Plumping Cinnamon Lip Butter

Yay, more snow. NOT. We got yet another inch of snow last night. This is the most active winter I've seen in quite a while. I couldn't be less excited about it. With the intensely cold weather getting worse by the day, my lips are requiring more and more moisture. I have tubes of chapstick, nivea lip balm, and even Burts Bees, yet none of them seem to be cutting it here lately. Chapstick is no longer moisturizing, it just feels like a layer of wax over my lips. Nivea seems to dry them out worse in the long run. And the trusty 'ole Burts Bees leaves a white coloring to my lips, akin to a corpse. Hmm, what to do about this conundrum?

Make my own crazy moisturizing lip butter of course! Lately I've been making all kinds of stuff from scratch: soap, candles, etc. What the heck, might as well give lip butter a go. I'm on a roll, people!

When planning this lip butter out, I knew of three things I wanted in the end product: moisture, tint, and some plumping action. I chose cinnamon as the main essential oil because it acts as a natural lip plumper, and well, its smells lovely. Might as well pack as much of a punch as I can into these tiny tubes. And speaking of packing a punch, making your own lip balms can save you some serious dough in the long run. Especially if you're like me, and you tend to lose one per week.

It's a lot easier to make your own lip butter than you might think. Anyone can do this, I swear!

Plumping Cinnamon Lip Butter

0.9 oz or 26 grams Beeswax

1.6 oz or 47 grams Coconut Oil

0.7 oz or 20 grams Shea Butter

0.8 oz or 23 grams Cocoa Butter

4 drops Vitamin E Oil

Lip Tint Coloring (or an old tube of lipstick)

Cinnamon Bark (Cassia) Essential Oil

Peppermint Essential Oil

Lip Balm Tubes/Pots - this recipe made 18 tubes, and 7 pots

Clear Plastic Pipettes

Combine beeswax, cocoa butter, shea butter, coconut oil, and vitamin E oil in a double boiler, or a make-shift double boiler (canning rings in the bottom of a pot). If you use the method I did, make sure the glass measuring cup doesn't touch the sides of the pot. Melt over medium-low heat. Do not boil, you will ruin the butters/oils.

Once melted, turn off heat, add coloring to your liking. It may look dark, but it takes a LOT of color to be visible on the lips once applied. Then add 40 drops of Cinnamon Bark (Cassia) Oil, and 25 drops of Peppermint Oil. Stir.

Working quickly with the clear plastic pipette, fill tubes/pots. When the butter solidifies in the tube, the center will sink down a bit, top off with any leftover lip butter if desired. Let cool, and enjoy!