Ultra Creamy Lip Butter

lip balm, lip gloss, Lip stick, and now lip butter. I have created many different natural lip products to replace the tubes of lip products that I have been buying over the years. This lip butter is super easy to make with just a few ingredients and melts like butter on your lips, so listen!

It’s a little more nourishing than some lip balms, so it’s perfect for when you need extra moisture.

Lip butter vs lip balm

When I first heard the word lip butter, I thought it was a strange name for a lip balm. It appears that there are some differences between the two (although they are more subtle). Lip balm uses a mixture of wax and oil to moisturize the lips. Lip butters can use less wax and oil but add more creamy lip butters.

Shea butter, mango butter, cocoa butter, and kwaku seed butter are some of the top favorites here. Butters are thicker than liquid oils but not as hard or waxy as beeswax or candelabra. They also have a unique fatty acid profile that is beneficial for skin and lips.

Lip butter ingredients

I’ve kept the ingredient list simple so you don’t have to buy a ton of different oils and butters to make this. Beeswax helps thicken, while cocoa butter and mango butter add that luxurious feel. I also included a diffusible and essential oil for perfume and some meadowfoam seed oil for added lip benefits.

Mango butter

First we have Mango butter. I love how smooth and creamy it feels without being too thick. It’s smoother than cocoa butter and feels more like shea butter. Mango butter is one of the few butters that has some texture, so it doesn’t make the skin or lips too greasy.

You can substitute shea butter, but shea butter tends to curdle after freezing. The best way to prevent this from happening is to refrigerate any product made with shea butter instead of at room temperature.

Cocoa butter

I chose cocoa butter because it’s heavier and gives lip butter more thickness without relying on beeswax. Cocoa butter is high in saturated stearic and palmitic fatty acids and forms a lipid barrier to prevent moisture loss. It smells amazing with a slight hint of chocolate!

Meadowfoam seed oil

This liquid carrier oil may not be one you’ve worked with before. It adds a nice sheen to the mix and makes the creamy butter spread more on the lips. Meadowfoam seed oil is emollient to lock in moisture, but absorbs more easily than heavier carrier oils. Like Olive or avocado oil. If you don’t have any on hand, use any liquid moisturizer of your choice, but it will affect the overall absorption and texture of the lip butter.

Essential oil

Essential oils make this scent amazing, but they also add soothing and aromatherapy benefits. Be sure to choose lip-safe essential oils that won’t irritate this delicate area. Oils like cinnamon, lemongrass, clove, and ginger can smell great, but can cause burning or sensitivity in lip products. And others like lemons and limes can cause phototoxicity (burns when exposed to sunlight).

Here are some of my favorite lip balms. Essential oils to use –

• Lavender
• Sweet orange
• Geranium
• Mandarin
• Neroli
• Rose
• Spearmint
• Peppermint

I like to use scented essential oils with white chocolate as the cocoa butter gives this lip butter a chocolatey scent. I used lavender for this collection, but peppermint and orange are great with cocoa butter.

Another important safety note regarding essential oils is dilution. In general, how much essential oil to use for lip products depends on the right essential oil. Nothing in the list above is overly strict, so a good rule of thumb is .5 to 1 percent. In this recipe, this amounts to 5-10 drops. It can be tempting to add too much, but when it comes to essential oils, less is often better!

Here’s how to make your own lip butter.

Tips for making lip butter

We are actually adding everything together, melting it and pouring it into containers. There are no multi-step formulas or complex steps. I have a heat safe glass bowl that I only use for making DIY products and I use that as a double boiler. You can also melt the ingredients in a mason jar for easy pouring.

After pouring the product into my container, I find it’s easier to wipe off the wax/butter residue with paper towels. Don’t go straight for soap and water to clean or you’ll end up with a waxy mess!

Avoid storing lip butter in hot or humid conditions as it will degrade the ingredients quickly. This includes leaving it in a hot car or in a steamy shower.

Have you made your own lip butter or balm before? What are your favorite perfumes? Leave a comment and let us know!