Why jump on the pumpkin spice train?
It’s pumpkin spice season! I adore pumpkin pie, but have been slow to hop on the pumpkin spice bandwagon because I tend to avoid things that I deem “too trendy”. I realized how silly this was, considering my love of pumpkin pie. I’m also a self-confessed lip balm nut (one in each room!), so I went in search of a great recipe and tutorial for making pumpkin spice lip balm.
I reviewed 13 DIY recipes and tutorials for making pumpkin spice lip balm and chose the 5 best. You can read the details of my criteria in detail below the list.
My criteria for rating the lip balms:
- All natural – no petroleum jelly or highly processed ingredients
- Easy to follow instructions
- Attention to safety considerations
- Quantity – I wanted a small batch, so I don’t have pumpkin spice lip balm all year
- Authentic flavour/smell – bonus points if it contains actual pumpkin oil or puree
#1 DIY Natural
- Instructions
The instructions for this DIY lip balm are concise and scored full points for ease of reading and following. The ingredient choices are explained clearly.
- Attention to safety considerations
This tutorial includes a warning against using cinnamon, clove or nutmeg essential oils for skin care. It advises using a double boiler or a mason jar in a pot of water, which are both safe options for melting beeswax and heating oils.
- Quantity
This recipe makes about 4 tins of lip balm. This isn’t explicitly stated in the tutorial but is clarified in the blog post comments. Unfortunately, the author does not indicate the size of lip balm tins she used. I tried this one myself and it made 4 tins plus 3 small tubes.
- Authentic flavour/smell
The addition of pumpkin seed oil gives this balm an authentic pumpkin smell and colour. It is also a great moisturizing, nourishing oil. While the recipe calls for premixed pumpkin pie spice, a link to a recipe is given as well. I had a hard time finding pumpkin pie spice, so I appreciate that this recipe link was included.
Bonus: Includes a link to a great 3-ingredient diy recipe for pumpkin pie spice lip scrub. I would add some crystallized raw honey to this recipe as a humectant and extra exfoliant.
#2 Hello Glow
- Instructions
Hello Glow’s recipe exceeded my expectations for ease of reading and following. The author adds some important information in the introduction, yet doesn’t get too wordy.
- Attention to safety considerations
This is where this blog post really caught my attention. She has a medical doctor who specializes in skin health review her recipes. While she doesn’t go into the dangers of using too much cinnamon or other spices, the fact that she has a dermatologist review it makes up for that. This tutorial’s method for melting the beeswax also meets the safety criteria, as she advises the use of a double boiler. While this is a kitchen tool that not everyone has (I don’t!), you can easily substitute a two layer steamer pot with water in the bottom, or even put a Pyrex measuring cup in a larger pot of water.
- Quantity
This one only makes one 15 ml or 0.5 oz tube or tin. This is perfect for someone who is not sure if they will love it and the recipe is so easy to scale up if you do.
- Authentic flavour/smell
While there is no pumpkin oil or puree added, this one calls for pumpkin pie spice and honey, which make for a terrific pumpkin pie smell & taste.
Bonus: This blog post also has a super easy 4-ingredient edible pumpkin pie lip scrub recipe!
#3 The Squishy Monster
- Instructions
This tutorial is so easy to follow, and also includes a great video, but could be clearer on exactly what temperature to melt the beeswax at if using the microwave. She mentions to do it low and slow, but doesn’t give specifics.
- Attention to safety considerations
The recipe calls for powdered spice, which I believe is safer than hot (spicy) essential oils. She gives the reader the option of using a double boiler on the stove or using the microwave on low, but doesn’t give clear directions for safe microwaving of beeswax.
- Quantity
Both the pumpkin spice and hot cocoa lip balm recipes in this blog post make 3 to 4 pots or tubes of lip balm, which is perfect.
- Authentic flavour/smell
This recipe calls for either coconut oil or pumpkin seed oil, so the pumpkin flavour factor is really up to personal choice. You could even do half coconut oil and half pumpkin seed oil as an alternative.
Bonus: The YouTube video of this tutorial is embedded in the blog post (rather than opening in a new window), and the hot cocoa bonus lip balm sounds delicious and rich.
#4 Humblebee and Me
- Easy to follow instructions
While this tutorial has easy to follow instructions, the measurements of the ingredients could be clearer. It includes both metric and imperial, but has all the ingredients in ounces and grams, where perhaps teaspoons and tablespoons would be easier. She advises weighing the ingredients, but not everyone has a kitchen scale, especially one that can accurately measure very small quantities. I do have a kitchen scale, as it is so useful for both cooking, canning and DIY projects.
- Attention to safety considerations
This is one of only 2 tutorials in the top 5 that calls for essential oils rather than powdered spices. The preamble to the recipe includes a warning about how stimulating the cinnamon oil can be and advises against increasing the quantity. The melting instructions call for placing a glass measuring cup in a shallow pan of water that is just barely simmering, and allowing 10 minutes for the beeswax to slowly melt. Be sure to follow the recipe carefully and don’t burn yourself with too much cinnamon oil.
