Hardest butters and waxes for lip balm

[dixiedragon]

I am trying to make a lip balm using as much coconut oil as possible so it has a natural coconut scent. I am using virgin, unrefined coconut oil. I want to use at least 70% coconut oil. I made some with 20% carnuba and 80% coconut oil and while the firmness is good - it smells/tastes awful. The wax had no scent in bar form, but now it has a harsh smell. Reminds me of hot plastic. I also have a sort of hot feeling on my lips, but maybe that is imaginary. My mom things it smells like coconut and has no problem with it. I don't care for it and I'm looking for an alternative. But I don't think anything else has a higher melting point than beeswax.

 

[IrishLass]

Have you tried candelilla wax? It's very much like carnauba in hardness. I find both of those to be much harder than beeswax. My beeswax melts much quicker and easier than either of them in comparison. I find that about 16% - 18% candelilla or carnauba is equal to about 25% beeswax in regards to hardness in my balms.

As for butters- kokum is pretty darn hard. Illipe butter is even harder, but you might not want to use illipe if you want to retain the coconut scent of your oil. Unlike my kokum, I find illipe to have a very distinctive scent. Happily though, it's not an unpleasant scent. To my nose, it actually smells just like the grade-school paste that we used to use in art class....the kind we used to eat when the teacher wasn't looking. LOL


IrishLass

 

[doriettefarm]

I've never tried candelilla or carnauba so can't give any advice there. But I do have plenty of kokum butter to share if you'd like to experiment with it. It's quite firm but doesn't have a distinct scent so shouldn't compete with your unrefined CO.

 

[cmzaha]

I prefer tucuma butter, that does not tend to "bloom" like kokum butter. Tucuma is harder than the kokum I have in a bucket.