Lemon Honey Balm

Lemon Honey Bee Balm Recipe made with lemon-peel infused oil

Today, I have the great pleasure of sharing this lovely lemon honey balm recipe created by one of my favorite bloggers, JES from the Strangers & Pilgrims on Earth blog.

It features:

  • lemon-infused oil
  • coconut oil
  • beeswax
  • and honey

The directions are excerpted (with permission) from her wonderful new ebook that’s filled to the brim with creative ideas for using fruit peels!

100+ DIY Projects with Printable Labels

100+ DIY Projects to Make With Fruit Scraps

An Old Fashioned “Waste Not, Want Not” Recipe and Resource Book

I love this bit from the introduction section:

After preparing pies, jams, fruit sauces and such, you are left with a heaping pile of peels and scraps. Though the chickens, livestock and compost pile may enjoy them, the prospect of filling your pantry shelves, medicine chest and bathroom cabinet instead may be a bit more exciting! If you feel strongly toward our Depression Era ancestors, then the wise saying, “waste not, want not” certainly resonates within you. With this in mind, our little project book is directed toward you, the one who sees a peel as potential and a scrap as an opportunity!

(Interested in grabbing your own copy? Click HERE or on the ebook cover above, to learn more.)

*Some links on this site are affiliate links. That means if you click on one and make a purchase, I earn a small commission for sending a customer their way.

Drying lemon peels

To Make the Lemon-Infused Oil

Before making the balm recipe below, you’ll first need to make up a batch of lemon-infused oil.

The ebook gives several different methods for drying citrus peels and infusing oils, but this is what I did:

First, I dried fresh organic lemon peels in my dehydrator (set to about 115° F, around 2 hours), then place the dried peels in a canning jar.

Next, I poured organic sunflower oil (I use THIS KIND) over the peels until they were completely covered by a few inches. (You could use sweet almond, olive, avocado, hemp, apricot kernel, jojoba, or other favorite oil instead.)

At this point, you can infuse the oil by placing a lid on it and setting it in a sunny windowsill (or in a paper bag on a windowsill) for a few weeks.

I chose to infuse my oil the quick way, by placing the lightly covered jar down into a saucepan with a few inches of water and heating over a low burner for several hours.

Then, I let it infuse an additional day in a sunny window before straining.

Lemon Honey Bee Balm Recipe

To Make the Lemon Honey Balm

(For the batch shown, I used half of the amounts listed below to almost fill a 4-ounce jar.)

Place all ingredients except for honey inside a double boiler. (I used a makeshift version by placing a heatproof jar, or upcycled tin can, down into a small saucepan of water.)

Put on stove over medium-low heat until contents are melted and clear. Remove from heat.

Next, add honey into the melted mixture. Stir until smooth, making sure that the honey is completely dissolved.

Set the container inside a shallow ice water bath. Whisk ingredients together rapidly for about one minute. The mixture will begin to turn the consistency of thick icing and will keep the honey from separating from the mixture.

Once this is achieved, spoon contents into a clean glass container or jar.

Stirring the Lemon Honey Bee Balm

Yield: Approximately 1 cup

Shelf Life: For best results, use within 6 – 9 months.

Suggested Use: Apply balm to dry skin to moisturize where and as needed. As this is a thicker balm, it’s best applied before bed to allow the oils to soak in and moisturize overnight.

Feeling Frugal? Recycled baby food jars are excellent for storing balms and salves.

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HERBAL SALVES & BALMS

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12 Comments

  1. I too love Strangers and Pilgrims’ blog.
    Both of you have such lovely recipes for balms and salves. I never cease to glean from you both. :0)

    Blessings,
    Carol
    Puretsimple.blogspot.com

  2. I have tangerines in my refrigerator right now, so I’m going to try your formula out with tangerine peels!

  3. Hey Jan! This recipe looks so fun! Some questions :), can I infuse coconut oil with the lemon and/or other citrus peels instead of having separate oil? If so, would I have to melt the oil on the stove, add the peels and then let sit to infuse then remelt to strain it? Thanks in advance!

    1. Hi Melanie! I think you could definitely do that. I usually infuse coconut oil by setting it in a pot of warm water over a low burner (or my wood stove in winter), or you could use an uncovered crockpot with some water in it – acting as a double boiler of sorts. After a few hours, I take it from the heat and if I have opportunity, let it sit another day or two (or longer) before melting & straining.

  4. I notice the picture looks as though the lip balm is creamy as opposed to hard. Did you use fractionated coconut oil or the regular?

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