Totally Natural Lip-Pampering Formulas

Your lips, unlike the rest of your skin, do not contain any sebaceous (oil) or sweat glands and therefore cannot moisturize themselves; they constantly need lubrication from an outside source. Normally, a small amount of saliva combined with natural oil that seeps in from the surrounding skin is sufficient to keep them moist. However, if the lip tissue is damaged from heat, cold, matte lipsticks, dry air, smoking, sunburn, windburn, herpes, infection, or topical or oral medications, your natural supplies of lubrication will not be sufficient to prevent your lips from becoming dry, cracked, or rough.

To keep your smoocher soft, kissable, comfortable, and protected from the elements, try one of the following totally natural lip-pampering formulas. Take heart, all of the ingredients are actually edible, without a slick of petroleum jelly in sight.

Healthy Lip Tips 

Little quarter- or half-ounce jars of homemade lip gloss or balm make welcome holiday or anytime gifts for friends and family. From experience in crafting scads of them over the years, I’ve noticed that children tend to like sweet and fruity flavors, and occasionally anise or fennel. Men mostly like the mints, sweet orange, eucalyptus, and plain flavor, and women tend to favor the mints, sweet orange, tangerine, lime, rose, and vanilla. Personally, I like to combine lime, orange, tangerine, or peppermint with vanilla, as it softens the sharpness of those four flavors. Here are a couple of tips if you don’t have a pot of lip balm handy:
• Dab honey on your lips to soothe and protect. Honey acts as a humectant — it draws moisture from the air to your skin, thus keeping lips soft and plump. It tastes great, too.
• Castor oil, the first ingredient in most lipsticks, can be applied straight out of the bottle for a glossy look with real staying power! Castor oil is super thick and shiny.

PURE AND SIMPLE FLAVORED LIP GLOSS

This is a very basic, protective lip gloss to which I’ve added viscous, shiny castor oil to provide real staying power. Make it plain or with the optional essential oils for flavoring — it’s up to you. Feel free to experiment with natural, oil-based food flavorings such as coconut, almond, cherry, apricot, apple, or peach, as they can add more exciting, luscious tastes.

6 tablespoons almond, apricot kernel, or soybean base oil
1 tablespoon castor base oil
1 tablespoon beeswax (plus 1–3 additional teaspoons if you prefer a firmer gloss)
¼ teaspoon vegetable glycerin
30 drops of one of the following essential oils: anise, fennel, lemon, lime, peppermint, rose otto, spearmint, sweet orange, tangerine, or vanilla, or a combination thereof

VARIATION: Use 30 drops carrot seed, rosemary (chemotype verbenon), or myrrh essential oil to revitalize dry, chapped lips or 30 drops of tea tree or eucalyptus (species radiata) essential oil to treat cold sores and cracked, bleeding lips.

EQUIPMENT: Small saucepan or double boiler, stirring utensil, small glass or plastic jars or tins
PREP TIME: Approximately 30 minutes, plus 2 hours to synergize and thicken
YIELD: Approximately ½ cup (eight ½- ounce containers)
STORAGE: Store at room temperature, away from heat and light; use within 1 year

APPLICATION:
As desired Combine the base oils, beeswax, and glycerin in a small saucepan (a ¾-quart size works great) or double boiler, and warm over low heat until the wax is just melted. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes, stirring a few times to blend. Add the essential oils (if desired), and stir again to thoroughly blend. Slowly pour the liquid lip gloss into storage containers, cap, and label. Set aside for 2 hours for the flavor and consistency to synergize and the balm to thicken.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS: To keep lips in tiptop condition, apply throughout the day, as desired.

COCONUT-HONEY BLISS LIP BUTTER
Restore comfort and softness to chapped, dry, weatherbeaten lips with this thick, rich, emollient, lip butter. This formula is loaded with natural moisturizers, including honey, which adds both luscious flavor and humectants. Completely edible and quite yummy — everyone loves this lip treatment. 2 tablespoons extra-virgin, unrefined coconut base oil 3 tablespoons almond base oil 3 tablespoons cocoa butter 1 tablespoon beeswax 1 tablespoon refined shea butter, (unrefined shea butter will work, but its stronger fragrance will tend to mask the coconut-honey aroma and taste) 1 teaspoon raw honey

EQUIPMENT: Small saucepan or double boiler, stirring utensil, small plastic or glass jars or tins
PREP TIME: 30 minutes, plus up to 48 hours to synergize and thicken
YIELD: Approximately 10 tablespoons (10 ½-ounce containers)
STORAGE: Store at room temperature, away from heat and light; use within 1 year

APPLICATION:
As desired Combine the coconut base oil, almond base oil, cocoa butter, beeswax, shea butter, and honey in a small saucepan (a ¾-quart size works great) or double boiler, and warm over low heat until the solids are just melted. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes, stirring a few times to blend. Over the next 15 minutes, as the mixture continues to cool and begins to turn opaque and thicken a bit, vigorously stir the mixture for 10 seconds every minute or so to thoroughly incorporate the water-based honey. Slowly pour the thick mixture into storage containers. Cap and label. This particular blend of ingredients may require up to 48 hours at room temperature for the consistency and flavor to synergize and to properly thicken. You can speed the thickening process along, if you wish, by putting the containers in the refrigerator for 1 hour. (Let the balm return to room temperature before use.) Due to the inclusion of coconut oil, this “butter” will have a harder consistency at cooler temperatures and softer consistency at temperatures over 76°F.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:
To keep lips in tip-top condition, apply throughout the day, as desired. Bonus This skin-nourishing butter is highly recommended for the prevention of stretch marks before, during, and after pregnancy. It is also wonderful for conditioning brittle nails, softening dry, cracked heels and feet, and protecting heels from blisters.