Spring Weeds Lip Balm

Here’s how to make an effective, all-natural lip balm using beneficial weeds right from your backyard!

lip balm surrounded by fresh violets, chickweed, and purple dead nettle

You can mix or match any of the following plants to make this recipe:

  • violet leaves (Viola odorata, V. sororia) – soothing, moisturizing
  • chickweed (Stellaria media) – soothes chapped skin
  • purple dead nettle (Lamium purpureum) – anti-inflammatory
  • henbit (Lamium amplexicaule) – similar properties to purple dead nettle
  • dandelion flowers (Taraxacum officinale) – for chapped, damaged skin
  • plantain (Plantago major) – heals damage

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HERBAL SALVES & BALMS

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a top view of a jar of infused oil

Oil Infusion

You will need:

  • about 1/4 to 1/3 cup crumbled dried spring weeds, such as violet leaves, chickweed, etc
  • about 2/3 cup of oil, such as sunflower, olive, rice bran, sweet almond, etc
  • (optional) tiny splash of 100 proof or higher vodka

How to make it:

  1. Place the dried, crumbled weeds/herbs in a half-pint jar.
  2. OPTIONAL STEP: to help extract a deeper green color, add a tiny splash of vodka to the herbs and stir to evenly moisten them.
  3. Pour the oil on top of the dried herbs and stir.
  4. If needed, add more oil so the jar is almost, but not quite, filled.
  5. For the slow infusing method – cover the jar with a lid, tuck away in a cabinet, and store for 4 to 6 weeks.
  6. For the fast infusing method – don’t cover the jar, but instead place it down into a small saucepan filled with a few inches of water. (This forms a double boiler.) Heat over medium-low heat for about 2 or 3 hours, keeping a close eye that the water doesn’t evaporate.
  7. Once the oil is infused, strain into a fresh jar, add a lid and label.
  8. Shelf life of the oil is about one year.
mango butter with a bar of beeswax surrounded by fresh violets and chickweed

Spring Greens Lip Balm Recipe

Use a kitchen scale to weigh out the ingredients for this lip balm.

You will need:

  • 1.50 oz (43 g) infused oil, that you made above
  • 0.50 oz (14 g) beeswax
  • 0.50 oz (14 g) mango or shea butter
  • 0.25 oz (7 g) castor oil (adds a soft glossiness & stays on lips longer, can be replaced with more infused oil instead)
  • 0.25 oz (7 g) tamanu oil (makes the lip balm more green colored & heals damaged skin, can be replaced with more infused oil instead)

OPTIONAL – you can also add up to 5 drops of peppermint essential oil for a refreshing minty coolness.

  1. Weigh out all ingredients except for the essential oil into a small, heat-proof container, such as a mason jar.
  2. Set the container in a small saucepan of water to create a makeshift double-boiler, and heat over medium-low heat until the butter and wax are completely melted. Occasionally stirring the mix can help speed this step up.
  3. When everything is completely melted, stir one last time to make sure everything is mixed together. (If using, add the essential oil now, and stir to combine.)
  4. Pour hot lip balm into tins or tubes. Let cool and solidify completely before closing lids or caps.

Yield: Approximately 6 to 7 half-ounce tins or 3 to 4 one-ounce tins of lip balm.

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CT is the daughter of the Nerdy Farm Wife. She works in the garden, growing most of the plants featured on this site & occasionally pops in to help with making projects. She's been planting peas and pulling weeds since she was a preschooler, following grandpa around his gardens. She lives at the foot of the Appalachian mountains with two adorable cats and a slightly out of control yarn collection.