DIY lip gloss is incredibly easy to make. If you can melt and pour, you can make lip gloss. Like Burt's Bees? You can make your own version of their peppermint lip gloss yourself for a fraction of the price. Prefer something sweeter? Add your own flavorings and scents to create any variation you want! This post contains affiliate links.
 
First, you will need to gather your ingredients. I purchased some in the grocery store and the rest online.
Beeswax pellets: I purchased these on etsy for a couple of bucks. This small baggie will last me a long time.
Coconut Oil: You can find this at the grocery store in the baking aisle. I purchased Spectrum organic coconut oil. There are so many uses for coconut oil so even though you will only use a few tablespoons in this recipe, it won't go to waste.
Vitamin E Capsules: You can find a small bottle for less than $1 at the drug store.
Olive Oil: easily available at the grocery store.
Essential Oils: I purchased mine on E-bay, but you can find these from a variety of companies.
Flavor Oils: If you choose not to use essential oils, you can find a variety of flavor oils on etsy. Kaylee chose "Monkey Farts" to scent her DIY lip gloss. (It smells like bananas and fruit---in case you were curious).
Lip gloss tubes:Â I've purchased the lip gloss containers (screw on lids) from Bulk Apothecary for a great price, and you can find the lip gloss tubes like the ones above on Amazon.
Medicine syringe: This makes pouring the melted ingredients into the tubes quick and easy.
Microwaveable dishes: I used glass ramekins. Something throw away would be even better so that you don't have to clean them. Just toss them in the trash when you are finished!
Gathering your ingredients is the hardest part. Now that you have decided which types of oils/scents you'd like to use, let's makes some lip gloss!
This recipe makes 12 tubes with some to spare. I divided it into 3 small individual batches so that we could make a variety of scents: peppermint (think Burt's Bees!), lemon lime, and monkey farts. So each smaller recipe made about 4 tubes. If you want to leave it unscented or only use one oil, just make the whole batch.
You can mess with the measurements to make the lip gloss more/less firm. I've adjusted this one to make a consistency that I like, but if you'd like one even softer you can add an extra tablespoon or so of coconut oil to your batch and experiment from there.
DIY Lip Gloss
makes 12 tubes
3Â Tablespoons. beeswax pellets
3 vitamin E capsules
4 Tablespoons. coconut oil
3 Tablespoons. olive oil
20-24 drops essential oil or flavor oils
3 vitamin E capsules
4 Tablespoons. coconut oil
3 Tablespoons. olive oil
20-24 drops essential oil or flavor oils
Place all ingredients (except for essential oils) into a microwaveable dish. Just cut the tips and squeeze out the oil from the vitamin E capsules. Microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring after each one, until beeswax is melted. It will take between 60-90 seconds. Dip a small spoon in your wax, life it out, and let it cool. Test the consistency by running your finger across it. If you'd like it to be a bit more smooth, you can add your extra oil now. Microwave again, and re-test.
Add your oils to your liking.
Using your syringe (and working quickly!) fill your tubes all the way to the top. Keep adding individual drops of the mixture until it is almost over-flowing. The mixture settles and this prevents a dip in the center of the tube.
Let stand until firm and completely cooled before adding caps. This was such a fun project and I am looking forward to making more as gifts. Like I said before, experiment with your ingredients. I may try adding more oil the next time around to see what that does. My first batch was drier than I would have liked, but the second batch turned out great. It set up well, went on smooth and feels amazing. The peppermint makes your lips feel nice and tingly.
Kaylee added stickers to hers so that she could tell them apart from mine. We even made an unscented tube (the race car) for Aaron.
If you could choose any scent combination for a DIY lip gloss, what would it be? I'd love suggestions on what kind to make next time!
If you enjoy making your own beauty products, you may enjoy this collection of homemade beauty gifts that I put together below!
Martha says
I am looking forward to making some lip balm . I'm curious about the olive oil ... if the balm is not used in a timely manner - will it start to taste "rancid"? Can I use almond oil for the oils needed? Thanks!!
