Christmas DIY #3
Lavender-Vanilla Lipbalm
With the freezing weather we had this past weekend, I thought it very fitting to make heavenly smelling, deep moisturising, lip balm today. The change of season always gets to my lips first. They feel really dry, and usually start to chap if I don’t get a good moisturising lip balm on them immediately.
I don’t know about you ladies out there, but I always have at least two lip balms (what they call chapsticks here in the US) in my handbag at all times. One next to my computer and one next to the bed too.
To me this is a gift the women in my family will use multiple times a day and hopefully think of the hands that lovingly made it specially for them.
These days, there are so many chemicals in all of our daily products, that Ryan and I have been taking steps to source organic “raw” products as far as possible and then make our own. We hope to make a complete change to all natural, homemade and “closest to nature” as we possibly can, one day.
All this to say, this lip balm is all natural and packed full of goodness for your lips.
As per usual, I scoured the wonderful world of Instagram to find this amazing lip balm recipe from Frontier Co-op . Now, before we actually make the lip balm we need to make the Calendula infused oil.
There are two methods to do this, with heat or with time. I used the older “time” infusion method and still have a quart jar full of Calendula oil I infused last year. But with Christmas around the corner, ain’t nobody got time for that! The “heat” method is best for saving time as it is much faster.
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For your convenience, here are the links to the products I love to use:
Calendula Infused Oil
The “How-To”
Fill your jar about 1/3 to 1/2 full with your dried Calendula flowers (loosely packed).
Pour Grapeseed oil over the flowers until the jar is full, leaving about 1/2 inch headspace. Make sure all the flowers are completely covered, close with the lid.
Set up a double boiler: Place your jar in a a saucepan with a few inches of water (the water should come partway up the sides of the jar, but not touch the lid). If you don’t have a double boiler, use a heat safe bowl over a pot of simmering water.
Heat on lowest setting possible for 2-4 hours. Keeping a steady simmer, never let the water get hot enough the bubble hard. This method gently pulls the goodness out of the flowers without damaging the oil.
Check occasionally to make sure the water hasn’t boiled away - add more hot water if needed.
After 2-4 hours, remove jar (using oven mitts) and let it cool.
Strain the oil through cheesecloth or fine strainer into a clean jar, squeezing the flowers well to get every last drop.
Label and store in a cool, dark place for up to 2 years.
Now that you have your Calendula infused oil, let’s make our lip balm. I amended the recipe significantly as Frontier Co-Op said to triple her recipe if you wanted to make enough for gifts. Well, I accidentally used tablespoons instead of teaspoons… and so I just went for it, and it turned out wonderfully.
I have linked all my favourite products for this DIY in this list for your convenience:
For the Lipbalm
Double boiler that fits over a small saucepan (sooo glad I finally got this one)
The “How-to”
Set up your double boiler (or heat safe bowl over a saucepan with simmering water) Measure your Mango butter and Beeswax into double boiler and melt at low heat. Stirring gently.
Add Vitamin E oil once everything is melted, then remove from heat and let cool for about 2 minutes. Add Lavender and Vanilla essential oils, stir gently.
Pour into Bamboo lip balm tubes or reusable lip balm tins.
let cool completely and Bob’s your uncle!
“…for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
Nehemiah 8:10
These turned out great! I love ‘em so much and because I made such a huge batch, I have plenty to keep some for myself. I filled 12 lip balm tubes, and five other little containers that
I had saved. I can’t wait to share these gifts with my family. It’s the little things that warm my heart, inspire me, lift me up, the little things that I would absolutely love to receive as gifts myself, a little piece of someone’s care and essence, a gift of love. Pure Joy!
I hope you enjoy making, gifting and using these as much as I did.
Chané & Ryan
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