This Sweet Strawberry Lip Balm recipe is easy whether you’re an avid crafter or a first-time lip gloss maker! It’s a great all-natural beauty product that contains no artificial coloring or flavors… plus it’s fun and easy to make!
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Lip Balm Love
I spend most of my days in a pony tail, sans makeup, chasing kids around or cleaning the house. Even without makeup a bit of lip balm makes me feel more pulled together. I love the shine it adds to lips and the boost it gives your whole face.
Unhealthy Addiction?
I started paying attention to the ingredients in my make-up when I began transitioning to more natural home care products .
I was shocked to find out that many commercially produced lip balm products contain unhealthy ingredients such as parabens, artificial fragrances, artificial coloring.
These substances can act as allergens, endocrine disruptors, or carcinogens causing developmental or reproductive toxicity, early onset puberty, and/or cellular level changes. I became convinced that sprucing up with lip balm is NOT worth breast cancer!
All-Natural Lip Balm Recipe
It’s easy to make ALL-NATURAL lip balm. After mastering:
I wanted to make a tinted, flavored balm but was disappointed to find out that most recipes suggest adding a bit of lipstick for color. I didn’t want to use lipstick (since lipstick can contain lots of unnecessary and dangerous substances), so I was stuck…
…until I stumbled upon freeze dried fruit at the grocery store.
Freeze Dried Strawberries
Freeze dried strawberries have been dehydrated to remove the moisture but still contain all the lovely color, scent, and flavor of fresh strawberries.
Grinding them into a powder and adding them to my basic lip balm recipe resulted in a lightly tinted balm with a light scent and flavor of strawberries… with NO artificial ingredients!
Sweet Strawberry Lip Balm Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 T. White Beeswax Pastilles Organic, $0.90
- 1/2 T. Organic Coconut Oil, $0.47
- 1/2 T. Sweet Almond Oil, $0.30
- 1/8 tsp. Vitamin E Oil, $0.06
- 1/8-1/4 cup freeze dried strawberries (Unsweetened and Unsulfured), $1.00
Total cost: $2.73
Directions
- Use a blender or food processor to grind freeze-dried strawberries into a fine powder. (Try this easy trick to use your blender with a Mason jar.)
- Place all ingredients in a small, heat-safe metal or glass container. I use a small Mason jar.
- Place the container of ingredients in a pan of slowly boiling water that comes about halfway up the side of the container. Do not to get any water into your mixture.
- Keep the water simmering and stir the mixture occasionally with metal spoon, wooden chopstick, or unused popsicle stick until melted.
- Remove the jar from the water and pour through a strainer into your final container. (I used a 1 ounce glass jar with a screw top.) Discard the solids from the strainer, this is the extra strawberry pulp and seeds.
- Allow the mixture to cool at room temperature, stirring once after about ten minutes. This will evenly distribute the strawberry color and flavor. (You can see the slight separation before stirring in the photo below.)
- Cool lip balm completely, add a free Strawberry Lip Balm label, and enjoy!
Strawberry Lip Balm Cost
My Sweet Strawberry Lip Balm DIY makes approximately 0.75 ounces of lip balm for $2.73!
A similar all natural commercial product sells for $3.00 for .25 ounces.
This DIY saves you $6.27 PLUS you know exactly what it contains and can feel good about using it!
Free Printable Lip Balm Label
Make your DIY lip balm extra special with a free Sweet Strawberry Lip Balm label.. They look great printed on white labels or craft paper labels.
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Marsha
Do you measure the freeze-dried strawberries before or after grinding them?
Bren
After grinding.
jessica
please the last point that u said leave it to cool does it mean that we should put it in the freezer
Bren
No, just cool to room temperture.
Jordan
Hi, I was just wondering if you had any knowledge of other freeze-dried fruits working in this recipe.
Bren
I’ve not tried other fruits but they should work if freeze dried.
H moore
Hi, where do you get your containers from?
Bren
I got mine on Amazon.
Sandeepa K
Hi,
I bought the powder instead of the strawberries, please could you let me know as to how much powder should be used in this recipe?
Bren
I’m not sure, you’ll have to experiment. I’ve never made the lip balm with strawberry powder.
Tina
Have you ever dehydrated strawberries in a machine and made this recipe with them? Do you think it would work? Are the freeze-dried strawberries you use leathery and pliable, or are they crisp and fully dry? Thx.
Bren
Freeze dried strawberry are very brittle, fully dry, and easily turn to powder. I don’t think dehydrated strawberries would work.
