Chapped Lips and Homemade Lip Balms

Dry, cracked and chapped lips can happen to all of us. Chapped lips can occur in any season so it’s important to take care of your lips in during all types of weather. You also have to be careful of what lip care treatment or products you want to buy and use. Sometimes the store bought lip balms could be the cause of having cracked and chapped lips because of the harmful ingredients that are found in the lip products.

There’s a solution to this problem. You can make your own lip balm! This way you know exactly what’s in there. Before I tell you how to make your own lip balm, there are other reasons beside the weather you may get chapped lips. If you have chronic chapped lips, you may want to check with your doctor to see if there’s an underlying condition, you’re unaware of.

Here’s a short list of what may cause dry, cracked or chapped lips in people:

– Frequent licking or biting on the lips
– A musical instrument using your mouth such as a clarinet
– As mentioned above, ingredients found in some lip care products
– An allergic reaction to metallic items like paper clips – don’t use your mouth as a holder
– Dehydration
– Sunburn to the lips; cold, wind, dry air
– Chapped or dry lips as a side effect from medications
– Allergic reaction to red dyes in certain products like mouthwash or toothpaste
– Sleep apnea and snoring may cause drying of the lips
– Thyroid disease
– Too much vitamin A. Don’t take more than 25,000 IU daily
– Psoriasis or contact dermatitis; allergies

Making your own lip balm is easier than you think. You’ll need to buy several things before you start.

Buy some small lip balm tins. If you prefer, you can buy lip balm tubes. Make sure you have an eyedropper so you can fill the tubes.

You can find these ingredients in your health food store:

– Block of beeswax or they may also come in small beads or pearls for easier melting
– Coconut oil, olive oil, sunflower oil, avocado oil, vitamin E oil, sweet almond oil, etc. or mango butter (you can choose one to use)
– Honey
– Your favorite essential oils – peppermint, tea tree oil, spearmint, vanilla, cinnamon oil, lavender etc.

How to make your own homemade lip balm:

General rule is 3 parts oil and 1 part beeswax.

Put your grated or finely chopped beeswax, 1 tsp honey, and your choice of oil in a glass pyrex measuring cup and melt it in a pot of shallow water or over top of a double boiler. Once melted, take out the pyrex cup and then add 2 drops of your choice essential oil.

Carefully pour the mixture in the small containers or use an eyedropper for the tubes. Leave to cool before putting the lids on.

If you find your lip balm is too soft, add more beeswax and if it’s too hard add more oil.

Finally you can kiss your chapped lips good-bye. Keep experimenting with the different oils to find the right lip balm you like and don’t forget to share your fun creations with family and friends or sell them on Etsy.com.

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