lip balm - high production?

Hey all! I've been making lip balm for a very long time, but have just recently started producing it in higher volumes.

Here is how I used to do it: melt in a double boiler, add essential oil by the drop to each lip tube, fill w/ a plastic pipette, mix each one by hand with a toothpick. As you can imagine, doing that for more than a few tubes isn't doable.

How do you do it?

I have tried a lip tube filling tray. I guess I am not getting the idea here, but I used it and it's impossible not to overfill the tubes. You have to scrape off the excess on top, I know, but it leaves an unfinished look to the top of the lip balms, not to mention that they are filled about 1/8 of an inch above the top of the tube so when you raise them there is a section of balm that is noticeably wider than the rest of the tube.

I know that some people use squeezable condiment bottles to fill, which sounds helpful, but I wonder how you clean them properly afterward. Or do you throw them away each time?

I am back to using small plastic pipettes to fill which is ok, but am I missing a magic way that fills them just to the top and leave a natural look when cooled? Help!

Also: I use almost all essential oils to flavor my balms. Does it make sense to make up large batches of lip balm in bulk, then remelt as needed? Or, as I suspect, does that damage the essential oil properties & scent strength?

Thanks in advance for any guidance!

I make a large batch of base ahead of time. Then I scoop out what I need, melt it, add flavor and pour into lip balm trays with the lip balms tops sticking out. I believe From Nature With Love carries the lip balm filling trays.

Thanks for the response! I guess I don't know what you mean about using a filling tray with the lip balm top sticking out. I have a filling tray (the orange one for oval lip tubes) and it overfills the balms by about 1/8-inch. Do you have this problem? How do you fix it?

You can find a tut here> http://www.elementsbathandbody.com/Lip- ... r-918.html
I also like this one as it has a lip on the top. You can slightly overfill the tray, then scrape off excess, so the tops of tubes are nice and straight.
http://www.newdirectionsaromatics.com/l ... -1873.html

I make up a base of unscented (unflavored) lip balm, then scoop out just what I need, melt it, and add my eo, and stir it in. Then pipette into the tubes.

If I have some scented base left over, I just store it in a separate container than my regular base, melt it and use it later. I haven't noticed that the heat diminishes the smell, I'm sure it does a little bit but not enough for me to notice. But I wouldn't scent my entire base ahead of time.

I make 20 of each flavour at a time (usually I make about 100)

I melt each batch separately, wait until it is cool enough for the FO/EO, stir that in and then pour straight from the pot into the balm tubes, I put 10 of them together with a rubber band and with a steady hand have them all filled in no time.

I use a 35 mL or 60mL syringe without a needle to fill my tubes up, way faster than a pipette. Works great for lotion tubes too.

Another - very economical - way is to use the pastry bag method to fill your tubes. I also like the idea of putting an elastic band around them - saves you the 'trouble' of placing them on the tray etc

Ok thanks for the help everyone! I give up on the filling tray, what a PAIN. I'm back to hand filling with a plastic pipette because it looks the smoothest and the tops of the balms look really nice when cool. However, I like the idea of the pastry bag. I'm stealing it for lotion bottle filling! Thanks again!!

I like the idea of pastry bag. Disposable ? Do you use a tip, or just cut a little area off the tip ?

You may want to start a new thread as this one was from 2011. I just use a pipette or a small measuring cup with a small spout that I can pour into the tubes. If you wanted to use a bag I would just use a ziplock type bag and cut a small corner off then fill.

I like the tray! I just use a pipette and fill it almost to the top of the actual tube (not top of the filling tray). It makes that little divot and sometimes I "top it off" with another tiny squirt or leave it. I never have excess on the tray that way! I am loving the idea of making the base then reheating and adding flavors etc... great!