The LipSync Project: 15 Days of Treats for Your Lips, Day 5

I thought today would be a great day for a recipe and Lip Balm Tutorial!

Making Lip Balm is actually a very easy process - and an amazing introduction into the world of handmade bath & body products! If you’ve ever considered making your own soap, lotions, body creams and more, lip balms are the perfect place to start to get your passion going and creativity flowing!

There are lots of wonderful, Do-It-Yourself Lip Balm-Making Kits available, which make it even easier to jump start your project. They also make fun and educational activities for school classes, birthday parties, girl scout troops and more!

But if you want to start from scratch, here’s a recipe and tutorial along with some guidelines and helpful hints to make your own lip balms.

While every formulator has their own version that works best for them, the basic components of any lip balm recipe include approximately:
40% Liquid Oils - oils that remain liquid at room temperature
25% Solid Oils - oils that are solid at room temperature
20% Waxes
15% Brittle Oils - oils that are solid at room temp with a firm, brittle consistency

And here’s a list of examples of each type of oil:
Liquid Oils: Olive, Sweet Almond, Apricot Kernel, Grapeseed, Avocado, Hemp Seed, Jojoba, Sunflower Seed, Macadamia Seed, Rice Bran, Evening Primrose, Castor, Soybean
Solid Oils: Coconut, Palm, Mango Butter, Shea Butter, Babassu Oil
Brittle Oils: Cocoa Butter, Illipe Butter, Kokum Butter, Palm Kernel Oil
Waxes: Beeswax, Soy Wax, Candelilla Wax, Carnauba Wax

It’s important to remember that each of these oils and waxes will impart different properties to your balm, and each will effect your recipe differently, as well. For example, Soy Wax is much softer and has a lower melting point than Beeswax, so it will produce a softer balm if the recipe is not adjusted with a higher percentage of brittle oils.

First things first - compile your tools. You’ll need:
- Small postal or jeweler’s scale
- Heat-resistant measuring cup
- Stir Stick or Spoon
- Dispensing Pipette (optional)
- 8 Lip balm tubes or alternative containers (small clean tins, jars or pots are okay, too)

Basic Lip Balm Recipe, 2oz Yield (fills about 8 .15oz lip balm tubes or 4 5g size jars):
.8oz Sweet Almond Oil
.4oz Beeswax
.5oz Coconut Oil
.3oz Cocoa Butter
2 Drops Vitamin E (optional - Vitamin E adds moisturizing & protective benefits and helps prolong the shelf-life of your balms)

Directions:
1) Measure out all oils, butters and waxes

2) Heat gently in Microwave in 20 second bursts until completely melted - Careful! Melted Oils are Very Hot!!

3) Add 2 Drops Vitamin E and stir well (optional)
4) Pour or dispense using pipette into tubes or containers

5) Allow to cool completely before capping and using


Here are some Helpful Hints:
- Some Brittle oils & Butters may become grainy in lip balms unless they are tempered - allowed to remain at a sustained temperature for a period of time (just like tempering chocolate). Heat and maintain a temperature of approximately 100 degrees for Cocoa and Mango Butter, 170-185 degrees for Shea Butter, for a minimum of 15 -30 minutes before cooling and adding to your recipe.
- As lip balm cools, there is a tendency for settling to occur, making for an uneven surface. Keep some melted balm set aside to ‘top off’ your tubes as they cool.
- Flavor Oils or Essential Oils may be added at about 1% off your formula. Be sure to use essential oils that are not photosensitive and flavor oils that are oil-based and intended for use in lip balms (not food flavorings that are alcohol-based!). Too much flavor oil can prevent your balms from solidifying properly and give a bitter aftertaste to lip balm.
- Cosmetic-grade colorants may be added in very small amounts - be sure you are using pigments that are skin-safe and safe for use on lips.
- Lip Balm came out too hard or too soft? Just remelt and add more liquid oils or brittle oils! Lip Balm recipes are very forgiving and correcting mistakes is as simple as reheating and adjusting your oils.

One of the most fabulous things about a basic lip balm recipe is that it’s completely multifunctional:
- add flavor or essential oil for a flavored lip balm
- add a small amount of lip-safe, colored mica for a tinted lip balm
- add peppermint essential oil and tea tree oil for a rejuvenating foot balm
- add Tea Tree Oil and Vitamin E Oil for a healing cuticle balm
- add essential oils for an aromatherapeutic body balm
- add fragrance oil for a solid perfume

The best advice I can give you is to try your recipe with different oils, butters and waxes to find the combination that you like best!

Here’s your LipSync Lip Treat for Day 5:

LipSync Mineral Tinted Lip Butter in Chocolate Truffle - .25oz Slide Tin

LipSync Handmade Lip Butters are extra-emollient and moisturizing and enriched with Vitamin E. Formulated with only the highest quality ingredients - and 3 different ultra-rich butters - they're the ultimate in promoting soft, supple, smooth, kissable lips. And with a hint of sheer color, they can be worn alone, under or over lipstick and lip liners. Chocolate Truffle Lip Butter imparts the scent of dark, rich chocolate and adds a sheer tint of deep brown shimmer to your lips.

LipSync Mineral Tinted Lip Butters are available for $4.00 each plus shipping at http://lipsync.etsy.com/!

Discount Alert: Use Coupon Code ‘LipSyncBlogProject’ for 10% off your LipSync Purchase! Just note the Code in the Message to Seller Box during Checkout and I’ll refund your discount!

Tune in for Day 6 of The LipSync Project!