Lip balm recipe question

[lerin855]

Making my first one, and I might be a bit ambitious but I was hoping someone could help with the proportions. Ingredients I want to use are:

Bees wax
Mango butter
Ostrich oil.(Carrier oil similar to emu...maybe closest to jojoba for comparison)
Castor oil
Lanolin
Rose essential oil

I already have these on hand and will try this weekend. Im open to hearing what people may think are the most luxurious ingredients to use in future attempts as well.

 

[not_ally]

It's been years since I made lip balm, so can't help with the proportions. But from my notes, this post was helpful in testing, it sets out how Irish Lass, an amazing poster here, does her small tester batches so that you don't waste too many materials. If you are using stuff like ostrich oil you don't want to be throwing a lot out (if you use big/normal sized batches you can remelt/keep using the same batch, but at some point the texture gets messed up or you lose track of ingredients and have to start over anyway.)

For proportions, I would actually do a search here, just put "lip balm" into the search term box and @IrishLass into the poster box. She is an incredibly helpful, thorough poster who freely shared great recipes for just about everything.

ETA: Forgot the link! Lip balm process

 

[Misschief]

Making my first one, and I might be a bit ambitious but I was hoping someone could help with the proportions. Ingredients I want to use are:

Bees wax
Mango butter
Ostrich oil.(Carrier oil similar to emu...maybe closest to jojoba for comparison)
Castor oil
Lanolin
Rose essential oil

I already have these on hand and will try this weekend. Im open to hearing what people may think are the most luxurious ingredients to use in future attempts as well.

I use Emu oil in mine and my lip balm is one of my best sellers. From your list of ingredients, I'd say you could make a really lovely lip balm. My recipe includes Jojoba, Squalane, Mango Butter, Cocoa Butter, and Emu oil.

I think I've shared my recipe here before (not sure). I've been making this for over 20 years and if my daughter is around, she'll steal the entire batch, given half a chance.

33% Beeswax
16.5% Jojoba
16.5% Squalane
16.5% Mango butter
8.25% Cocoa butter
8.25% Emu oil
1% Peppermint e.o. (or e.o. of choice)

Another one to look at for inspiration is Humblebee & Me's Overnight Lip Masque. It's a really lovely recipe that has also become a bestseller for me.

ETA: I must give credit where credit is due. Voyageur Soap & Candle used to have a satellite shop near where I lived in Kamloops, BC; this recipe was a freebie they offered at the time (we're talking 2001) and I have their permission to share it with proper attribution.

 

[not_ally]

That looks fantastic, @Misschief, if I had the chance I'd be stealing it too.

 

[lerin855]

I use Emu oil in mine and my lip balm is one of my best sellers. From your list of ingredients, I'd say you could make a really lovely lip balm. My recipe includes Jojoba, Squalane, Mango Butter, Cocoa Butter, and Emu oil.

I think I've shared my recipe here before (not sure). I've been making this for over 20 years and if my daughter is around, she'll steal the entire batch, given half a chance.

33% Beeswax
16.5% Jojoba
16.5% Squalane
16.5% Mango butter
8.25% Cocoa butter
8.25% Emu oil
1% Peppermint e.o. (or e.o. of choice)

Another one to look at for inspiration is Humblebee & Me's Overnight Lip Masque. It's a really lovely recipe that has also become a bestseller for me.

ETA: I must give credit where credit is due. Voyageur Soap & Candle used to have a satellite shop near where I lived in Kamloops, BC; this recipe was a freebie they offered at the time (we're talking 2001) and I have their permission to share it with proper attribution.

Thank you for the recipe. I have seen here that people use percentages for recipes. How do I convert these to a unit of measure?

 

[Misschief]

Thank you for the recipe. I have seen here that people use percentages for recipes. How do I convert these to a unit of measure?

If you take away the % and change it to grams, the recipe will equal 100 grams as written.

 

[AliOop]

@lerin855 You can also follow the recipe conversion instructions in this article from Humblebee & Me, or this one on scaling recipes.

 

[Misschief]

@lerin855 You can also follow the recipe conversion instructions in this article from Humblebee & Me, or this one on scaling recipes.

Thanks @AliOop. I'm working at the moment so couldn't elaborate.

 

[AliOop]

Thanks @AliOop. I'm working at the moment so couldn't elaborate.

No worries, gotcha covered

 

[not_ally]

I'm not sure if this is the information you need, but I am embarrassingly terrible at any kind of technology, even something as simple (for others) as excel. I use the calculators at ingredientstodiefor.com. They are really simple, and there is a % to amount calculator and an amount to % calculator, between them it is really easy to calculate what I need.

