Thank goodness for this amazing copycat Burt’s Bees lip balm recipe. This easy to make diy chapstick is just as good if not better than the original!
I am a bit of a chapstick snob. My lips have been spoiled with the best – Burt’s Bees chapstick. It’s just so silky and moisturizing with the perfect balanced flavor profile.
It’s the best! And while I do love the Burt’s Bees Lip Balm brand as my go-to chapstick, I’m sure you realize the cost involved in this!
It’s a wee bit expensive.
And yet I can’t get enough of it.
I am addicted.
Seriously, I love it so much that I have a tube in my purse, in my bathroom, in my car, in my husband’s car, next to my bed and even one in my kitchen.
I had to think of a long-term solution – besides buying stock in Burt’s Bees. Haha.
So, I found a way to recreate the Burt’s Bees chapstick recipe myself.
For reals, you guys, this is the best copycat diy Burt’s Bees chapstick ever created! Not to brag or anything… but I nailed it!
Here’s why you’ll love this easy chapstick recipe.
It’s so inexpensive to make. Just around 12 cents per tube vs $3.00 store bought.
- Tastes exactly like the Burts Bees chapstick recipe.
- It’s so inexpensive to make. Just around 12 cents per tube vs $3.00 store bought.
- It’s so fast to make. You can make your own chapstick in just 5 minutes.
- It’s SO easy to make. Your ingredients are simply melted together and poured into an empty tube to cool.
- It’s free of all the extras or unhealthy fillers that are added into other homemade chapstick recipes.
You guys are going to love this homemade chapstick recipe. Like seriously LOVE IT!
How to make chapstick that tastes and feels just like Burt’s Bees?
First, I took a look at the back of a tube to figure out what ingredients are included. Low and behold, the Burts Bees chapstick ingredients are pretty simple; Beeswax, Sunflower oil, Vitamin E, Lanolin, Peppermint, and Rosemary. I knew I could make a lip balm recipe that matched my favorite brand so that I could share this with the world!
I got right to work looking for and ordering up some of these natural items like Beeswax and Lanolin. Found some chapstick tubes online and ordered them in. Then I played in my kitchen for a few days trying to get the recipe right.
And I did it! My chapstick diy recipe feels, smells and tastes just like Burt’s Bees Lip Balm!!
Plus when I did the math they only end up costing me only $0.12 per tube – WOW!
What is chapstick made of?
INGREDIENTS:
- 20 grams Beeswax (about 3 Tablespoons of the whiter beads, but you can use a white/yellow bar too)
- 20 grams Cocoa Butter or Coconut Oil (about 2 Tablespoons)
- 45 grams Sunflower Oil (1/4 cup)
- 8 drops Vitamin E oil (4 vitamin E oil tablets worth)
- 2 drops Rosemary essential oil
- 12 drops Peppermint essential oil
- Pea-sized drop of Lanolin (don’t use much of this or your balm will taste bad)
I added the ingredients in grams so that if you have a little scale you can get accurate & exact measurements (which is best) but if you don’t have a scale I measured them too.
How to make your own chapstick?
I never realized how extremely easy it is to make chapstick! Basically all you need to do is melt it all and pour into your containers! Easy peasy.
When I first started making chapstick recipes I used a glass measuring cup and melted my ingredients in the microwave which worked perfectly fine. But now I am using the double boiler method, which I like for a little more control of the melting process. I used a metal measuring cup to add all my ingredients into.
First, measure out all your ingredients except essential oils into a cup or pan. Cut open the little Vitamin E tablets and squeeze the good stuff into the cup.
Next, melt all the ingredients slowly, and stir. The beeswax seemed to take the longest to melt, but it was all melted within a couple of minutes.
Once it’s all melted add your essential oils and mix it up.
Then test it out, to make sure it has the flavor you want by letting a tiny bit cool on your finger. Rub it on your lips and check if its just right. If you feel it needs more mint or other flavorings, add more!
Then use a dropper to add the melted goodness into chapstick tubes. (If it cools too quickly before you’re done filling your tubes, just pop it in the microwave or back on the double boiler till it melts again.)
Then voila! You are done. Just let them all cool.
I had more liquid than I had tubes so I poured the rest into a small container and let it cool. I will stick this one in my bathroom and use it everyday, it will probably last me a whole year!
I cannot believe how easy it was to make my favorite Burt’s Bees Lip Balm from home!
Burt’s Bees Lip Balm Recipe Clone
Ingredients
- 20 grams Beeswax (about 3 tbsp)
- 20 grams Cocoa Butter (about 2 tbsp)
- 45 grams Sunflower Oil (about 1/4 cup)
- 8 drops Vitaman E oil (about 4 tablets)
- 2 drops Rosemary essential oil
- 12 drops Peppermint essential oil
- 1 drop Lanolin pea sized
Instructions
- Measure out all your ingredients except essential oils into a heat friendly cup or pan. You can use a glass dish in the microwave also. I cut open the little Vitamin E tablets and squeezed the good stuff into the cup.
