How to Make Your Own Lip Balm

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A couple of months ago, at the height of the driest part of winter, my lips were staying dry and chapped despite everything I did. I tried several different lip balms, all of which helped for a few minutes to a few hours, but then my lips would go right back to where they’d started. Nothing seemed to heal them.

I remembered a pharmacist once recommending I use petroleum jelly as a lip balm. It’s a skin protectant that shields you from wind and temperature extremes. I started using it, and it did seem to be a little more effective than the commercial balms I’d tried. But it wasn’t moisturizing. Nothing was getting below my skin and healing from the inside out. That’s when I remembered the amazing effects of aloe vera gel as a skin moisturizer. Could it be that simple?

It is! Here’s one of the easiest recipes for homemade lip balm you’ll ever come across –- and it really works.

Homemade Lip Balm Recipe

You’ll need a pot of some sort. I used an old one from another lip balm I’d used up.

• Fill the pot about halfway with petroleum jelly
• Fill the pot the rest of the way with aloe vera gel.
• Stir them up thoroughly until they’re really well-mixed. A toothpick or something small like that works well for this.

No need to measure –- the ratios don’t have to be exactly half. Just know this: If it’s too slick, you’ve got too much aloe, and if it’s too goopy and won’t spread well, that’s too much petroleum jelly.

Once you’ve mixed them together, they’ll solidify a little bit into a nice balm that’s not hard and waxy like some, but the consistency won’t run if you hold the pot upside down either. So it’s safe to carry in a purse or leave in a car without worrying about it spilling all over the place.

At first I wondered if mixing the two together would really work. I thought maybe it was important to put the aloe on first and then the petroleum jelly so the aloe could do its thing in the skin and the jelly would protect from further damage. But I’ve been using this formula for over a month, and I’m finding it better than anything commercial I’ve used. I still have to apply it pretty often (chronic dry lips –- I’ve been applying lip balms several times a day since my teenage years), but my lips feel less dry overall than they have in ages.

On a side note, if you let it dry a few minutes before applying lipstick, it also works pretty well underneath that.

Jen @ BohemianRevolution.com