2 Infused Homemade Lip Balms: Vanilla Bean & Garden Mint

Intentional Living · Homemade Skin & Body Care

Turn the ABMH three-ingredient lip balm into two botanical variations with vanilla-bean–infused jojoba or jojoba infused with fully dried garden mint.

Images in this post are illustrative and are not photographs of an ABMH test batch.

A quick note before you begin: these infused variations have not yet been tested in the ABMH kitchen, so the finished aroma may be subtler than a balm made with commercial flavor or fragrance.

Once you know how to make a simple three-ingredient lip balm, you can change it up without making the recipe complicated. In these two versions, the jojoba oil is infused first—one with a cured vanilla bean and one with fully dried garden mint—then used in the same beeswax-and-cocoa-butter base.

Start with the basic lip balm: if you have not made it yet, begin with Simple 3-Ingredient Homemade Lip Balm. These variations keep the same 25% beeswax / 25% refined cocoa butter / 50% jojoba ratio; the only change is that the jojoba is infused first.

This is also a natural way to use ingredients already doing more than one job around the house. If you keep Madagascar vanilla beans (paid link) on hand for homemade vanilla extract, reserve one unused, commercially cured bean for the oil infusion. Do not use a bean that has already been soaking in alcohol. For the mint version, apple mint or chocolate mint from the garden can be used after the leaves are completely dry.

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Vanilla Bean Garden Mint Jump to Project Card

VariationsVanilla + Garden Mint Balm Base20 g each MethodInfused jojoba StyleSubtle botanical infusion

Why Infuse the Jojoba?

Infusing the jojoba is a simple way to give the balm a gentle vanilla or mint character without changing the basic recipe. For either variation, the infused jojoba simply replaces the 10 grams of plain jojoba, so the beeswax and cocoa butter amounts stay the same.

Keep moisture out: use completely dried mint and clean, completely dry jars, utensils and bottles. Fresh or damp herbs can introduce moisture into the oil and increase the chance of spoilage.

What You'll Need

For the Infusions

• Jojoba oil (paid link)
• 1 unused, commercially cured Madagascar vanilla bean (paid link)
• Fully dried apple mint or chocolate mint leaves
• Two small clean, completely dry 4 oz glass mason jars with tight lids (paid link) for infusing
• Fine strainer plus an unbleached coffee filter or clean fine filter cloth
• Small stainless-steel funnel (paid link)
• Amber glass dropper bottles (paid link) for storing strained infused jojoba
• Labels and permanent marker

For Each 20-Gram Lip Balm Batch

• 5 g beeswax pellets (paid link)
• 5 g refined cocoa butter (paid link)
• 10 g vanilla-infused or mint-infused jojoba
• Clean, completely dry lip balm tubes (paid link) or small aluminum tins (paid link)

No sweetness is added: a botanical oil infusion contributes aroma and character, but it will not make the balm taste like sweet vanilla candy or mint candy. These are intentionally subtle botanical variations.

Variation 1

Vanilla Bean–Infused Jojoba Lip Balm

This is the natural bridge to homemade vanilla extract: the same kind of cured vanilla beans can serve two different homemade projects. Use a separate unused bean for the oil infusion rather than moving a spent extract bean into the jojoba.

Make the Vanilla-Infused Jojoba

• 1 commercially cured vanilla bean
• About 30 mL jojoba oil, or enough to keep all bean pieces fully submerged in a small jar

1. Prepare the jar. Wash the jar, rinse thoroughly and allow it to dry completely. The jar, lid and utensils must be completely dry before oil is added.
2. Prepare the vanilla bean. Using a clean dry knife and cutting board, split the cured bean lengthwise and cut it into small pieces so it will stay beneath the oil.
3. Add the jojoba. Put the vanilla pieces into the jar and pour in enough jojoba to cover them completely. About 30 mL makes a practical small infusion batch, but the bean must remain submerged.
4. Infuse. Close the jar and keep it in a warm location out of direct heat for up to about three weeks. Gently roll or shake the jar regularly so fresh oil moves around the vanilla.
5. Strain carefully. Strain first through a fine strainer, then filter again through an unbleached coffee filter or other fine clean filter so no visible vanilla particles remain.
6. Bottle and label. Transfer the clear strained oil to a clean, completely dry amber bottle and label it with the ingredient and infusion date.

Discard instead of guessing: if the oil develops visible water droplets, unexpected cloudiness, mold, bubbling or an off odor, do not use it in lip balm. Homemade infused oils can vary from batch to batch, so no fixed shelf life is given here.

Make the Vanilla Lip Balm

1. Weigh 5 g beeswax, 5 g refined cocoa butter and 10 g strained vanilla-infused jojoba into a small heatproof cup.
2. Melt gently in a shallow water bath over low heat, keeping all water out of the cup.
3. Stir until completely uniform, then remove from heat.
4. Carefully pour into clean, completely dry tubes or tins.
5. Leave undisturbed until fully firm before capping.