They were hard to find, all the other B&B calculators were too complicated, already had things programmed in, just too unwieldy for someone as math-challenged as me. So these are super basic, but they work perfectly for me. Here they are if you need them:

https://www.ingredientstodiefor.com/item/Ingredient_Formula_Percentage_Calculator/865?category=115https://www.ingredientstodiefor.com/item/Amount_to_Percentage_Calculator/873?category=115
ETA: don't know why the links say "you are being redirected", but they work when I click them. If you have a problem let me know and I'll try to figure out another way to post them.

 

[Misschief]

This might help anyone who struggles with formulas. I created this sheet and use it for pretty much all my recipes. First thing to do is change the file name to whatever it is you want your formula called (at the top left; change "Formula Percentage" to your product name). Input your ingredients and the percentage of each (Column A and B). Then, just change the recipe amount to the amount you want to make (C2, D2, E2, etc). Don't change anything else. Let me know if it works, or even makes sense.

Formula Percentages

 

[not_ally]

@Misschief, very kind of you to share this. Unfortunately it did not work when I tried to insert ingredients/amounts, etc. Probably my fault. Don't waste your time for me, though, everyone close to me is utterly exasperated with my inability to do the most simple things in this respect, so I've been happily using my very basic get-arounds for years.

 

[Lynne]

@not_ally, you need to make a copy of that file, then it will be yours and you can edit it.

 

[dmcgee5034]

I love @DeeAnna recipe for lip balm. I found it easy to make and had items I have on hand. Everyone who has used it, loves it! Lots of good stuff in this thread:
https://www.soapmakingforum.com/posts/923532/

 

[not_ally]

@Lynne, that worked! @Misschief, thank you, that is so useful, being able to do a bunch of batch calculations at once! I won't admit how long it took me to figure out how to save and edit, but I feel absurdly proud of myself for being able to do it, so thanks for that as well

 

[Misschief]

@Lynne, that worked! @Misschief, thank you, that is so useful, being able to do a bunch of batch calculations at once! I won't admit how long it took me to figure out how to save and edit, but I feel absurdly proud of myself for being able to do it, so thanks for that as well

I'm glad you figured it out. And, hey, you learned something today... always a good thing!

 

[not_ally]

If I could just have you spending 100% of your time teaching me basic algebra and geometry I might be able to cure the brutal math phobia! Ok, will stick with small steps!

 

[Misschief]

If I could just have you spending 100% of your time teaching me basic algebra and geometry I might be able to cure the brutal math phobia! Ok, will stick with small steps!

LOL... if you only knew!! Had I gone on to university, I would have been a Languages major (English and French). Math and chemistry were NOT my strong suit by any means. I failed Chem 11 and barely passed it the following year. Percentages were my nemesis in school; I still have nightmares about my Dad trying to teach me basic multiplication and percentages. And now, I use math and percentages daily, both in my work and my soapmaking.

 

[lerin855]

I asked chat gtp and they said 1 part of each ingredient (tbs) and 10 drops essential oil.

Im not sure I should trust them.

I found this one online but I wont be using honey and dont have cocoa butter or shea...

Think it would be ok to just use the mango butter, and leave out the honey?

How much castor oil should I use?

Ingredients
1 Tbs bees wax
2 Tbs coco butter
1 Tbs coconut oil
1 Tbs she butter
2 Tbs almond oil
1 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs lanolin
2 tsp honey

 

[Misschief]

I asked chat gtp and they said 1 part of each ingredient (tbs) and 10 drops essential oil.

Im not sure I should trust them.

I found this one online but I wont be using honey and dont have cocoa butter or shea...

Think it would be ok to just use the mango butter, and leave out the honey?

How much castor oil should I use?

Ingredients
1 Tbs bees wax
2 Tbs coco butter
1 Tbs coconut oil
1 Tbs she butter
2 Tbs almond oil
1 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs lanolin
2 tsp honey

I'd leave the honey out. Haven't experienced it first hand but I have read that it can precipitate out over time. Also, I would sub the shea for mango; Swift Crafty Monkey has a post about using coconut and shea together and her conclusion is that using the two together in a balm can cause graininess in a fairly short time. Lanolin can be smelly in a lip balm; some can't stand it, others don't mind it.

If you're set on using lanolin and castor, try this recipe from Humblebee & Me (you can leave out the Hilurlip and the carmine): Moisturizing Overnight Lip Mask - Humblebee & Me

I make that one and it's fantastic. Use it as inspiration.