Formulating from your Cupboard - Day 4

We are halfway through our formulation project. Yesterday we made a vegan lip balm and it didn’t quite turn out the way I had wanted. It was close but it wasn’t there. ( I find creating vegan formulations to be my greatest weakness and it drives the perfectionist in me crazy!) To give myself a break, today’s formulation uses my favorite wax of all time – beeswax!

Finished Lip Balm

The goal for Formulation #3 is to have a softer, shiny product. I am excited to report that I am pretty sure I nailed it. This lip balm is soft and silky when applied to the lips. It also gives the lips a beautiful shine.

Weighing Waxes and Oils

Just because this lip balm is shiny doesn’t mean that it is heavy. I was very happy with how light it felt on my lips. This is perfect for individuals who want a shiny product without being heavy, sticky or even gooey! It stays on the lips well without feeling distracting.

Weighing Oils

The last thing I really liked about this lip balm is the flavor. While I did add some Virgin Coconut Oil to this recipe, it is not enough to be distinctly coconut. Rather it adds dimension and intrigue to the Vanilla Banilla Flavor Oil. Wow! For the flavor alone, this might be my new favorite lip balm!

Original Recipe:

Weighing Oils

Weigh everything except the Sugar Baby Flavor Oil and Vanilla Banilla Flavor Oil into a microwave safe container. Heat gently until everything is liquid. If you still have a few stubborn beads of beeswax, remove the container from the microwave and stir. The heat in the solution should melt the beeswax.

Weighing Oils

Add the Sugar Baby Flavor Oil and Vanilla Banilla Flavor Oil to the liquid lip balm mixture. Stir well. For here you can either use a pipette to fill your lip balm tubes or use a filling tray. Use whichever is most convenient for you.

I like using a filling tray when making 50 or more tubes of lip balm because they are simple to use and fast. If you are using a filling tray, insert your tubes into your tray. Flood the tray with your melted lip balm. Allow the mixture to cool. Scrape off the excess. I like to use a plastic putty knife. Remove the tubes from the tray and cap.

Adding Flavor Oils

If you are going to pipette the lip balm into the tubes, fill the tube until you get a dome of liquid material at the top. Wax shrinks when it cools and doing this helps insure that you get a very pretty top. Fill all of your tubes making sure they are domed on the top before they cool. (You may need to reheat your lip balm during this process. This is normal and to be expected.) Allow the tubes to cool then cap.

Now you can label your lip balm. Feel free to give them a different name than Formula #3. I promise I won’t feel offended or hurt. This is just one of the many ways I keep things straight and track-able through my own head and my notebook. Enjoy!