What essential oils are safe for lips? Lips are one of the most delicate parts of the body, which is why you should always be careful when choosing ingredients to use in your homemade lip balms.
Essential oils are a favorite ingredient for making a lip balm, but not every essential oil can be safely used on your lips. Some oils such as peppermint oil have a cooling effect on the lips while others such as lavender oil have a soothing effect on the skin.
In this blog post, we’ll talk about what to avoid and which essential oils are best for your next homemade lip balm recipe.
What Essential Oils to Avoid in your Lip Balm?
Generally, most essential oils can be used in lip balm as long as they’re properly diluted. However, there are some elements to look out for when choosing the best essential oil to use on your lips, which are:
Sensitizing Essential Oils
Essential oils that are especially sensitizing to the skin can cause irritation, itching, and redness. Some sensitizing oils are:
- Cinnamon oil
- Cassia oil
- Lemongrass oil
- Allspice oil
- Oregano oil
- Nutmeg oil
- Sage oil
- Clove oil
Phototoxic Oils
Certain essential oils are phototoxic, which means that can cause your skin to become more sensitive to UV rays. Some phototoxic oils are:
- Bergamot oil
- Grapefruit oil
- Lemon oil
- Rue oil
- Angelica Root oil
- Mandarin Leaf oil
- Cumin oil
These lists aren’t all-inclusive, so be sure to research any essential oil before using it to make a homemade lip balm. When properly diluted, these oils can be used safely in lip balm; however, since lips are especially sensitive, we recommend avoiding sensitizing and phototoxic oils in skincare products altogether.
Other factors to consider are dilution and ingestion of essential oils.
Ingestion of Essential Oils
Essential oils should not be consumed, so why is it okay to use them in lip balms? Well, this is because most lip products are hardly ingested when used properly. Even so, if a tiny amount of lip balm is ingested, it will typically be safe as long as only a very small amount of essential oil was used. The less essential oil used, the less risk of an adverse reaction occurring if you accidentally ingest some of your lip balm.
Essential Oil Dilution
Since lips are such a sensitive part of the body, proper dilution of any essential oil is crucial when making a lip balm. Typically, a 0.5-1% dilution rate is enough to produce results while still being safe to use on your lips.
0.5% dilution rate means using three drops of essential oil for every 1 ounce of carrier oil.
1% dilution rate means using six drops of essential oil for every 1 ounce of carrier oil.
When dealing with a cold sore on the lips, a stronger dilution may be necessary, read more about essential oils and cold sores, plus it includes essential oil blends to get rid of them.
What Essential Oils are Safe for Lips?
Now that you know which oils aren’t safe to use in a DIY lip balm, let’s go over which ones are. Remember, essential oils are typically used in very small amounts and are unsafe if not diluted properly. As a general rule, start by using a few drops in your lip balm recipe, and add more as needed.
Here are the best lip safe essential oils to use in your next batch of lip balm:
Orange Essential Oil
Orange essential oil contains limonene, which is a natural anti-inflammatory that helps heal dry, cracked lips. The orange flavor is also refreshing on the lips.
Rose Geranium Essential Oil
Rose Geranium essential oil has anti-inflammatory properties that can help heal dry and cracked lips.
Peppermint Essential Oil
Peppermint essential oil has antibacterial properties that can help reduce swelling or cracked lips and can also naturally increase blood circulation to make lips appear plumper.
Clary Sage Essential Oil
Clary Sage essential oil is naturally cooling, which helps soothe lips, as well as therapeutic properties to help create a sense of calm.
Lavender Essential Oil
Lavender essential oil is typically used for its great smell, but it also has strong calming properties that can help you feel more relaxed and antibacterial properties to keep lips clean.
Eucalyptus Essential Oil
Eucalyptus essential oil has anti-inflammatory properties to help reduce swelling and heal dry lips.
Spearmint Essential Oil
Spearmint essential oil not only smells great, but its aromatherapeutic properties can help combat headaches, migraines, and fatigue.
When is the Best Time to Apply Essential Oil Lip Balm to Lips?
Lips are very sensitive and they need a lot of care. They are prone to dryness and chapping which can lead to cracking, bleeding, and in some cases, infection. Moisturize lips with a lip balm to keep them healthy and hydrated, this is best to do it every night before bedtime. This way, your lips will be moisturized for hours and you won't have to worry about dry skin in the morning when you wake up.
- Every night before you go to bed and in the morning before you leave your house.
- After eating spicy food, drinking coffee, alcoholic beverages, and citrus fruits as they can dehydrate lips.
- After taking a bath as it will seal in moisture that was lost during bathing.
Be sure to drink plenty of water during the day so that your body is hydrated and this will also keep your lips hydrated.
When out in the sun, you should always use a lip balm that contains a natural SPF. This way, your lips will be protected from the sun.
More Essential Oil Lip Care Ideas
This section will offer you some tips on how to care for your lips with essential oils.
Homemade Coconut Oil Lip Balm
Coconut oil is a natural moisturizer that can be used to relieve dry, chapped lips. It is also a good source of antioxidants and vitamins that help to keep lips healthy. Coconut oil lip balm can help to soothe chapped lips and to reduce the signs of aging.
Lip Gloss Roll On Recipe
Essential oil lip gloss offers a number of benefits that regular lip gloss doesn't. In addition to providing long-lasting hydration, it can help protect your lips from the sun and wind, and even reduce inflammation. So if you're looking for a way to keep your lips healthy and hydrated, consider making an essential oil lip gloss.
DIY Peppermint Essential Oil Lip Scrub
This peppermint essential oil lip scrub is so easy to make and only requires a few simple ingredients. Plus, the peppermint oil helps to invigorate and refresh your lips while the sugar exfoliates them. So go ahead and give it a try - your lips will thank you!
Where to Buy Essential Oil?
I am frequently asked what essential oil brand we use at Loving Essential Oils. We are not exclusive to one company and actually enjoy trying a variety of brands and essential oils. When buying oils it is important to buy only 100% pure essential oils from a reputable company.
Don't just buy on price alone, research the company if you are not familiar with them. Here are several reputable brands we use:
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