DIY vegan lip balm

[Penultimate]

Hey all,

I searched and didn't see a thread regarding this but I'm not very savvy with the site yet so apologies if I'm repeating an old topic.

I made my first batch of homemade lip balm a few months ago and need to tweak the recipe because the consistency wasn't ideal. Here's roughly what I used:

4 tsp. candelilla wax (had to go online to order this)
2 Tbsp. cocoa butter
1 1/2 Tbsp. of olive oil
Few drops of maple syrup (to replace the honey that I saw in lots of recipes)
Few drops of peppermint extract

The smell and taste was pretty darn good and the consistency was perfect if I had been carrying it around in my pocket all day long and it wasn't a scorching hot day. Unfortunately, it goes all gloopy when it's too hot and when it gets cold it's hard as twenty bricks. I can't figure out what would make the consistency more stable. The only thing that I omitted, which I saw in lots of recipes, was liquid vitamin E. It's listed as a preservative and I loooove my lip balm so I didn't think it'd last long enough to need to be preserved so I skipped it. Maybe it also serves as a texture stabilizer?

Has anyone tried to make their own lip balm and, if so, how did it turn out?

[bluedawg]

i have never tried making my own lip balm, but i will watch this thread with interest, because i am lip balm's b*itch.

as for the melty/goopy issue, have you thought about adding a touch of carnauba wax?

[bird]

Originally Posted by bluedawg

i am lip balm's b*itch.

Correction! That would be moi. I don't even want to think about how much I've spent on lip balms in my lifetime. :cringe:

That said, here's a recipe for homemade lip balm from Merz Apothecary. You could just substitute the carnauba wax for the beeswax:

Homemade Lip Balm

Lick chapped lips with this all-natural lip balm from Carolyn Sajdecki, director of Sheffield Gardens School of Aromatherapy in Chicago.

What you need:

Palmarosa, sandalwood, or patchouli essential oils

1/2 cup olive, avocado, or jojoba oil

3 tablespoons pure beeswax

How to: Mix the olive, avocado, or jojoba oil and beeswax in a pan until melted. Pour mixture into warmed jars (cool jars will cause mixture to set too quickly). When it's about to solidify, add 10 to 15 drops total of essential oils (you can use a combination of the oils above or choose one). Let cool and apply as needed.

http://www.smallflower.com/guides/lips/liprecipe.html

[bird]

This recipe is from Martha Stewart. She says the honey is just for flavor, so I bet you could leave it out. Again, you'd need to substitute carnauba for the beeswax:

Homemade Lip Balm

Homemade lip balm, infused with your favorite scented oils, will make your lips delicious while smoothing and softening them. Using essential oils (such as lime, lemon, tangerine, grapefruit, or peppermint), you can customize this basic recipe, which consists of unscented oil and wax. Purchase tubes and plastic tubs like the ones shown here (cosmetics jars are also ideal). The recipe yields 1/2 ounce.

Ingredients:

3 teaspoons grated unbleached beeswax; 5 teaspoons carrier oil (sunflower, castor, or jojoba); 6 or 7 drops essential oil; 1 teaspoon honey, for flavor

1. Melt the beeswax and carrier oil together in the top of a double boiler, stirring to combine. Remove from heat; add honey and essential oil. Mix thoroughly so the honey does not clump.

2. To add a little color, stir in a tiny dab of lipstick with a coffee stirrer. Pour the mixture into containers; let sit 20 minutes before covering or moving. For glossier lip balm, use 2 teaspoons wax and 8 teaspoons carrier oil.

http://www.marthastewart.com/page.jh...0&catid=cat268

[bird]

This site sells empty tubes to put your balm in. The smallest order is a dozen for $3.50:

http://www.soapcrafters.com/category.gc?ID=987

Alternatively, you could also use those little plastic pill boxes that they sell in drugstores.

[Penultimate]

Originally Posted by cymraegrrl

Correction! That would be moi. I don't even want to think about how much I've spent on lip balms in my lifetime. :cringe:

That said, here's a recipe for homemade lip balm from Merz Apothecary. You could just substitute the carnauba wax for the beeswax:

Yes, in addition to the fun, do it yourself factor, I started this because I use loads of lip balm and that stuff is expensive!

So I had been thinking that maybe it's the cocoa butter that's causing the wild fluctuations in texture. I tried this recipe, which is basically just wax and oil. The results.....not so good. It's too darned waxy! I substituted candelilla wax for the beeswax. Maybe they are very different products? The reason I bought candelilla and not carnauba is because the results of my informal survey (basically reading the ingredients of every brand of vegan lip balm I could find) showed that the good ones all contain candelilla.

I'll keep plugging away and keep you all posted.......

[Penultimate]

Originally Posted by cymraegrrl

This site sells empty tubes to put your balm in. The smallest order is a dozen for $3.50:

Thanks for this link, cymraegrrl! 100 tubes are only $25. That's like the cost of buying 8 tubes of lip balm at the store.

[bluedawg]

here are the ingredients of my two favorite vegan lip balms:

1. shea butter, jojoba oil, candelilla wax, avocado oil, grapeseed oil, soy wax, vitamin E, stevia, mica, & natural flavors ((i know that there is also carnauba wax in this type, but i'm not sure how much. i got an experimental "first batch" so it wasn't on the labelling yet.))

2. coconut oil, candelilla wax, hydrogenated castor oil, pineapple flavor, tripalmtin, carnauba wax, jojoba seed oil, sunflower seed oil, aloe extract, licorice root extract, allantoin (vegan), wheat germ oil, apricot kernel oil, tocopherol and tocopheryl acetate, pineapple fruit extract, & soybean oil.


i have no idea if that will be helpful or not.