clean the supplies in your sink without clogging? It was kinda messy and afterwards my hands and sink were beet colored 🙂 any tips?
You can leave out the beet… if you use it, it does need to be really finely ground and you have to wait until it is thickening to transfer to get even distribution. I always wipe down with old rags before washing.
Can you use mango butter instead of cocoa butter? My kids hate almost anything that smells even tho’ I think cocoa butter smells amazing.
Yes.
also, the company i order my mica from has lip safe and non lip safe colors.. so might need to watch out for that.