Best Lipstick Recipe, Funky and Glam!

I'm eating my lipstick! What I'm talking about is my latest organic lipstick find that I want to share with you, along with instructions, ingredients, and tools for making your own lipstick at home.

It is really true - you CAN make your own lipstick.

So many men and women are concerned about eating a healthy diet made up of organic food, but then never stop to think about the one item they eat all day long - lipstick. And, YES! Both men and women are ingesting it. Have you ever thought about what is in your lipstick and what you are ingesting every single time you chow down on it?

Hee hee - yeah, sure, you don't think you're chowing down on lipstick, but you are. Historically, crushed beetles were used to create irridescent shine or pink colour, and that would be considered a good ingredient (by people, not beetles named "Cochineal")! If you wear a dark red lipstick, you could be ingesting lead (not necessarily - do your research!). Concerns about lead toxicity have existed for a very, very long time.

Have you ever heard of the Franklin Expedition? In 1845, Captain Sir John Franklin attempted to cross the Northwest Passage - the Canadian frozen waterway that lays to the north of this country. This crew of seamen succumbed to their sorry deaths, aided by lead poisoning caused by the ingestion of lead from either poorly soldered cans of food or the water systems on the ships, or both. Information drawn from: Franklin Expedition Lead Poisoning

The potential symptoms of lead poisoning are lengthy. This first link takes you to the Mayo Clinic's explanation of symptoms: Mayo Clinic Lead Poisoning Symptoms

The link I am providing here takes you to the Mayo Clinic's explanation of causes: Mayo Clinic Lead Poisoning Causes

The David Suzuki Foundation exists in Canada "to protect the diversity of nature and our quality of life, now and for the future". This foundation has reported that over 10,000 of "the ingredients used in personal care products are considered industrial chemicals, including carcinogens, pesticides, reproductive toxins, and hormone disruptors. Many products include plasticizers (chemicals that keep concrete soft), degreasers (used to get grime off auto parts), and surfactants (they reduce surface tension in water, like in paint and inks)".

Feeling depressed and a little frustrated with these negative reports, I have set out to find safer, less-toxic products to use and the starting place for me is lipstick.

Lipstick is an instant way to moisturize your lips. Everyone is using it. Some to feel beautiful, some to keep from getting lips like potato chips.

A whole lotta you like to suck-face with your significant other and I bet you never, ever dreamed about what might be in that slimy stuff you always get on your lips.

Here’s a wonderful video showing bigger batch process lipstick. It gives you a general idea of what is involved in making lipstick, I am a factory video super fan, so this one just naturally fell into my wheelhouse.

Do You Care About The Ingredients In The Lipstick Your Partner Is Wearing???

I found this lipstick while I was waiting for the ferry from Vancouver to the Sunshine Coast. I loved it. It’s no longer made but, luckily, I kept track of the ingredients they used.

Below was the ingredient list for an organic lipstick.

Organic Cera Alba (Beeswax),
Organic Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil,
Organic Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil,
Vegetable perhydrosqualene,
Natural tocopherol(Vitamin E),
Vitis vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil.

Now, the difficult part of making a lipstick happens when colour is involved. Some ingredients to make colour are not so safe. There are discussions regarding potential, very low-level of toxicity of oxides, for example. Take a read at: Skin Deep

I've been around the block on this topic for years. Some people look at me like I'm crazy and wasting my time for even doing research. Others are consumed with the topic. Please give us your opinion!

In this video, Darcey Diehl shows you how to make your own version of her lipsticks. The lipsticks she shows here are made in lipbalm tubes - not quite as sexy. I have made lipstick using a lipstick form and lipstick tubes.

CAUTION: Before you start making your own makeup, consider the importance of using clean tools and supplies. Always wash your tools in warm soapy water, rinse, and allow to dry before using. Introducing bacteria into your batch will be disastrous for your face - you won't be worrying about the ingredients anymore. Additionally, always apply your makeup with clean tools.

This is the recipe list that Darcy provides:

2 oz Organic Beeswax
1.5 oz Organic Castor Oil
1 oz Organic Jojoba Oil
1 oz Organic Grapeseed Oil
0.5 oz Olive Squalene Oil
Titanium Dioxide and Iron Oxides

This recipe makes 15-20 tubes, depending on their size and how you fill them. This is a massive amount of lipstick. I recommend coming up with different colour combinations and maxing a variety of colours in small glass bowls. Another way to make a small amount is to look at the ingredients proportionately:

2 parts beeswax
1.5 parts organic castor oil
1 part jojoba oil
1 part grapeseed oil
.5 parts squaleen oil
colour ingredients

Note that you can decide to leave out the oxides and just make a colourless lipstick or find some other way to colour your lipstick. I suggest doing experiments with Jello and Kool Aid!

If you choose to use the oxides, take the approach that less is more as you design your colour. You will need to determine how much of each element to mix in and it is impossible to take colour away, but always possible to add colour.

I have made lipstick before and it was so easy I was stunned. Look at the list I have provided you above and visit your local health food store and pharmacy, or check the WWW. There are loads of retailers - be specific about what you need. If you need to buy organic, remember that the best reason for doing is the limited environmental impacts of producers of organic products.

Finding supplies might be a little more difficult, so WWW is probably the best place to get lost doing this. Oh boy.

Below I am including a few links to products that I just need to be able to return to this article to find. I am lazy, yes. ;)

I have discovered that some mineral powders that have been designed as blushes or even eye makeup can be used to make lipstick. The following company provides almost free initial samples of their powders, which is a great way to determine which colours work best for your lipsticks.

Be courageous with your colours and mix combinations together. It takes a significant amount of mineral powder to colour lipstick, so don't be too thrifty here.

This is an alternative to refillable lip balm tubes and lipstick cases. It will allow you to store a wide variety of colours. These are also useful if you purchase lipsticks and want to carry a multiple number of colours with you because you can melt small amounts and pour them straight into the container.

I’ve shared some of the easy approaches to making your own lipstick. Here is the hard one. It involves using a form and then, masterfully, sliding the formed lipsticks into the lipstick containers. Yeah - it has been a bit of a gong-show for me to do this. But you might be more successful. I have to say, it’s super to apply a lipstick from a lipstick tube that I made myself, no matter how whacky it is to get the contents into place. Maybe I do something wring and one of you experts can guide me in how to do it properly.

To Find More Lipstick Recipes!