Brandy says
Hi Martha! I haven't had any issues as we've used it within a few months of making it, but I don't see why you couldn't use almond oil.
CJ Huang says
I've wanted to make this for a while now, but never quite got the ratios right. Yours look good, and I'm liking the monkey farts. 😛
JESS44903 says
I totally pinned this. Love the idea and it looks so easy!
I would love for you to share this with my Recipes, Crafts, Tips and Tricks Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pluckyrecipescraftstips/
Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!
Rufio says
Is there another wax to use other than Beeswax...I'm allergic.
Brandy says
Hi Rufio,
I would think that paraffin wax might be an alternative. I buy it for my wax hand warmer by the brick and it melts down easily. Here are other cosmetic grade waxes: http://heaneyl.hubpages.com/hub/Natural-and-Synthetic-Waxes-for-Home-Based-Cosmetics Hope this helps!
Kathleen Boehmig says
Love it, thanks!! FYI, only Young Living essential oils are certified (by outside agencies) pure enough for ingestion internally. Many others shouldn't be used on the skin, & even several YL oils aren't recommended for application to skin. Just be aware of this...there are many people with sensitive skin & allergies. Anyway, I can't wait to try this! Thanks again!
Barbara says
Please be careful - companies send legal teams after people who misuse their brand names. (My husband worked for one that did that routinely, and you'd know their name instantly!) People are sued for infringing on their copyrights and patents. "Chapstick" is a brand name belonging to Pfizer. What you are making should be called "lip balm" instead, as that is what you are making. You aren't making Chapstick, as only Pfizer can do that. I'm not scolding or criticizing; I just want you to be aware that you could be sued, and I'd hate to see that happen. It has happened to more people than you might realize. I'm going to make your lotion bars when I get the materials together, but I want a commercial lip balm with sunscreen because I live in the deep south where such things are very necessary. Thank you for the information!
Brandy says
Thank you Barbara, I had no idea! I will definitely revise things.
april @ illistyle says
Wow! I love the flavor oil name, and the stickers ~ so cute!
Frena says
I was thinking of making this, but I'm not that good at working quickly, so can I re-melt the beeswax after I've melted it?
Brandy says
Yes, you can just warm it up again if it hardens too quickly!
Tammy says
If you would like color in your lip balm you can add shavings from a tube of lipstick. Will be much lighter after it sets than it is in liquid form.
Brandy says
Good tip! I love that instead of trying to guess what color it will be using the dyes!
otilialitrang says
Thanks for the information Brandy.
Brandy says
Otilialitrang, blogger won't let me reply directly to your comment, so I will e-mail you as well. 3 T of pellets is about .75 oz or 21g. Hope that helps!
otilialitrang says
Great Tutorial. Can you please tell me how many grams is 3 tablespoons of beeswax pellets? I cannot get pellets where I am. They come in larger pastilles instead. Thanks
Jenny says
Thanks so much for this tutorial, Brandy! I've been thinking lately about giving lip balms another try. Your recipe sounds very nice, and I think I would like the consistency. I'll have to give this a try someday!
Brandy says
Awesome! You'll have to let me know how they turn out!
Anne-Marie says
Nice tutorial! And I love those cute little labels on the final product. =)
Soap Crafter says
I would make a suggestion: IN your list of ingredients you should change 20-24 drops essential oil or scents to 20-24 essential oils or flavor oils. You do not want to use fragrance oils in this recipes.
Brandy says
Yes, thank you! I will re-word that part. Thanks!
barbara santini says
Does iy feel thick n creamyvwit tye beeswax? I made candy flavor gloss but I used some petrolium n I dnt like the way it came out... 🙁 I like thick try gloss
Brandy says
This isn't a lip balm that you would scoop out of a tube with your finger. It is harder with the beeswax. If you added more coconut oil it would come out softer. You can experiment with the consistency. The ingredients/ratios I used make a firm, but smooth chapstick. Hope that helps!