Variation 2

Garden Mint–Infused Jojoba Lip Balm

Apple mint and chocolate mint can both make a subtle garden-to-home variation. The important part is drying the leaves completely before they ever touch the jojoba. Fresh mint contains moisture that does not belong in this oil-and-wax balm.

Make the Mint-Infused Jojoba

• About 3 g fully dried apple mint or chocolate mint leaves
• About 30 mL jojoba oil

1. Confirm the mint is fully dry. Leaves should feel crisp rather than cool, soft or flexible. Do not use wilted-but-still-moist leaves.
2. Prepare the jar. Use a clean, completely dry glass jar and dry utensils.
3. Break up the leaves. Crumble the dried mint coarsely with clean, dry hands. Do not pulverize it into powder; very fine particles are harder to filter out.
4. Combine. Place the dried mint in the jar, add about 30 mL jojoba, and stir with a dry utensil until all leaves are coated and submerged.
5. Infuse. Close the jar and keep it in a warm place away from direct heat for up to about three weeks. Gently roll or shake it regularly.
6. Strain twice. Strain out the leaves, then pass the oil through an unbleached coffee filter or another fine clean filter to remove sediment.
7. Bottle and label. Transfer the finished mint-infused jojoba to a clean, completely dry amber bottle and record the herb and infusion date.

Apple mint or chocolate mint? Either can work here. Use whichever fully dried mint you have and label the finished oil accurately rather than treating every garden mint as peppermint.

Make the Garden Mint Lip Balm

1. Weigh 5 g beeswax, 5 g refined cocoa butter and 10 g strained mint-infused jojoba into a heatproof cup.
2. Melt gently in a shallow water bath over low heat.
3. Stir until completely uniform and remove from heat.
4. Pour into clean, completely dry tubes or tins.
5. Allow the balm to firm completely before capping and evaluating the finished aroma.

Why This Recipe Skips Vanilla Extract and Mint Essential Oil

Homemade vanilla extract is an alcohol-based extraction, so it does not belong in this deliberately water-free/oil-and-wax balm formula. The vanilla connection here is the bean, not the finished extract.

The garden mint version also stays with a whole-herb oil infusion rather than adding mint essential oil. That keeps this post focused on one simple botanical technique and avoids asking beginners to calculate essential-oil limits for a lip product.

Storage and Use

Keep both the infused jojoba and finished lip balm capped, labeled and stored in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight and excessive heat. Do not share personal lip balm tubes. Stop using the product if irritation occurs, and discard it if its smell, appearance or texture changes unexpectedly. FDA notes that cosmetics can become unsafe through microbial contamination and that natural origin alone does not guarantee safety.

Keep Going With a Bit More Homemade

Simple 3-Ingredient Homemade Lip Balm — make the simple fragrance-free version first.

Garden herb drying — make sure homegrown mint is completely dry before using it in an oil infusion.

Homemade vanilla extract — keep a separate unused vanilla bean for this oil infusion if you are also making extract.

Research & Safety References

• Formula Botanica — How to Make Macerated Oils
• Herbal Academy — How to Make Herb-Infused Oils
• FDA — Small Businesses & Homemade Cosmetics Fact Sheet
• FDA — Using Cosmetics Safely

A Bit More Homemade Project

Vanilla Bean & Garden Mint Infused Lip Balm

Two simple botanical variations of the ABMH three-ingredient lip balm, made by replacing plain jojoba with vanilla- or mint-infused jojoba.

Variations: Vanilla + Mint Balm batch: 20 g each Infusion: up to ~3 weeks Style: Botanical-infused

Vanilla-Infused Jojoba

• 1 unused commercially cured vanilla bean
• About 30 mL jojoba, or enough to fully submerge the bean pieces

Garden-Mint–Infused Jojoba

• About 3 g fully dried apple mint or chocolate mint
• About 30 mL jojoba

For Either 20 g Balm

• 5 g beeswax
• 5 g refined cocoa butter (paid link)
• 10 g strained infused jojoba

Infusion Method

1. Use clean, completely dry jars, tools and botanical material.
2. Keep the botanical completely submerged in jojoba.
3. Infuse in a warm location away from direct heat for up to about three weeks, gently rolling or shaking regularly.
4. Strain, then filter again to remove fine plant particles.
5. Bottle in a clean, dry amber container and label with the ingredient and date.

Balm Method

1. Weigh 5 g beeswax, 5 g refined cocoa butter and 10 g infused jojoba.
2. Melt gently in a shallow water bath, keeping water out of the mixture.
3. Stir until uniform.
4. Pour into clean, dry tubes or tins.
5. Let firm completely before capping.

Safety: use fully dried mint, keep all tools and containers dry, and discard an infusion that develops water droplets, unexpected cloudiness, mold, bubbling or an off odor. Do not use alcohol-based vanilla extract in this balm.

Print This Project Card

A Bit More Homemade

One vanilla bean from the pantry or a handful of dried mint from the garden can become the start of another homemade project. The goal is not to make lip balm complicated—it is simply to use a familiar ingredient in one more practical way.

You don’t have to do everything. Just start with something—and make your home a bit more homemade one change at a time.