DIY Burt's Bees Chapstick Dupe, Untinted Version!!

I loooooove bees, and I love soft unchapped lips even more, so it seemed like maybe Burt's Bees was the one corporation I could trust to have both nature and my mouth's best interests at heart. Maybe that used to be the case, but then they got bought by Clorox. Their corporate buzzwords about sustainability and waste reduction are cool and all, but at the end of the day, your $$ spent on Burt's Bees products go into the pockets of the bigwigs at Clorox. While Clorox does take a Corporate Social Responsibility approach and seems to be more environmentally sustainable than other brands, it's still a big corporation, and chlorine bleach (which Clorox makes) is a huge environmental risk and pollution hazard. In essence, your money is supporting wildlife degradation when you buy from Burt's Bees, whether you intend it to or not.

But a girl still needs to have soft lips, so that's where taking it into our own hands and DIY-ing it comes in! Let me share with you my favorite Burt's Bees chapstick dupes, one with tint and one without. I hope you enjoy and can cut the cord with Clorox using these simple recipes! This is hands down my favorite DIY thing to do, because of how ridiculously easy and fun it is to make and how much everyone has loved it.

Looking for a tinted chapstick recipe? Have no fear, Carly is here! I edited this into two posts for brevity's sake; check out the tinted version here.

Carly's Regular Beeswax Chapstick Recipe
**adapted from Wellness Mama's recipe and my own trial and error. Have I mentioned how much I love Wellness Mama?**

Disclaimer: the links below are not affiliate links, and do not provide me with any income. I simply wanted to share what items I've found helpful and what has worked for me!

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

• 2 tablespoons of cosmetic-grade beeswax pastilles (I have been using these beeswax pastilles from an all-natural company, and have been very pleased by the amount and utility for the price. I think you can purchase beeswax for candle making, but that is not suitable for putting on your lips, so make sure to read the fine print and get cosmetic grade! I also think you can buy beeswax in bar form, but then you would have to grate it which sounds really hard, so I would recommend just purchasing some pastilles unless you already had the bars laying around and feel particularly dedicated.)
• 2 tablespoons of shea butter (This is the shea butter I use, one container like that lasted me about half a year of DIY-ing and also just using it to rub it on my dry skin. You can also make this recipe with cocoa butter, if you'd like.)
• 2 tablespoons of coconut oil (This is the coconut oil I've been using; absolutely fantastic for facial moisturizer and general lotion, and of course for DIY recipes. I bought a 2 pack for $9 from Walmart about 9 months ago and have still at least 3/4 of one container left. I've also heard it's very cheap at Sam's Club, but I don't have a membership so I can't verify.)
• A double boiler, or if you're a broke college student like me, a glass bowl that you can heat over a small pan of water on the stove
• Containers for your finished product! I really like using these chapstick tubes, because they're just like "normal" chapstick, easy to carry around/use and are also reusable for future projects, but some people really like putting their chapstick in tins like these.
• A spoon or tiny measuring scoop that you don't mind getting all waxy
• OPTIONAL: 30+ drops of peppermint essential oil (if you want to dupe the peppermint Burt's Bees, which, lesbihonest, is the best kind. But I've also made rosemary and lemongrass flavor, and rose and vanilla....your possibilities are endless! No matter what scent you go with, just make sure to put 30+ drops or there will be no noticeable smell at the end. CAUTION: be sure to avoid citrus essential oils for this project, as they can make you more susceptible to sunburn! And no one wants to be that person with the flaky lips.)
• OPTIONAL: A friend or helpful kiddo to help you out (because everything is always more fun with friends, crafting included! Just make sure to share your finished product as payment 😉.)

TOTAL COST TO MAKE: Assuming you already have some essential oils on hand (since those vary so widely in price), and that you have something you can use as a double boiler, it costs about $38 to make this recipe if you have to go out and purchase all of the ingredients using the links I provided above. However, this recipe makes 12 tubes, and you will have wayyyyyy more materials to either make more chapstick or to embark on other DIY projects. In order to buy 12 tubes of Burt's Bees, you're going to be spending about $35, which means you come out vastly ahead cost-wise when you consider how many more chapsticks you can make with all those ingredients. Additionally, you can likely find ingredients in smaller amounts if you don't care to become a DIY queen, which could cut down on cost too. DIY Life 1, Clorox 0! Anyway, let's get started.

DIRECTIONS:

• Melt your beeswax, shea butter, and coconut oil in your double boiler/glass bowl over pan of water until the mixture is completely liquefied. You don't have to stir it constantly, but you want to make sure none sticks to the bottom, and it seems to melt quicker if its stirred.

• Remove the pan from heat, but keep the glass bowl over the hot water so your mixture stays liquid. This stuff starts to get hard fast, beware!

• Add your essential oils, if using. Adding them in smaller increments and then testing the mixture on your skin is recommended, but I'm very impatient and just test it by what I think smells right, and it works just fine for me.

• Quickly, now, time is of the essence so this stuff doesn't solidify - start using your scooper/spoon to fill the tubes or tins. Having a friend help you with this step is recommended, since they can hold the tubes over and prevent you from ruining all your hard work by spilling all 12 of your tubes....😰.....not that I know from experience or anything....

• Once filled, leave the tubes uncapped overnight (or at least for several hours) until they are completely hardened and ready to use. Then, cap them and clean up any runaway wax on the outside of the tube (happens literally every time, I swear).

• You should now have about 12-14 tubes for your personal and gifting enjoyment!

• It can be tempting to leave the cleanup for future-you, but the longer the wax sits on things, the harder it is to wash it off, so I would suggest tending to any dirty dishes you may have incurred immediately and resting later 😊

I hope this recipe is as easy and fun for you to make as it is for me, and be sure to check out the tinted version (along with a handy dandy discussion of mica powder and its uses) over on this post! Thanks for stopping by and I hope to talk to you soon! As always, leave any comments below and feel free to press the pink SUBSCRIBE button at the top of my page if you want to keep up to date on my wacky DIY adventures!

Peace, love, and holiday well-wishes,

Carly