Protect your lips this winter with a rich chocolate and cocoa butter lip balm. Cocoa butter, a key ingredient in chocolate, is a creamy, fatty wax that is obtained from the seeds of the cocoa plant. You can find 100 percent cocoa butter at the drugstore—it’s sold in sticks or small jars. MAKES 1/2 OUNCE.
• 1 1/2 teaspoons grated cocoa butter
• 1/2 teaspoon coconut oil
• 1/2 teaspoon grated dark or milk chocolate
• 1 to 2 drops essential oil (optional, see note)
1. Combine all ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl or double boiler on the stovetop and gently melt until you have a smooth liquid.
2. Pour into a small jar or lip balm tube and allow to cool completely.
Note: Try adding pure orange, mint or lavender essential oils for unique gourmet lip balms.
Janice Cox is the author of Natural Beauty at Home, Natural Beauty for All Seasons and Natural Beauty from the Garden, all published by Henry Holt and Company (New York). For more recipes and ideas, visit her atHerbCompanion.com/Contributors.
For more cocoa-based recipes from Body & Soul: Chocolate Spa Treatments, click here.
