How to Make Lip Balm

Pull out coconut oil, shea butter, beeswax pellets and extra virgin olive oil. That is the whole ingredient list. Essential oil is optional, and the balm smells good on its own, so leave it out if scent bothers your skin.

A double boiler with a pour spout does the hard part later. Lift the insert off the pot and set it on the counter, where you can measure into it without fighting the handle.

Two tablespoons of coconut oil, two of shea butter, two of beeswax pellets. Same measure for all three, which is why this recipe is easy to keep in your head. Scrape each spoonful level, then push the solid fat out with a chopstick, because a good third of it stays stuck in the spoon otherwise.

Do the beeswax pellets first. They pour out clean, while the butters leave a greasy film you have to wash off before pellets will slide.

Add one to two inches of water to the bottom pot, then set the loaded insert on top. Turn the burner to medium and bring the water to a low boil.

Steam is what melts the fats here. Direct heat or a microwave can scorch beeswax and cook the good properties out of the oils. A double boiler holds the temperature down with no attention from you, which is also why it is the right tool for infusing herbs into oil.

Stir now and then with a chopstick or a wooden skewer as the fats give way. Coconut oil goes first, shea next, beeswax last. Give it a few more minutes once the final chunks disappear.

When the liquid runs clear gold with nothing solid on the bottom, turn the burner off and lift the insert off the water.

Off the heat, stir in a quarter teaspoon of olive oil. Any oil in your kitchen works here. Extra virgin olive oil is what The Homesteading RD reaches for because it is always on the shelf.

Add five drops of essential oil if you want scent. Lemongrass is her pick. Peppermint and vanilla both work. Stir for a few seconds, then carry the insert straight over to your row of tubes.

Stand your empty tubes on a flat surface with the caps off, close together so they hold each other upright. This batch fills about fifteen, so set out sixteen. You can do this at any point while the fats melt; what matters is that the row is ready before the balm is.

Line them up in easy reach of the stove. Once the balm comes off the heat you have a few minutes before it starts to thicken, and hunting for a tube is how a calm project turns into a mess.

Tip the spout over the first tube and fill it close to the top, then move down the row. Do not stop to admire your work. The balm thickens the second it leaves the pot, and a slow pour leaves you with half-filled tubes at the end of the line.

A few dribbles down the sides are normal. Wipe them while the balm is still warm.

Leave the tubes alone for about ten minutes. The balm starts bright yellow and turns a soft off white as it firms up, which is your cue that they are done. No overnight wait on this one.

Press a cap onto each tube once the tops are solid to the touch. Fifteen tubes at roughly seventeen cents apiece, and they drop straight into a Christmas stocking.