7 Recipes & Remedies for Dry Chapped Lips

If you suffer from dry chapped lips, try these seven DIY recipes to help soothe, heal and protect.

Making Lip Care Products

There are many oil, butter, herb and essential oil choices when it comes to making lip care products.

If you’d like to further customize these recipes or swap out oils that you don’t have, be sure to check out my post on Creating Custom Lip Balms for lots of information and options.

If you’d like to a make a recipe vegan, remove the beeswax and replace it with half as much candelilla wax. For example, if the recipe requires 0.5 oz beeswax, then you’d replace that with 0.25 oz candelilla wax.

You may need to remelt the lip balm and add more wax if it turned out too soft, or add more oil if it turned out too hard.

Some links on this website are affiliate links. If you click on one and make a purchase, I earn a small commission for sending a customer their way. I only recommend products I’ve personally used & like! :) 

Honey & Sugar Lip Scrub

Simple Honey & Sugar Lip Scrub

This recipe features honey, which can help repair and soften skin, plus granulated cane sugar as a gentle natural exfoliating agent to help slough off dry flaky skin.

To make, mix equal parts of sugar and honey together. Depending on the viscosity of your honey, you may need to add a little more sugar or honey to the mix.

Gently and very lightly rub the honey and sugar mixture over your lips. If possible, let it stay on there for a few minutes before gently rinsing off with warm water and a washcloth. Follow with a protective lip balm.

This scrub is also excellent for dry flaky winter skin in general, so I usually treat my entire face, throat and hands at the same time as my lips.

Use once a week or as needed.

Chamomile Lip Scrub

Chamomile Lip Scrub

This recipe features chamomile, which is helpful for soothing and relieving irritation, plus sunflower oil, for it’s reparative effects on skin.

For variety, you can trade out the chamomile for other skin-loving herbs such as calendula, violet leaf and plantain. You can also switch out another favorite oil for sunflower, if you’d like.

Combine the sugar and infused oil and stir well. To use, gently rub a small amount over dry flaky lips with your finger. Rinse off with warm water then follow with a protective lip balm.

(This recipe can also be found on page 135 in my print book, 101 Easy Homemade Products for Your Skin, Health & Home.)

Don’t own a scale?

If you don’t have a scale to make the following recipes, then these volume-weight conversions should be helpful:

  • 1 tbsp oil = about 10 to 12 grams
  • 1 tbsp butter (shea, mango, etc) = about 14 grams
  • 1 tbsp tightly packed beeswax, grated or pastilles = about 10 grams

These are rough estimates, so you may need to make adjustments to your recipe. If your lip balm turns out too hard, melt it again and add more oil. If it turns out too soft, melt it again and add a bit more beeswax.

Calendula Tamanu Lip Balm

Calendula & Tamanu Lip Balm

Calendula is a well-loved herbal flower that helps soothe and repair damaged skin. It’s featured in this recipe alongside tamanu, a powerful oil that’s helpful for a wide array of skin conditions.

(Tamanu oil should be avoided by those with tree nut allergies.)

Combine the oils and wax together in a heat proof container. Set the container down into a small saucepan filled with an inch or two of water, forming a double boiler of sorts.

Heat over medium-low heat until melted. Remove from heat and let cool slightly about 1 minute before stirring in the essential oil. Fills about 12 to 14 lip balm tubes.

(Sweet orange (Citrus sinensis) will not cause sun sensitivity.)

Dandelion Plantain Lip Treatment

Dandelion & Plantain Chapped Lips Treatment

Dandelion and plantain are two of the best skin-healing herbs around. The best part about them is that they’re often available in your own yard, free for the picking!

This lip balm recipe has a softer texture so that it’s easy to use when poured into tins. To make it firmer, you could try adding a bit more beeswax.

Combine the oils, butter and wax together in a heat proof container. Set the container down in a small saucepan filled with an inch or two of water, forming a double boiler of sorts.