- Quantity
The yield for this recipe is 8 to 9 tubes, which is a bit more than I would prefer of one flavour.
- Authentic flavour/smell
While I haven’t personally tried this recipe because I currently have no other use for cinnamon or clove essential oils, I believe the combination of pumpkin seed oil, cinnamon & clove will make the flavour suitably pumpkin-y.
Bonus: The YouTube video that accompanies this post is very well done and shows each of the steps clearly.
#5 Mom off Track
- Instructions
One thing that I really love about the instructions in this tutorial is that the author includes a link to her other lip balm tutorials and urges caution for beginners. The steps are easy to read and follow. The recipe includes cocoa butter which will add a luxurious richness to the finished lip balm.
- Attention to safety considerations
While the recipe does call for essential oils, which can be irritating to sensitive skin, there is a safety warning included. The method used to melt the beeswax (double boiler or improvised version) is the one I have used myself. The instructions also include safety considerations of using plastic or glass pipettes to fill the lip gloss tubes.
- Quantity
This recipe makes 6 tubes, which is great if you want to have some to share.
- Authentic flavour/smell
As with the previous recipe, I will not be trying this one because of the use of hot essential oils. If I do try it one day, I’ll update this post with a more complete review. I like that the recipe not only has pumpkin seed oil, but also calls for a bit of nutmeg rather than just cinnamon and clove.
Bonus:
There are absolutely no ads on this blog, which makes it so easy to read. I’m looking forward to reading more of her tutorials and recipes. As a fellow blogger, I do understand why many choose to monetize their blogs with ads, and I still might do so myself, but I really love how clean this blog looks.
Honourable Mentions
This was the only recipe I found that includes pumpkin puree, so it gets top marks for authentic flavour. The only reason this one didn’t make the top 5 list was that the quantity isn’t clear. At one point in the blog post she says it will make 8 tubes, while in another place it says the yield is 3 to 4 tubes. I do intend to try this one when I have some canned pumpkin puree open for a baking project. As it only calls for 1 teaspoon of puree, I can’t justify opening up a can without finding a reason to use it all.
Pros:
- Easy to follow instructions with good pictures of each step
- Excellent tips and troubleshooting for making DIY lip balm in general
Cons:
- Instructions show melting the beeswax in a pan directly over the heat, which is not advisable for a beginner. It’s much safer to heat it slowly with your pan or pyrex measuring cup in a larger pan of water.
- Recipe makes 12 tubes, which is a lot unless you have friends and family you can give some to. I am a self-confessed lip balm addict and I typically go through about 1 tube a month.
Everything Pretty: Your Beauty Blog
I included this tutorial because it gives instructions for making coffee infused oil to make your lip balm like a pumpkin spice latté.
Why it didn’t make the top 5: It calls for the use of 4 essential oils, all of which could be considered potentially irritating to the skin, and doesn’t include a warning about using them.
Criteria for Ratings
Ingredients
There are 2 basic ingredients to any DIY lip balm recipe: beeswax and an oil (often coconut or almond). Some recipes also include a butter (usually shea, cocoa or mango), and some include honey as a humectant (attracts moisture). I wanted to find recipes that would be easy for a beginner, and have only the essential ingredients. As you get more experienced with making your own lip balm you can add extras such as vitamin E oil or honey.
Essential Oils or Ground Spices?
The 13 pumpkin spice lip balm recipes that I read and analyzed reviewed fall into 2 clear categories: those that call for essential oils, and those that call for ground spices. After reading through thirteen different recipes, it became clear to me that the use of ground spices was likely slightly more skin-safe than the use of essential oils (EOs). Either way the spices & oils can be irritating, and mixing a set amount of spice versus just a few drops of oil seems less error-prone. Recipes that called for both EO and ground spices with no safety precautions got lower ratings.
Other Safety Considerations
Another safety consideration when making lip balm is the heating method: stove-top or microwave. The stove-top method using a pan or pot of water (or a double boiler if you have one) is the safest, as it allows you to melt the beeswax slowly and safely. I did a quick google search on the dangers of microwaving beeswax & found this cautionary tale. If you must use a microwave, be sure to only go as high as medium and melt it in short bursts followed by stirring.
Bonus Points and Demerits
I gave bonus points to recipes that included actual pumpkin ingredients, such as pumpkin seed oil or pumpkin puree, and further bonus points if the blog post included anything extra such as a complementary lip scrub or alternate balm recipe. Posts with videos in addition to pictures and easy to follow written instructions were ranked higher too. I also awarded bonus points to any recipes that mentioned the skin-safety considerations of cinnamon and other warm spices.
Recipes were ranked lower if they didn’t specify the number of tubes or pots of balm it should make or if the instructions were not clear enough. I didn’t include any recipes that I felt were totally unsafe or missed too many of my main criteria. All of the recipes reviewed below are based on all-natural ingredients, so I’ve removed that from consideration in the rankings.
Have you tried any of these recipes? If so, let me know in the comments. I tried the recipe that I rated #1 but added 1/2 teaspoon of honey to it. It has a subtle pumpkin pie smell and feels soft and moisturizing.
