Lip Balm

JR and I both love Burt's Bees lip balm...but at $4 a tube, it starts to get expensive (as does any brand of organic lip balm).  I've been reading through multiple recipes of lip balm, but the problem with most of them is that they require a handful of products that I don't regularly keep around the house.  Part of the whole point of this is being able to make my products with things that many people would somewhat regularly have.  There were two components of the recipe that I didn't have; however, the expense for them was negligible. 

So what do you need?

8 Tbsp organic unrefined virgin coconut oil (if you get refined or non-organic, it'll work fine--you just don't preserve the full health properties of the oil)

3 Tbsp Beeswax Granules or Pearls (white or yellow, doesn't matter)

1.5 Tbsp raw honey

30-50 drops of essential oil (optional)

20-30 lip balm containers

Put the beeswax, honey, and coconut oil in the top of a double boiler.  I just put it in one of my Pyrex glass measuring cups and set it in a tiny sauce pan with an inch of water.  Turn the burner on medium-ish and let it melt.  I tried stirring it as it melted...do so at your own peril...it makes a mess.  The best bet is to just let it melt until it's a translucent liquid.  It will take a good 20-30 minutes for it to fully melt, and then it'll look like this:

 Take the pan off the heat, add essential oil, and stir until mixed.  The recipe I was looking at said to set the glass measuring into a bowl with a cold bath until the mixture began to cool; however, I found that not to work (and subsequently involved an additional 10 minute re-heating process).  Basically what I'm telling you is to take the glass measuring cup out of the hot pan, let it set for about 45 seconds, and then start pouring.  You may still need a reheating process halfway through, but it's fine if you do.  I poured the mixture directly from the measuring cup to the empty lip balm containers.  Fill almost to the top (mine are slightly low), cap, and stand up to set.  If you want, you can put them on a tray in the refrigerator for a few minutes for them to set up--that's up to you.  I got 30 tubes out of this recipe; however, it may have been a little better if I had filled 25 tubes a little more full that I did.

Oh well, you learn as you go!

This is after they have set up--when you pour the mixture in, it will be bright amber/gold.  I tried some as soon as they had set up, and it is AWESOME!  Moisturizing, not greasy, and the honey/beeswax give it a nice, light honey scent to go with whatever oil you choose.

Have fun and happy balming!