Many of us use a product daily to fight a common problem — chapped lips. While it may not seem like a brilliant business opportunity, the growing interest in natural lip care makes selling lip balm a viable product idea. So if you’re looking for a chance to make money online, a great way to do that is by learning how to make lip balm and other natural lip care products.
In this article, we will walk you through the process of how to make lip balm to sell online and provide tips and tricks on how to get the upper hand on your competition.
How to Make Lip Balm to Sell: What You Need
You need to learn how to make lip balm, and thankfully making it is fun and easy.
Equipment
The necessary equipment includes:
- A double-boiler or a heat-safe glass bowl that fits over a smaller pot
- Lip balm containers, such as ½ ounce tins or .15 ounce plastic tubes
- Glass measuring cups
You may also want to invest in heatproof or infrared thermometers to make sure ingredients reach the proper temperature.
Ingredients
You’ll also need ingredients to make the balm.
- Beeswax. There are many options and even colors available
- Butter. Cocoa butter is the most popular choice, but you can also use shea or mango butter, too
- High-quality food-grade oil such as almond, coconut, or olive oil
- Essential oils (optional)
- Colorants (optional)
We recommend beeswax pastilles and cocoa butter wafers. They are easy to work with and measure. You can purchase them in solid blocks at a cheaper cost, but they may require breaking down or grating. Also, bear in mind while choosing ingredients that options could be an allergen (tree nut allergies are common, for example).
How To Make Lip Balm: 8 Steps
A quick search will get you countless recipes. You can experiment and see which works best for you. A basic recipe for how to make lip balm is:
- 1 part beeswax
- 1 part cocoa butter
- 2 parts oil
The process of making lip balm, however, is pretty standard.
1. Take all the required equipment and supplies and place them near you, ready and waiting.
2. Add water to the bottom of the pan of your double boiler.
3. Add the oil, beeswax, and cocoa butter to the top pan portion of the double boiler.
4. Heat the mixture on the stovetop over medium-low heat until everything melts. Stir frequently.
5. After everything is melted and mixed, remove the pan from heat.
6. Add optional essential oils if you choose to use them. Note: they are highly volatile and prone to dissipating.
7. While it is still hot, carefully pour the liquid lip balm into the containers. If it starts to solidify while you are filling the containers, put it back on medium-low heat until it returns to liquid form.
8. Allow the mixture to cool fully and harden in the containers before adding lids, labels, or sealing the products.
How to Make Lip Gloss to Sell: What You Need
There are several types of lip gloss you can make. Some recipes are vaseline based, coconut oil based, or beeswax based. You can also purchase premade bases and just add colorants and flavorings. Let’s make a beeswax-based lip gloss.
Equipment
- Microwave-proof container
- Stirring stick
- Small containers for the lip gloss product
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons (59 mL) of grapeseed oil or olive oil
- 2 tablespoons (30 mL) of coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons (30 mL) of cocoa butter or shea butter
- 2 tablespoons (30 mL) of cosmetic-grade beeswax
- 3 vitamin E capsules
- Essential oil (optional)
- Lipstick for color (optional)
- Beetroot powder or blush for color (optional)
- Glitter for sparkle (optional)
Sell your products online, worry-free
Officially recommended by WooCommerce, our hosting is made for online businesses like yours
How To Make Lip Gloss With Beeswax: 8 Steps
1. Prepare your tools and ingredients.
2. Add 1 tablespoon of beeswax into the microwaveable container and melt it.
3. Once melted, stir in 1 tablespoon of carrier oil.
4. Add ⅛ tablespoon of your favorite extract or a few drops of essential oils.
5. Add a bit of the colorant or sparkles of your choice. Stir it well.
6. Pour the lip gloss into the containers.
7. If the mixture is hardening while you are pouring it, feel free to put it back into the microwave and melt it again.
8. When cooled, you can seal and label your product.
Note: If you don't have a microwave, you can do this on the stovetop on a medium-low heat. If you’re using glitter or any other colorants, make sure they are food-grade and skin safe.
How to Make Lip Scrubs to Sell: What You Need
Lip scrubs are one of the easiest products to make. It doesn’t require heating, only mixing, so it’s a fast process too. You also likely already have the ingredients in your home.
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- Mixing spoons
- Containers
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon organic honey
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Pinch of vanilla bean powder
How To Make Lip Scrub to Sell: 4 Steps
1. Combine the honey, coconut oil, and vanilla bean powder until well mixed.
2. Stir in the coconut sugar until evenly combined.
3. Stir in olive oil.
4. And store in an airtight container.
How to Start Selling Lip Products
Now that we talked about all the fun stuff, it's time to start talking business. To create a successful ecommerce business, you need a catchy name. Your business name is one of the most important things in online marketing. Having a name that is easy to remember and find in search engines can make or break an online business.
Once you have a name for your business, there are a few more steps you need to take. First, we need to create an ecommerce business plan. Business plans are not as complicated and scary as people assume it is.
Your business plan needs to include a few things:
- Market analysis
- Products and services
- Marketing plan
- Operations plan
- Financial plan
After creating an in-depth business plan, you’ll need to figure out who your targeted customers will be. You’ll also need to determine what your labor is worth. In other words, you need to fairly price your products and services based on the time it took to create and the cost of materials you used.
Now for the most important thing in ecommerce marketing: creating your online store.
This requires a domain and a hosting provider. You’ll want a domain that makes sense for your business name. You’ll also want a hosting provider that’s optimized for ecommerce. A great way to start off your ecommerce journey on the right foot is to use Managed WooCommerce by Nexcess. It makes it quick and easy to build an online store, with no coding or design skills needed. Plus it comes with fully managed hosting to keep your store fast and secure.
If you're more familiar with hosting, Liquid Web offers WooCommerce VPS hosting with root access.
Lip Gloss Bundle Ideas & How to Upsell Your Products
You’re probably wondering, How do I get people to my online store? Well, that's part of starting an ecommerce business.
Take time to examine other online vendors selling lip products. Reviewing our competitors’ offerings can help us determine what products to upsell, what competitive pricing looks like, and much more.
Studies show that the probability of selling to existing customers is 60 to 70%, while selling to new customers is only 5 to 20%. Knowing this information is helpful and can help you make better business decisions, focus your marketing efforts, and plan for inventory.
To attract customers, you need good marketing. Some opt for social media ads. Others work with influencers and sponsored posts. You can use a combination of all of these strategies. A strong content strategy can really help you climb the ranks in the search engines. The best option is what you’re most comfortable with and what works for your budget. Test a few options and see which gets the best engagement.
A great strategy for ecommerce is upselling bundles. Bundles mean offering products together for a cheaper price. The perceived value intrigues customers who feel like they’re getting a good deal for their money.
Often you’ll see “2 for 1” types of deals. It’s a tactic that plays off of human nature. People feel like they’re paying less for more, and may buy things solely because they’re on sale or bundled. Offering seasonal bundles or limited edition themed bundles are also great ways to market your products.
Sell Your Products Online With WooCommerce
You know how to make lip balm and other lip care products. You know you need a store and a business plan. You’ve probably heard of the most popular hosting options – but now you’re looking for a platform and host that is made for selling.
Try Managed WooCommerce by Nexcess and you certainly won’t feel chapped. It’s the easiest way to create a store with intuitive design features, freedom to be creative, and live support available 24/7/365.
Get started with Managed WooCommerce today.