Make a Lip Balm Container
Making your own lip balm containers is a great way to store homemade lip balm. They can also be used to store and carry small travel-sized quantities of your favorite lip glosses or other beauty items. Learn how to use an existing container to repurpose as a lip gloss container, or make your own using plastic bottles and bottle caps.
Contents
Steps
Making a Container Out of Bottles
- Cut the top off of a plastic bottle. Use scissors or an Exacto knife to cut a plastic bottle below the base of the cap. Cut right where the plastic begins to flare out and get wider.
- Use any bottle you like for this project, whether it’s from water, soda, juice, milk, or any other beverage. You may select a bottle based on what color the cap is or how big it is, depending on what you want your lip balm container to look like.
- Use caution when cutting plastic with scissors or a blade. The plastic can be slippery and difficult to work with.
- Clean and smooth the plastic. Make sure the inside of the cap and piece of the plastic bottle is clean and dry. If you want to, you can smooth down the cut edge of the plastic with sandpaper.
- You can also use a nail file to smooth the plastic edge in place of sandpaper.
- Note that if you use a cap for the base in the next step, you may need to adjust by cutting more plastic away, so don’t sand down the edge until you are sure of your plastic size.
- Choose to use a piece of plastic for the base. Make the base for your lip balm container by using a piece of plastic. Cut and glue the plastic to your top, then cut it to size when dry.
- Cut away a piece of plastic from a bottle. It can be the bottle you cut from originally, or any bottle with a flat plastic section (milk bottles work well).
- Glue your top piece with the cap to the piece of bottle plastic using super glue or craft glue. Once it has dried, cut the plastic base so that it is the same size and shape as the rest of the container.
- Choose to make a base out of another cap. Opt to make the base for your lip balm container out of a second bottle cap. Fit the plastic on your top piece into another cap to complete the base.
- Make sure you use a cap for your base that’s of the same size as the first. Then push your plastic end into it until it fits snugly. You may need to adjust by cutting away more plastic or sanding down edges further until it fits evenly.
- Apply super glue or craft glue to the plastic or inside of the base cap to secure them to one another.
- Pour in lip balm and let set. Pour homemade lip balm into your new container while it is still warm. Or take a portion of whatever item you want to store in a smaller size and fill the container up to the lip.
- Allow homemade lip balm to set after you pour it in warm by placing it in the fridge undisturbed so it creates a smooth, even surface. Don’t use the balm or screw on the cap of your container until the balm is solidified.
- If you are using another premade product rather than homemade, soft material that you can scoop, like petroleum jelly or lip gloss, works best for transferring to a new container. While you can attempt to melt down existing lip balm for pouring, the process will likely be messy and difficult.
- Make sure you fill your new container just up to the lip of the plastic, where you would usually drink from if the bottle was intact. Overfilling it will not allow the cap to screw on smoothly.
Using an Existing Container
- Find a small metal, glass, or plastic container. Repurpose an old container for use as a cute new lip balm container. Think of tins for candy or mints, small glass jars, or old plastic makeup compacts. Make sure your container has a cap or lid that fits securely.
- Try using a mini size Altoids container, or another small tin left over from mints or candy.
- Use an old container from makeup or another beauty product you don’t use anymore or that’s used up. You can even cut apart a contact lens case to use one of the circular containers.
- Use jewelry to hold your lip balm. Create a container you can wear by using jewelry as a way to hold your lip balm. Try a locket or ring that closes to protect the lip balm.
- Look for jewelry items that have a small recess to put lip balm into, and a little door or cover that will protect it.
- Note that you may want to find an inexpensive piece of jewelry that’s old or not worn anymore for this project, as it may be difficult to remove and clean out lip balm once it is put into metal crevices.
- Wash and dry the container thoroughly. Make sure to wash any container previously used for another purpose. Then dry it thoroughly before pouring lip balm into it.
- Try cleaning out a container with medical or rubbing alcohol to be sure it’s free of contaminants. Alcohol will also evaporate quickly, so you won’t leave any residue of moisture, which can damage the quality of whatever lip balm you put in.
- You may need to clean containers several times if they have a pervasive scent left over from the previous contents, as with Altoids or other mints. Try using a strongly scented cleaner, like rubbing alcohol, vinegar, or lemon juice.
- Fill your container with lip balm. Pour in homemade lip balm while it is still warm to allow it to set in your new repurposed container. Or, transfer an existing product to the container to keep as a small travel size.
- Let homemade lip balm set in the fridge undisturbed until it solidifies before using it or putting a cap or lid on.
- Note that it’s easiest to transfer an existing product to a new container if it’s soft and scoopable, like a petroleum jelly or lip gloss. Melting down an existing lip balm (not homemade) may be too difficult and messy.
- Make sure that if your container has a clasp or hinged lid, as in a metal tin or piece of jewelry, you do not fill it with lip balm or other product to the point that it impedes it from closing smoothly.
Decorating Your Container
- Sculpt clay around your bottle cap container. Make your bottle cap container look more decorative or a fun shape by using clay. Mold the clay to the cap and base in whatever shape you like.
- Use colorful modeling clay like Sculpey clay or a similar brand to make your shapes. You can use tools like a plastic knife or toothpick to create designs or texture.
- Mold your clay around your container so you know it will fit on after baking. Then pop the clay off and bake it according to the instructions for your specific variety of modeling clay.
- When the clay is hardened from the oven, let it cool. Then pop it back onto your container. Secure the clay pieces with glue if they don't stay on the container on their own.
- Attach paper and beads. Glue on colorful paper, beads, glitter, or any other material you like to decorate your repurposed container or bottle cap container. Use Mod Podge or a similar craft material to add shine over your decorations.
- You can also use paint or pens to color directly on your container to make it a different color.
- Try decorating your container with the same color as your lip balm, or an image of the lip balm’s flavor, scent, or other ingredients.
- Label your container with the lip balm. Remember at a glance what kind of lip balm is in your container by creating a label for it. Write directly on the container with a pen or marker, or attach a piece of paper with the label.
- Try printing out text from the computer for a typed label. Just make sure to measure your container first to create text that is the right size to attach to it.
- Coat your label with Mod Podge or another shellac to make it shiny and look more seamless on a shiny container.
Warnings
- Use caution when using sharp tools. Children should have adult supervision on projects using scissors or blades.
Things You'll Need
Bottle Cap Container
- 1 clean, empty plastic bottle with cap
- 1 bottle cap of the same size OR piece of plastic bottle
- Scissors or craft knife
- Craft glue or super glue
- Sandpaper or nail file (optional)
Repurposed Container
- Empty container from candy, makeup, etc.
- Rubbing alcohol or other cleaner
Decoration
- Sculpting clay OR
- Pens, paper, beads, etc.
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