For those of us who depend heavily on the stuff, the realization that you’ve left the house without lip balm is an experience that can trigger mild hysteria. Believe it or not, lip balm addiction is a real problem — a first world problem, but a problem nonetheless. In moderate doses, however, applying an organic lip balm with SPF is a safe and soothing way to protect your lips from the sun during these hot summer months.
So before heading to the beach, you'll be sure to hit the pharmacy to stock up on some heavy duty mouth SPF, right? Wrong! If you’ve got your trusty drug store lip balm handy, take it out and review the ingredients. Here’s a short list of harmful and / or toxic ingredients you need to beware of:
Phenol
A toxic chemical found in many skin care products. It’s claim to fame is that it kills bacteria. It’s also frighteningly linked to skin irritation, kidney and liver damage when used regularly. Not exactly the ingredient you should be smearing all over your mouth.
Oxybenzone
This is the bad kind of cancer-causing sunscreen that should never make it anywhere near your body, let alone your lips.
Petroleum Jelly / Petrolatum
An oil byproduct that coats your lips with a water-repellant seal. Petroleum may feel soothing at first, but it’s actually blocking moisture from getting in or out of your skin which leads to more dry, chapped lips.
Menthol
Menthol has a cooling effect on the lips, but if applied regularly can dehydrate them further, leading to soreness and swelling.
If you recognize any of these ingredients in your current balm of choice, it shouldn't be your balm of choice for much longer. A natural, easy-to-make, organic lip balm alternative is at your fingertips with this recipe. This organic lip balm with SPF is good for your mouth and protects your lips from the sun with ingredients like coconut oil and beeswax, which contain natural SPF. It also tastes amazing. You’ll need to invest in some quality, organic products to get started, and once these are in your cupboard you can make loads of other natural DIY skin care recipes.
HOW TO MAKE ORGANIC LIP BALM WITH SPF
2 tablespoons organic, cold-pressed extra virgin coconut oil
1 tablespoon organic olive oil
2 teaspoons organic cocoa butter
1 ½ tablespoons organic beeswax pastilles
1 ½ teaspoons organic grapeseed oil
40 drops of organic essential oils (you can mix and match these to your heart’s content — we love the sweet, soothing properties of wintergreen essential oil. Check out all wintergreen's other wonderful uses here).
Melt the coconut oil, olive oil, beeswax, and cocoa butter in a pan over low heat. Remove from heat and mix in the grapeseed oil and essential oils of your choice. Using a small baster or funnel, pour the mixture into the tubes. If the mixture begins to harden before you’ve finished dividing it into tubes, simply reheat on the stove.
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Image courtesy of Brokeandhealthy.com