- Next, melt all the ingredients, and stir. The beeswax seemed to take the longest to melt, but it was all melted within a couple of minutes.
- Once it’s all melted add your essential oils and mix it up.
- Then test it out, to make sure it has the flavor you want by letting a tiny bit cool on your finger. Rub it on your lips and check if its just right. If you feel it needs more mint or other flavorings, add more!
- Then use a dropper to add the melted goodness into chapstick tubes. (If it cools too quickly before you’re done filling your tubes, just pop it in the microwave till it melts again.)
- Then voila! You are done. Just let them all cool.
Notes
Nutrition
TOP QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
What essential oils are good for lip balm?
For my copycat Burt’s Bees lip balm I used peppermint essential oil and rosemary essential oil. While these are the essential oils for copy cat Burt’s Bees original flavored lip balm, some people do opt to use lime, orange, vanilla or wintergreen essential oils for their homemade lip balm and those turn out wonderfully too.
I’d suggest you stick to my exact copycat Burt’s Bees lip balm recipe to ensure that you’re getting a solid match up for this favorite lip balm flavor and texture while getting the same excellent results, moist lips!
Can you put essential oil on your lips?
As long as you’re using the food safe essential oils listed in this Burt’s Bees lip balm copycat recipe, then it’s safe to use essential oils on your lips.
Even aromatherapy addicts know that you can’t place some essential oils directly on your skin without a carrier oil. Some essential oils are too potent to use directly on the skin, lips, or any other body part. But the ones listed are safe for using on lips.
What can you use instead of beeswax for lip balm?
As you can see, you’ll need 20 grams of beeswax to make Burt’s Bees lip balm at home. I believe this is essential in making a copycat lip balm, but if you want to know what you can use instead of beeswax for lip balm, some readers in the past have used soy wax and said it works.
Since soy wax isn’t any harder than beeswax it’s an equal replacement as far as measurement goes. I personally like the beeswax for lip balm as I feel it provides more of a protectant and moisture quality than soy wax for lip balm would.
Can you leave out the Lanolin?
This is one of the most popular questions I have and the answer is yes, you definitely can leave it out. I personally like what it brings to the lip balm and helps my lips stay softer longer so I keep it in my recipe. But if you don’t want to add it in or if you want this lip balm to be vegan, then you can leave it out.
How much does this homemade lip balm cost?
Each tube costs $0.12 each to make + about $0.17 for tube/caps vs. $3.00 Burts Bees Lip Balm at store. I am listing below several options for you for each ingredient just in case you’d like to see where it is the least expensive to buy them.
Beeswax: need 20 grams/.7 oz/ about 3 tbsp beads ($0.46)
- Amazon (16 oz.) $9.99
- Etsy (1 oz. brick) $10 shipped
- Hobby Lobby (1 lb block): $14.99
- TheSage.com (8 oz.) $16 shipped
- Michaels & Craft Warehouse (1 lb. block) $17.99
Cocoa Butter ($0.60)
- Hobby Lobby (1 oz) $2.99
- Amazon (2 oz). $5.86
- Health food store, local (2 oz.) $5.99
- TheSage.com (8 oz.) 6.75 + shipping
Lanolin ($0.06)
- Amazon (4 oz.) $6.47
- The Puritans Pride (7 oz). $8.39 + shipping
- The Sage (8 oz.) $8.00 + shipping
- Health food store, local (8 oz) $15.70
Essential Oils ($1.05) :
- Order online from my favorite brand doTERRA
- Amazon $8.98/both flavors (haven’t tried this brand but maybe good?)
Organic Sunflower Oil ($0.28): purchased at Walmart for $3.96 (plus had a $1.00 off coupon on it) so =$2.96
Vitamin E Oil ($0.23): purchased 15 ct. bottle at Walmart for $0.88
Lip Balm Tubes: I ordered mine through thesage.com and you can find them on Amazon, but have also heard people order them on ebay inexpensively too.
Final thoughts on making my own Burt’s Bees Lip Balm.
The only drawback I can see is the initial start up cost can run you anywhere from $30-$60 for all the ingredients. Seems pretty hefty for making homemade chapstick that you can just buy for $3 per tube at the store.
But after I got all the ingredients, and only used a teeny bit of them, I was able to make 20+ tubes of my expensive Burts Bees chapstick. That would have been over $60 worth of Burt’s Bees.
AND you will be able to make lip balms and other products in the years to come with all the leftover oils and products!
I will NEVER go back to buying store made chapstick again after this experience. I am hooked for life. It’s so easy and when I see that I only spent $0.12 per tube of Burt’s Bees lip balm I feel good knowing I am saving lots of money!
