Homemade Mint Lip Balm
This recipe is going to guide you from harvesting fresh mint leaves to crafting a nourishing and refreshing mint lip balm infused with the natural goodness of peppermint leaves.
Equipment
- Food Processor (Or mortar and pestle)
- Heat-resistant bowl
- medium pot with lid
- Nut milk bag (Or fine mesh strainer)
- Kitchen scale
- Lip balm tubes (Or aluminum tin jars)
Ingredients
- 50 g fresh peppermint leaves (About 2 cups of loosely packed peppermint leaves; Can also use spearmint leaves.)
- 100 g olive oil (Extra virgin.)
- 27 g beeswax pellets (Or shaved beeswax)
- 4 drops vitamin E oil (Or 2 vitamin E softgels)
- 4 drops peppermint essential oil (Optional; For extra minty scent.)
Instructions
- Gather and wash freshly picked peppermint leaves using clean water. Lay them out in a single layer on a drying rack. Place the rack in a cool room with good air circulation, ensuring it's away from direct sunlight. Allow the leaves to air dry for approximately 2 hours or until all moisture has evaporated from them.
- Tear off the peppermint leaves from the stems. Place the leaves in a mortar, use the pestle to grind the leaves into a paste to release their oils and flavors. You can also crush the peppermint leaves using a food processor or finely chop them using a knife.
- Transfer the ground peppermint leaves to a heat-resistant bowl, then add olive oil to the bowl. Gently stir the mixture until the two ingredients are well mixed. Cover the bowl with heat-resistant plastic food wrap. Use a toothpick to poke 5 holes on the food wrap.
- Pour a few inches of water into a pot, then place the heat-resistant bowl inside the pot. The water level should reach about halfway up the bowl. Place the lid on the pot. Set the pot on the stove over medium-low heat and allow the mixture to simmer for 2 hours.
- After infusing, carefully remove the bowl from the pot, let it cool for a few minutes. Strain the oil through a nut milk bag (or a fine mesh strainer) into a clean cup to remove the peppermint leaves.
- Cover the cup with plastic food wrap, place it at a cool spot away from direct sunlight. Leave it undisturbed for 4 hours to overnight, allowing the oil to separate from the water.
- Pour the settled peppermint oil into a heat-resistant cup. Be careful not to pour the water from the bottom layer.
- Weigh the total amount of peppermint oil you've obtained using a kitchen scale. Add an amount of beeswax pellets to the cup that is ⅓ of the weight of the peppermint oil. (I got 81g peppermint oil, so I added 27g beeswax.)
- Pour a few inches of water into a pot, then place the heat-resistant cup inside the pot. Place the pot on the stove over medium-low heat, and continue stirring the mixture until the beeswax is completely dissolved.
- Carefully remove the cup from the pot, let it cool for a few minutes. Add a few drops of peppermint essential oil (optional) and vitamin E oil to the mixture. Stir to mix well.
- Pour the mixture into lip balm tubes or small aluminum tin jars. Allow the lip balm to cool and solidify completely.