Beauty Emergency: How to Fix a Broken Lipstick in 3 Minutes

It’s a heartbreak every beauty lover knows: you open your favorite luxury lipstick, perhaps a brand new Chanel or a limited-edition MAC, only for the bullet to snap clean off at the base. Or maybe you left your purse in a hot car, and your go-to nude has turned into a melted mess.

Before you toss it in the trash in a fit of frustration, stop! It is incredibly easy to fix a broken lipstick. With a few household items and three minutes of your time, you can restore your favorite shade to its former glory.

The "Heat and Fuse" Method

This is the most common way to fix a clean break. You are essentially "welding" the wax back together.

1. Clean the Base: Use a toothpick or a clean cotton swab to smooth out the wax remaining in the tube. You want a relatively flat surface to work with.
2. Melt the Edges: Take a lighter or a match and very carefully hold the flame near the broken end of the lipstick bullet and the wax inside the tube for just a second or two. You don't want to melt the whole thing—you just want the edges to become slightly "slushy" and melted.
3. Fuse Together: Gently press the broken bullet back onto the base in the tube. Give it a tiny bit of pressure to ensure the melted waxes mingle.
4. Clean Up: Use a toothpick to smooth out the "seam" where the two pieces met.
5. The Cold Snap: This is the most important step. Put the lipstick (with the cap on) into the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. This shocks the wax into a solid state, creating a strong bond.

The "Depotting" Alternative

If your lipstick is shattered into several pieces or has melted significantly, the "heat and fuse" method won't work. In this case, it’s time to "depot."

Find a small, clean travel jar or an empty eyeshadow pot. Place the pieces of your lipstick into a metal spoon. Hold the spoon over a candle or a lighter until the lipstick melts into a smooth liquid. Pour the liquid into your small jar and let it cool in the fridge. You now have a custom lip "pot" that you can apply with a lip brush or your finger. This is actually a favorite trick of pro makeup artists to save space in their kits!

Prevent Future Breaks

Lipsticks usually break because they have been exposed to extreme temperatures or because they have been "wound up" too high during application. To avoid future tragedies, only twist up the smallest amount of product needed for application, and never leave your makeup bag in a hot car. If you can't save it, don't worry—use our Dupe Finder to find a budget-friendly replacement in seconds.

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