Description
Aside from the adage that someone has ‘thick’ or ‘thin’ skin, most of us never think about the thickness of skin. It varies substantially across the body, and it’s not surprising. For instance, the palms of your hands and soles of your feet are thicker than your forearms and calves. This makes sense, due to the relative amount of wear and tear that each of these body parts undergo each day.
Your lips have particularly thin and sensitive skin. Returning to their function, this makes sense as they are the gateway to your mouth and are designed to warn you when something isn’t good for your mouth. The lip skin is thinner, lacks the UV-protector melanin pigment, does not have sebaceous (oil) glands, has a higher concentration of nerve endings, and is one of the most exposed parts of the body to environmental elements such as cold, pollution, sun, and wind.
It’s no surprise that an entire industry has popped up around lip care. Lip balms provide protective moisture and, in some cases, sun protection. Below is a basic recipe.
Ingredients
| Amount | Measurement | Ingredient |
| 1 | tbsp | Beeswax |
| 1 | tbsp | Coconut Oil |
| 1 | tbsp | Shea (or Mango) Butter |
| 5 | drops | Vitamin E Oil or Jojoba Oil |
Instructions
- Melt the beeswax in a double boiler over low heat.
- As the beeswax approaches liquid state, add in coconut oil, and shea butter.
- Once melted, remove from heat and stir in the vitamin E oil.
- If using, add in any essential oils or zinc oxide powder.
- Note: You want the mixture to cool slightly so the heat doesn’t burn off the phytochemicals in the EOs.
- Pour the mixture into lip balm containers and let it cool completely.
Variations
Add essential oils and finely crushed flowers depending on your needs. Here are some ideas:
- Tinting: Add small amounts of finely crushed, dried rose petals or beetroot powder. Be careful with dosage, a little goes a long way.
- Aromatherapy: Add finely crushed lavender flowers or a few drops of chamomile oil. Consider the prolonged aromatherapy available to your respiratory system when this beautiful aroma is on your lips, right where you can smell it for hours!
- Cold Sores: Any antiviral will help. Consider tea tree oil, black walnut hull (is very dark), oregano oil, and rosemary. Each of these antivirals benefits the infection differently.
- Sun protection: Add a bit of powdered zinc, taking caution to cover your eyes with goggles and nose and mouth with a mask while sprinkling the zinc powder, which is quite harmful to your lungs if inhaled. Other ingredients with SPF include rosehip seed oil and carrot seed oil.
- Fun: Explore by adding vanilla extract, unsweetened cocoa, peppermint essential oil, or matcha tea powder.