Comments & Reviews
Shauna says
Thank you so much for your thoughtful in taking the time to try this out and then sharing your recipe with everyone else. I know how long this probably took you, as just figuring out what I was going to order off where took a lot of time. I have had the products for 3 months and finally took the time to make it today and it is great! Thank you for being so thoughtful!! You are so kind and sweet:)
CatherineS says
This is a great idea, and I really appreciate the info. However, I wanted to mention that shipping costs for The Sage are extremely high. I just put together an order of items costing $38.50 and the shipping charges would add another 40% to 45%! So, I’m going to look elsewhere for the items.
Peggy says
This recipe and the description of the process and price list was amazing. Best I’ve seen on a blog. Thanks for this!
Lynda says
Just made this recipe and it is by far my favorite. I have tried two other recipes and they have been a little dry, wish I had tried this first. I left out the Lanolin because I didn’t have any, and increased the peppermint, and could have added more. Still smell rosemary predominately and while I don’t object to that at all I was going for more predominantly peppermint. I will continue to make this chap stick and substitute various other flavor oils. Thanks
Karrie says
Cool! So glad you liked it!
Marie says
Just made this. Love it! I used coconut oil,safflower oil and a little extra Lansinoh lanolin (no smell or taste). It made 20 tubes. I added 25 drops of peppermint and actually think it could have used a little more. Other than that fantastic! Thx for the recipe:)
Bobbi says
I got all the ingredients today and am going to make this. I love Burt’s Bees and so do my daughters and their families. I am making it for Christmas.
thuy n. says
Thank you for posting a price comparison for the ingredients, it is super helpful!!
leah says
Does anyone have experience with how long until it begins to turn rancid? Also, how about adding some color? Anyone tried it? Or is tinted lip balm a whole different thing?
Rachel says
I’ve seen people make lipstick from melting coconut oil and adding part of a crayon to the oil. (http://rookiemag.com/2013/10/diy-crayon-lipstick/)
I’m assuming that this same technique would work to tint chap stick, considering that crayons are basically just a wax. I’m planning to experiment with this in the future. If it doesn’t work then at least you barely waste any money buying crayons.
Jedediah says
Hi Leah – you’ve probably learned the answer to your question by now – I know this post was very old but it’s pretty easy to determine how long a shelf life your oils have: just look at the expiry date on the container. If you use a mixture of oils, the expiry date should be the soonest expiring product.
Beeswax doesn’t really have an expiry date. It does slowly dry up over time but this isn’t a problem unless you buy very large amounts.
Christina says
Love this!! can’t wait to try!! We just made some healing sticks to use on chapped cheeks (gotta love living in the snow), and we found that to keep the mix liquidy, while dropping in into the chapstick tubes, we got out an old electric candle warmer and set the glass jar on that to keep it from cooling!! worked fantastically!!
Karrie says
Go with coconut oil, I agree with you sometimes that cocoa butter can add a distinct smell.
Amyb says
Love this! But it’s missing the tingly feeling. I think I’m going to buy some menthol crystals, melt the balm back down and add it in.
Maybe the brand of peppermint oil I got sucks?
Sarah says
Wow! I really enjoy your perspective! I’d like to get emails every time you post. I didn’t see a way to do that. Is there a feed?
Desiree says
Can you leave the Lanolin out of this recipe and make it vegan?
lisaw says
LOVE LOVE LOVE that you “do the math”! 2 of my boys participated in FIRST robotics and one of their mottos is “Do the Math, Save the World”! Just shows my boys another way that MATH is SO important!
Victoria says
Do you remember how many tubes you made with this recipe?
Karrie says
18-20
Jenny says
Hi there, I love this idea! I am planning on making some with my friends and wondered about how many tubes each recipe makes. I am trying to share the cost of bulk supplies. So excited to try it. Thanks for sharing!
Miranda says
Is the lanolin absolutely necessary in this recipe? What is its purpose?
Emily says
Karrie! the lanolin doesn’t have to taste bad. If you go to Target, the baby section should have tubes of lanolin (It’s meant for sore nipples! ha.) The only brand I could find was Lansinoh. It was pretty expensive, almost ten dollars for 1.41 ounces. BUT it has no noticeable flavor. i put it directly on my lips and it was fine. The packaging says women dont even need to remove it from their nipples before breastfeeding. When i make your recipe i’ll probably use MORE lanolin. According to wikipedia, it actually helps the body retain water. Pretty cool. Thanks, sheep!
P.S. you look a lot like Sarah Chalke
Karrie says
Totally laughing right now at the Sarah Chalke thing…. but you know who else I really look like? Elise Testone from american idol 2012… my family was freaking right out..LOL
Morgan says
Thanks for this!! Wondering if you could substitute grape seed oil for the sunflower oil?
Brittany P. says
Awesome recipe!! I’m not for sure if it was mentioned in any of the comments above because there’s so many, but I did notice the link to buy to tubes, but do you a have a link or way that you make your own labels to fit the tubes…to list the ingredients and such…? I was going to make some for Christmas presents and it would be awesome to have labels made to fit the tubes!
Karrie says
I did make a label once, I will try to share it later this week! 🙂