# adventures in lip balm...plz share advice and recipes



## riverbee1 (Jul 2, 2010)

Want to venture out and make some lip balm. Would like feedback on how you fill your lip balm tubes, your best selling recipes, and also tips, hints and tricks anyone has learned from experience. Thanks much.


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## Stacey (Mar 23, 2011)

Try Googling recipes...there's a bazillion ways of making lip balm. 

There's a couple of cautions on making lip balms. Here's just a couple of quick thoughts off the top of my head. 
First off, obviously people are using the product on/in their mouths. You want to ALWAYS use sterilized equipment and use good handling practices. Think before you start making your product(s) do you have enough time to do it all in one session? Are the kids or the pets around? Clean, Clean, Clean!

When I first started making bath and body products, I thought adding honey to lip balms would be great. Yes, you can add it. But be careful because there are a lot of seperation issues. Use only a tiny amount. 

Make your product and test it out on friends and family first for awhile before you sell it. Make sure your product is good to sell. No, not good....GREAT product. Don't sell a bad or mediocre product. If it is...you'll make a one time sale and they'll never be back. 

You must label your balms with the ingredients. Again...people will injest your product. If they are allergy prone they'll know whether your product is safe for them or not. 

I just fill my tubes using a new disposable syringe. I get a new one each time. You gotta move quick because the balm will cool and harden in the syringe. 

Lastly, after you've filled your tubes you will notice that the balm will be indented around the screw...This is a normal part of the cooling process. When filling the tube the first time, leave a little space...after it cools a little, but not too much, just add a little balm to top it off. 
HOWEVER! When you use shea butter...slow cooling is the nemesis of shea butter. Slow cooling will get you gritty lip balm. Gross! Trust me on this! Once you've topped off the tubes, pop the tubes in the freezer until hard. 

Here's a recipe that I came across on the internet. I haven't tried it. I don't know how it'll work. Sounds like good ingredients. You could even half the recipe and trial it for awhile before making several tubes. 

Begin Copied Text:

Cocoa Mint Lip Balm Recipe
1.5 oz. cocoa butter (non-deodorize)
1 oz. beeswax
1.5 oz. shea butter
.01 oz. pure Vitamin E
3-5 drops peppermint essential oil (optional)

You may wish to less or no peppermint if you don't like the "tingle" that peppermint leaves behind on your lips; the sensation disappears within a few minutes of application) In a heat proof measuring cup with a lip for pouring, melt together the cocoa butter, shea butter and beeswax over a double boiler. Once the butters and wax have completely liquefied, remove from heat. Stir with a pop sickle stick to ensure the mix. Add Vitamin E and stir to incorporate. Add the essential oil and stir to combine. While mixture remains hot, pour into lip balm containers. You may spill a bit outside the containers as you get used to steadying your hand to pour. If this happens, wait for the mixture to harden and wipe the containers with a clean cloth. Seal, label and enjoy!!

End Copied Text


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## riverbee1 (Jul 2, 2010)

stacey, thanks for all the good tips, i appreciate it. i did google lip balm but wanted experience from beeks here. us beeks know best what works and doesn’t and what sells and doesn’t. also, making lip balm would be similar to a clean environment of extracting and bottling honey, no different on my planet. my honey and comb honey are excellent products, and i have many customers, and want my lip balm to be as well, so why i asked here.

thanks for the internet recipe, i am looking for recipes that beekeepers have tried using their own wax and would recommend, do you have one that works well and sells well for you? if you have one that you like and sells well, i would appreciate it, and any tips for making it. 

where do you get your disposable syringes? 

when i buy lip balm, i like burts bee’s stuff with the peppermint jolt in it, so am looking for some recipes using peppermint oil too.


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## mnflemish (Jun 7, 2010)

Riverbee1, did you find a great lip balm recipe? Looking at making some now that I have some beewax. Would love to get a beeks response on this topic also that is a great recipe.


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## riverbee1 (Jul 2, 2010)

yes i did, it's a recipe similar to the peppermint flavor a famous maker does, you kind of have to experiment a little. i have acquired a number of recipes and some i have tried and some not.


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