Peppermint Elderberry Lip Balm (+printable labels)
Learn to make elderberry lip balm by infusing dried elderberries, along with alkanet root for a soft color. Peppermint essential oil adds all natural flavor!
I’ve also included a page of printable labels that will fit standard lip balm tubes.
I’m not a fan of lipstick. (It tastes weird to me, and the ingredient list is usually sketch.)
I do however, absolutely love this lightly tinted peppermint elderberry lip balm I make using all natural and organic ingredients!
The rosy color is provided by alkanet root powder, infused in olive or sweet almond oil, and I added dried elderberries for label appeal.
To make the oil infusion for this lip balm:
Combine 1 tablespoon dried elderberries with 1 teaspoon alkanet root powder (or use 1 to 2 teaspoons more alkanet powder for a darker red lip balm).
Cover with 4 ounces of oil – sunflower or olive oil are nice choices.
Allow this to infuse for a week or two, then strain the herbs out.
It will keep around a year if stored properly.
Other colors I like to use in lip balms are annatto seed powder (for peachy/orangey coloring) and chlorella powder (for a pale green tint that won’t stain your lips – great for lime flavored lip balm!)
You can read more lip balm tips in my article:
How to Make Your Own Lip Balm Recipes
If you are pregnant or nursing, consult with a health care professional before using products containing alkanet root. It’s not usually advised.
Peppermint Elderberry Lip Balm Recipe
- 1 tablespoon shea butter
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1/2 tablespoon jojoba oil
- 1/2 tablespoon castor oil
- 1 tablespoon olive oil infused with alkanet and dried elderberries
- 1 teaspoon pomegranate seed oil (or more jojoba)
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon beeswax pastilles
- 12 drops peppermint essential oil
You can buy all of the ingredients you need for this project from Mountain Rose Herbs.
Combine all of these ingredients in a glass measuring cup.
Set the cup down into a pan containing a few inches of water.
Gently heat the water until the shea butter and beeswax pastilles have melted.
Remove from heat and add 12 drops of peppermint essential oil.
Pour into lip balm tubes or slider tins or small 1/2 ounce tins.
Printable Labels
Print the labels below on waterproof sticker paper. (Rustic Escentuals has a good kind that I’ve used before.)
Cut out and affix to your lip balm tubes!
FREE RESOURCE
HERBAL SALVES & BALMS
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Originally created 2012; updated July, 2021.
Great recipe! I can’t wait to try it :) Does it have much of a tint when it is on your lips?
Thanks! It’s a very light tint – similar to what my favorite Burt’s Bees tinted lip gloss used to leave on my lips. You can adjust the amount of colored oil in ratio to the other oils to get lighter/darker. I hope you enjoy it! :)
Hi Jan. Another winner! I’ll be sure to pass this information on to my wife Carolyn (“The Other Farmer” @ Ladybug’s Mew in Yellow Point). Thanks again for your timely recipes and for your classy presentation of them.
Thanks for the kind words Farmer Doug! :)
Oh this looks like so much fun! I’d love to make these for the parent helpers in my classroom as thank you gifts! Thanks for the idea. I pinned this for later. I found you through Handy Andy’s link party.
Have a great weekend!
Beth
Hi Beth, thanks for the pin! I hope you have a great weekend too! :)
This sounds fabulous….
Lip-smacking good!
But also like a lot of work…..
hugs ~ Crystelle
Hi Crystelle! I like to double or triple a batch and make a bunch up at a time. It still takes me longer to create the labels than make the actual lip balm! (But, that’s probably because I get sidetracked looking at all of my pretty digital stickers.) :)
Really cool recipe! Thanks for sharing. I’d never considered making my own lip balm, but will now.
Hi Erin, Thanks for stopping by. I hope you get a chance to make some lip balm! :)
where do you get the lipstick containers
Hi Hailey! You can get some from BrambleBerry.com or RusticEscentuals.com.
How many tubes does this recipe make?
Hi Jennifer! I believe this recipe makes about 8 lip balm tubes.
Hi! I love your blog and your recipes!! I can’t wait to try this one but I was wondering how strict is the recipe on the type of oil(s) used?
Thank you!!!!
Hi and thanks!! There’s a lot of flexibility in this recipe. If you check out this post on creating lip balms:
https://thenerdyfarmwife.com/how-to-create-custom-lip-balms/
I have a list of different oils you can substitute. As long as you keep the amount of liquids/solids/wax pretty close, you can substitute oil types all you’d like. :)
Did you use alkanet power or simply dried alkanet? For the elderberries, did you use the powdered or whole dried version? Does this add color to the lips or is it just tint the balm?
Hi! I use alkanet powder and whole elderberries. (However, the elderberries are more for label appeal – they don’t really contribute to color.) You can use more alkanet for a deeper red or less for a pale pink, but it barely tints the lips, more like a sheer lip gloss type color.
Do you sell this product? Thanks :)
Hi Debbie! I sure don’t, but you might be able to find something similar on etsy.com or poppyswap.com. :)