Heat over medium-low heat until melted. Remove from heat and let cool slightly about 1 minute. Stir in the essential oil if using. Pour into heatproof containers. Fills about six half-ounce tins.

(This recipe can also be found on page 129 in my print book, 101 Easy Homemade Products for Your Skin, Health & Home.)

Chamomile Lip Balm

Chamomile Lip Balm

If allergic to shea butter, try mango, cocoa or avocado butter instead. If you can’t use any of those, omit the butter completely. You may need to adjust the beeswax a slight bit to compensate, but you may not have to.

Fills around 12 to 14 tubes.

(Find more details and printable labels for this recipe HERE.) 

lip balm recipe for cold sores

Super Healing Cold Sore Lip Balm

This is a lip balm recipe I created for my son when he was a toddler and suffered from cold sores triggered by sun exposure.

It features lemon balm, a common garden plant which has been studied for its ability to fight the virus that causes cold sores.

You can find the full recipe HERE.

Cocoa Butter & Mint Lip Butter

Mint Cocoa Lip Butter

This final recipe is in response to a request for lip butter that can be made without the use of beeswax or other types of wax.

  • 1 oz (28 g) unrefined cocoa butter (I love using THESE easy cocoa butter wafers)
  • 0.25 oz (7 g) oil of your choice (I used sunflower)
  • about 10 to 12 drops peppermint essential oil

Combine the cocoa butter and oil in a heatproof jar or container. Place the container down into a small saucepan that has about an inch of water in it, forming a makeshift double boiler.

Heat over medium-low heat until melted. Remove from heat. Let cool a minute, then stir in the peppermint essential oil.

Pour the melted mixture into a small jar then place the jar down in a bowl of ice water. Stir frequently as it cools, scraping the edges of the jar so it’s evenly mixed.

The butter will thicken as it cools. It will feel hard to the touch, but quickly melt on your skin. To use, rub a small amount on your fingertip then smooth over your lips.

Without the addition of wax, it will need to be applied more frequently.

FREE RESOURCE

Line

HERBAL SALVES & BALMS

Subscribe to the Monthly Maker and receive:

  • Build Your Own Salve eGuide
  • 18 Herbs & Flowers for Salves Chart
  • Salve Building Printable Worksheet
  • A Monthly Email with Natural Project Ideas

By subscribing to our newsletter, you agree to the terms of our privacy policy.

If you suffer from dry chapped lips, try these 7 DIY recipes and remedies to help soothe, heal and protect.
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

8 Comments

  1. Your newsletter and all these great lip balm recipes couldn’t have come at a better time. Down south we are dealing with crazy unexpected cold weather and wind that has left most of us struggling with chapped lips. I’m excited to make a couple of these. Thank you.

    1. Hi Ravyn! To make a lip balm with similar ingredients as the mint cocoa butter, you could use the dandelion & plantain recipe as a baseline and adapt it.
      For the oil portion, you could just use most any plain oil if you’d like. Then make with the beeswax & peppermint essential oil as listed in the respective recipes.
      The new recipe would look something like this:
      2 oz (56 g) oil
      0.5 oz (14 g) unrefined cocoa butter
      0.5 oz (14 g) castor oil (or more of the other oil)
      0.5 oz (14 g) beeswax
      peppermint essential oil (10 to 12 drops, or I’d probably increase this amount a bit)

  2. I want to make the cold sore balm. Is it or what should I add to it to make it moisturizing as well. We are traveling to Colorado and it is VERY dry there.

    1. Hi Linda! I would make it like it is first before making any changes; I have quite a few family members & friends who love it as a winter lip balm, even though they don’t have cold sores. It has a great texture that you might like too! If you do find it a bit drying, the main thing I would suggest is to remove the coconut oil and replace it with something like sunflower oil or more lemon balm infused oil. I hope you have a wonderful trip to Colorado!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *