Lots of melted lip balm tubes - what to do?

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dixiedragon

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So, I did a small craft show during a brutally hot weekend - heat index 107. A lot of my lip balm got melty, misshapen, etc. So, is it better to de-tube the whole batch, remelt and re-pour, or to heat while in the tubes?
 
I once tried to melt a smooshed lipbalm while it was still in the tube. I didn`t want to dig it out of the tube and possibly contaminating the in some way.
What I did was, I put it on a plate in the microwave, did a few bursts and it settled down nicely in the tube.
I then put it in the fridge and it was back to normal again. I used it up without it becoming grainy, separated or show any other issues. The peppermintflavour didn`t fade either.
I would at least try one tube in the micro to see if this can work for you?

Since the meltingpoint of the balm is so low there was no issues with the plastic tube after I heated it in the micro. The screw-thingy worked perfectly afterwards. But I did keep the bursts short and sweet the whole process. It just took a few seconds and it melted into the tube. No mess, no hassle.
 
I think i'm going to de-tube the Asian Pear - it's noticeably softer than the others. I switched out cocoa butter for kokum and while I really like the feel, it's a bit soft, so I think I'll melt it and add some more beeswax. The others I will just melt in the microwave. Been tinkering with it a bit - it seems to work best in 3 30-sec bursts, with the tubes wrapped in a wet washcloth.
 
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