Natural Lip Balm Ingredients
At Lip Ganache, our natural lip balm is made with unrefined, plant-based ingredients from suppliers we trust. We lean on organic essential oils and natural oils and butters to look after your lips, and we leave out artificial flavorings, petroleum products, and synthetic additives.
A lot of drugstore lip balms are built on cheap petroleum ingredients like petroleum jelly and mineral oil, which seal the lips but bring none of the fatty acids and vitamin E found in plant oils and butters. Many also carry artificial flavors and colors that can bother sensitive skin.
Because our lip balms contain only natural ingredients and are made by hand in small batches, the color and scent can vary a little from one batch to the next.
Shea butter: natural moisturizer
(Butyrospermum parkii)
Unrefined shea butter is a cornerstone of our natural lip balm. It is pressed from the nuts of the shea (karite) tree, which grows across West and Central Africa, and ours is expeller pressed without chemical solvents. Keeping it unrefined preserves the fatty acids, mainly oleic and stearic, and the natural vitamin E that make shea a good moisturizer for dry, chapped lips.
Cocoa butter: rich emollient
(Theobroma cacao)
Cocoa butter is the pale-yellow fat pressed from cocoa beans, with a faint chocolate scent. This natural lip balm ingredient is rich in stearic, oleic, and palmitic fatty acids. It is an emollient and a good occlusive, so it forms a protective layer on the lips that slows moisture loss and softens dry skin.
Sweet almond oil: vitamin-rich moisturizer
(Prunus dulcis)
Cold-pressed sweet almond oil is a light, nearly odorless oil that suits lip care. It is mostly oleic acid (around 60 to 70 percent) and linoleic acid (roughly 20 to 30 percent), and it is a genuine source of vitamin E. That mix softens lips and helps them hold onto moisture. We use cold-pressed oil to keep it close to its natural state.
Beeswax: natural protective barrier
(Cera alba)
We use natural golden beeswax rather than bleached white beeswax, which keeps its light honey scent. Beeswax is what gives a natural lip balm its structure. It is occlusive, so it forms a thin barrier that slows water loss and shields lips from wind, cold, and dry air, helping dry or chapped lips feel more comfortable.
Apricot kernel oil: nutrient-dense hydration
(Prunus armeniaca)
Cold-pressed apricot kernel oil is pressed from the seed inside the apricot stone. It is a light oil, mostly oleic and linoleic fatty acids, which makes it a good fit for the thin skin of the lips. It absorbs quickly and leaves a soft sheen rather than a heavy film, so it helps keep lips hydrated without feeling greasy. We use cold-pressed oil to preserve its natural qualities.
Vanilla extract: warm, comforting scent
(Vanilla planifolia)
Natural vanilla extract is in our lip balm mostly for its warm, familiar scent. It carries some antioxidant compounds, and its main flavor compound, vanillin, has shown antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity in laboratory studies. The moisture in a balm comes from the oils and butters, not the vanilla, which is along for the aroma.
Vitamin E: antioxidant protection
(Tocopherol)
Vitamin E oil (tocopherol) is a natural antioxidant that helps protect lips from free radicals. As an emollient it also helps soften and condition lips. On top of that, it slows the oxidation of the plant oils and butters in the balm, which is what makes natural oils go rancid over time, so it helps keep the formula fresh.
Rosemary extract: natural antioxidant
(Salvia rosmarinus)
Rosemary extract is rich in oil-soluble antioxidants, mainly carnosic acid and carnosol. In a natural lip balm its job is to slow the oils and butters from going rancid, which keeps the balm fresh without a synthetic additive. It is an antioxidant rather than a preservative against microbes, so we use it for that one specific job.
Peppermint essential oil: organic & refreshing
(Mentha piperita)
Our organic peppermint essential oil is distilled from certified organic peppermint grown in Oregon's Willamette Valley. The menthol in it gives a cooling, refreshing feel along with a natural mint flavor. We use pure organic essential oil, never artificial mint flavoring.
Orange essential oil: cold-pressed citrus
(Citrus sinensis)
Cold-pressed from the rind of sweet oranges grown in North America, our orange essential oil gives a bright citrus flavor and a cheerful scent. Pressing it without heat or solvents keeps the aroma true to the fruit, so our natural lip balm carries a real orange note.
Lemon essential oil: pure citrus flavor
(Citrus limon)
Our lemon essential oil is cold-pressed from the rind of lemons, capturing the bright, fresh scent of the fruit. This organic essential oil gives our lip balm a clean citrus flavor without artificial additives. We keep it at a low, sensible level in the formula, since cold-pressed citrus oils are best used sparingly on skin that sees the sun.
Shop the balms made from these ingredients
Every ingredient on this page ends up in a tube. Browse the full natural lip balm collection, or pick three or six flavors in our lip balm gift sets.
Thank you for browsing Lip Ganache. We hope you enjoy your day.
Thank you for browsing Lip Ganache. We hope you enjoy your day.