Eleanor Bozzay
Do you think I could store this in actual lip balm tubes? If you ever have, how many does it fill?
Bren
Yes, you can pour it into tubes when liquid. I am not sure how many tubes it makes.
Amber
Hi Bren, I have celiac disease and get a rash from Vitamin E oil (it is made by refining wheat germ oil and any seeds that are left in the plant during the refining process contain gluten) so I’m wondering if there is a good substitute. I’m hoping to make a few batches and sell them for a fundraiser.
Bren
You can try leaving out the Vitamin E and see how you like the lip balm. I’m not sure there is any good substitute.
Zuzanna
I’ve question. How long you can used it? Im thinking about this fresh fruits and about that can rotting.
Bren
I’ve had a tin for almost 2 years that still smells fresh!
Lara
This isn’t Fresh fruit… Freeze dried fruits can be stored for many many years. This is how “prepper” food is preserved.
Tiffany
You don’t say how long to cook this mixture. I have been trying for quite a while, and cannot get the berries to fully mix, the powder just floats around, and the melted beeswax and coconut oil are not staining. What am I doing wrong??
Bren
It’s in step 4, Tiffany. You want to just melt the mixtures. The powdered berries can them be stirred into the melted mix. Are you using freeze dried berries?
Tiffany
Yes, I am using freeze dried strawberries that were just ground prior to making the batch. I tried heating it just long enough to melt. When that didn’t work, I tried another batch where I tried cooking the mixture longer, but nothing seems to be working. Is it refined or unrefined coconut oil?
Greg
Hi Bren
I’d love to try the strawberry lip balm recipe. Just a question is there a difference between freeze dry berries and normal frozen berries ? I’ve not seen freeze dry berries in any stores around here in South Africa so wanted to try using frozen fruit from one of the markets.
Thanks
Cheers
Greg
Bren
Yes, they are very different. Freeze-drying extracts the water from the strawberries. I find mine in the snack aisle near the raisins.
Clara
Loved it! Can I use fresh cherries? I wanted a more intense tint and I only have fresh ones…
Bren
I’ve never made the balm with fresh cherries so I’m not sure how that would work. Sorry!
Jasmin
I only use coconut oil and don’t use vitamin e, very sensitive skin. How long will this last without the vitamin e and other oils?
Bren
I’ve never made it without the vitamin e so I can’t give you an exact answer. It should last for awhile if stored in a cool dry place.
Jasmin
Thank you. I’ve asked a few people and most don’t make it without the vitamin E. I look like I had botox if I use vitamin E.
Emilie
Hi,
I really like your recipe but don’t have dried strawberries. Can strawberry extract or fragrance be used and if so in what quantity? Thanks
Bren
I have never tried using strawberry extract or fragrance. I have used almond extract in my Chocolate Cupcake Lip Balm recipe. It used 1/8 tsp. You might want to use the Chocolate Cupcake Lip Balm recipe but omit the cocoa and use the strawberry extract instead of the almond extract. Let me know how it works for you!
Karen Greene
I am making your recipe now, but with the freeze dried strawberry powder added it pretty much absorbs all the oils. How did you end up with so much oil to stain?
Bren
How much of the freeze dried strawberries did you add? If you added a full 1/4 cup you may need to increase the other ingredients. I would remelt the mixture you made over hot water with an additional 1 tablespoon beeswax, 1/2 tablespoon coconut oil, 1/2 tablespoon almond Oil, and 1/8 tsp. vitamin e oil. Stir until everything is melted and then strain.
Tracey
Where did you find your ingredients?
Bren
I buy some online at Amazon and some at Trader Joes.
Heather
I have a sensitivity to sweet almond oil. Do you have any suggestions as to what I could replace it with for this recipe? Could I increase the coconut oil? Thank you!!
Bren
Yes, you could use extra coconut oil or avocado oil. Hope you enjoy the recipe!
Annie
I luv that the strawberry lip balm is natural, but how long will it last? Since theres no preservative? Just learning, and i dont want anything dangerous in my product either!?!?
Bren
Annie, the Vitamin E acts as a natural preservative. The lip balm should last several months. It depends where it is stored, weather, etc. if it starts to smell funny you should get rid of it! I like to make small batches so I use it up pretty quickly.
Dawn @ Reveal Natural Health
Sounds yummy with real strawberries! I even dried some strawberries earlier this season 🙂
Bren
Thanks Dawn! How did you dry your berries? I should try!