This DIY Citrus Honey Lip Gloss is easy to make in just a few minutes! The honey softens and moisturizes while the coconut oil provides deeper moisturizing for a longer time. You can also use any kind of essential oil you love the smell of. But I’ve been loving any of the citrus essential oils from lemon and orange to grapefruit in this lip gloss recipe.
I like a lip gloss that’s not too sticky. This lip gloss has all the glossiness without the inherent stickiness that usually accompanies it. It’s more moisturizing because coconut oil is the base, with just enough beeswax added to keep it from melting too easily.
I added a bit of honey for a couple of reasons. First, honey is great for chapped lips because it’s a humectant, meaning that it attracts and retains water. Second, it adds a good amount of shine to the gloss as well as being moisturizing.
I noticed that this lip gloss lasts for at least an hour before absorbing, and it left my lips much softer and smoother. It will last longer if you use it in combination with a lip balm or chapstick that provides more of a base to keep it from absorbing as fast.
Now let’s jump in and talk about some tips for this DIY Honey Citrus Lip Gloss!
I like to use a raw coconut oil and raw honey for the most effective product. When you heat your ingredients together, be sure to keep the heat as low as possible to keep them raw.
My beeswax comes in a block, and it’s not too hard to grate a tablespoon here and there, but I just learned that you can by it in bead form now, eliminating the need for grating (just a heads up).
Melt the ingredients except essential oils over low heat until the beeswax is thoroughly dissolved. Next, remove it from the heat and place it over a small ice bath. Whisk it for about a minute until the mixture thickens.
This step is important because it emulsifies the honey with the coconut oil. Finally, transfer your lip gloss to a clean container. This lip gloss will keep for 6 months if it stays in stable room temperatures, less if it’s really hot.
I used lemon essential oil because lemon is a favorite, but grapefruit smells really good too!
PrintDIY Citrus Honey Lip Gloss
- Total Time: 13 mins
- Yield: about 2 ounces 1x
Description
This DIY Citrus Honey Lip Gloss is easy to make in just a few minutes! The honey softens and moisturizes while the coconut oil provides deeper moisturizing for a longer time. You can also use any kind of essential oil you love the smell of. But I’ve been loving any of the citrus essential oils from lemon and orange to grapefruit in this lip gloss recipe.
Ingredients
2 Tablespoons coconut oil
1 Tablespoon grated beeswax
1 Teaspoon honey
10–15 drops essential oil, my favorites are lemon and grapefruit
Instructions
Heat the coconut oil, beeswax, and honey over low heat in a small saucepan.
When the wax is fully dissolved, remove from heat. Place the saucepan over a small ice bath and whisk until the lip gloss is emulsified and set, (about 1 minute).
Add your choice of essential oil, and whisk to combine.
Transfer to a clean container and use within 6 months.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 3 mins
- Category: DIY
- Method: Stove Top
Can you suggest preservatives to improve its shelf life?
Sorry I don’t know of any preservatives since I’ve never tried them.
Vitamin E oil is a preservative
Thanks so much Samantha!
Vitamin E is an antioxidant which helps oils stay stable by reducing rancidity, extending shelf life. It is not a preservative. Preservatives prevent microbial growth of bacteria, molds and fungi.
Thanks for your input, Kari. This time I tried heating the wax first, then added the other oils and butters, and took it off the heat and then stirred in the shea butter. Its been a couple of weeks, still, am keeping my fingers crossed.
Your citrus honey gloss is totally delicious. But I live in a hot country, and coconut oil remains liquid all year round; perhaps I should substitute cocoa butter and try it out.
Have a Happy New Year.
Cocoa butter would be a great first place to start or maybe even shea butter depending on how the texture is at room temperature for you. If your coconut oil is always liquid, it’s a good bet that it might not fully set up, but I sure hope one of the other 2 butters will work for you!
I used beeswax + shea butter + watermelon seed carrier oil with some essential oils, and the texture was soft and lovely, but the jar I had kept aside for later use – it developed fat bloom after a few weeks.
Same thing happened with candelilla wax + cocoa butter + shea butter + sweet almond.
Does anyone know how to prevent fat blooms in homemade lip balms please?
There are several reasons this can happen, one reason is overheating the oil and wax together – this can cause that separation later. Another cause can be the wrong ratio of wax to oil, I’ve never had this problem with this citrus honey gloss and I hope you’ll give it a try!
I love all things lemon too!!!!!
Gloss is great, I’ve already tried making it a few months ago and it was great! My friends loved it as well. And I think it’s very glossy….and non-sticky! Just great! I might try pink grapefruit this time.
I think pink grapefruit might just be even better than lemon! I have a pink grapefruit chapstick right now that would work perfectly with the gloss, so looks like I’ll be trying your idea out too! 🙂
I made this for my mom and when she applied it, it didn’t add any gloss at all. Could I add some Vitamin E oil to increase the amount of shine and gloss?
Lip gloss is always best when it’s combined with a lip balm, otherwise it tends to soak in almost immediately! You could add Vitamin E oil which is thicker for more gloss, or castor oil for the highest shine – the heavier the oil the more gloss. Either way, it’s never quite the same as the chemical versions which stay glossy for hours, but at least you know what’s in it!
I tried making this, but mine turned into more of a lip balm rather than a gloss. I did cut the recipe in half, maybe I calculated wrong. What measurements would you recommend if I want to make half of the recipe? Also, how many lip pots would half the recipe make?
The texture might be firm, but the way it looks on you lips is more gloss than balm (balms also have more beeswax in them). The ratios for 1/2 recipe would be: 1 Tablespoon coconut oil, 1 1/2 Teaspoons grated beeswax, 1/2 Teaspoon honey, and 5-7 drops essential oils. I’m not sure if the recipe will work as good if you cut it in half, but let me know how it goes – 1/2 recipe would make about 1 ounce of gloss or 1 container, depending on your container size. If you still find the end result too firm, you could try adding a bit more coconut oil. Honey would also soften the texture and add to the glossiness, but it does make the end result stickier! Let me know if you have any more questions. 🙂
Does the honey leech out of the balm ever?
I’ve never had it happen before, but our house stays at a pretty even temperature. Homemade bath products sometimes separate if they get too warm or cold. I did have 1 of my lotions separate once, to fix it I melted it in a saucepan over very low heat and then blended in the blender after it cooled – that time it stayed emulsified! Hope this helps, if you have any other questions let me know!