The only difference is that your child will decide what goes into their lip balm if they go with a lip balm-making kit. Professionally-made lip balms can contain other ingredients that naturally help to soothe, protect, and hydrate, but lip balm kits contain the same protective qualities. Additionally, purchasing a lip balm means that you can seek one out that contains SPF, whereas many kits won't have this option. It all depends on what you're looking for and if your child is interested in creating their own personal lip balm. This is often a great option to get kids to use chapstick when they wouldn't otherwise.