I've shared my lip balm elsewhere on SMF, but here it is again. Like Irish Lass's recipe, this one is another example of lip balm without nut butters --
Dee's Bees Lip Balm
Liquid oil #1 (high oleic sunflower is a good choice) ... 33.8%
Liquid oil #2 (jojoba is nice) ... 33.8%
Beeswax ... 31.5%
Essential oil blend (optional):
Sweet orange ... 0.5%
Red mandarin ... 0.3%
Rosemary verbenon ... 0.1%
Total ... 100%
All ingredients are measured by weight, not volume
Measure the beeswax and liquid fats into a small heat-proof container sitting in a warm water bath (bain marie). For this type of recipe, I often use a small glass canning jar to hold the fats and immerse it in a small saucepan of warm water that's as deep as possible. The deep pan of water warms the glass closer to the rim, so the balm remains more liquid as I pour it.
Warm the water in the bath to about 180F / 80C and let the beeswax melt, stirring occasionally. When fully melted and the mixture is clear, stir in the essential oil blend or other fragrance. Immediately pour into lip balm tubes or other containers. Let the balm cool undisturbed until the product is firm.
A 275 gram batch will fill about 50 regular-size (0.15 oz) lip balm tubes. A 90 gram batch will fill about 16 tubes.
This recipe as written passes my "pocket test" -- the balm in a regular lip balm tube doesn't melt in my pants pocket. It also passes the Iowa winter test -- the balm remains soft enough when it's cold to glide smoothly over sore chapped lips.
Your results may be different than mine, however, so plan to test and adjust the proportions to get the consistency you want. More wax (or less oil) will make the balm firmer and more melt resistant. Less wax (or more oil) will make the balm softer and more melty.
This recipe can be used on the face or other skin -- "Egyptian Magic" is one commercial product like this and another is Cindy Joseph's "Boom" sticks. To adapt this recipe to be more similar to the Boom and Egyptian Magic facial sticks, I'd replace the sunflower and jojoba with mildly-scented olive oil. If the beeswax is from a local beekeeper, the wax will naturally have propolis and pollen in it -- the lemon to butter yellow color is proof of that. If the beeswax is a nearly white product from a B&B supplier, it's most likely been filtered, deodorized, and bleached, so none of the propolis or pollen (or the wonderful scent) remains.
Boom sticks also have honey in them (not sure about the Egyptian Magic, speaking from memory.) You're on your own if you want to add water-soluble ingredients such as honey. Without an emulsifier, the honey may separate out unless you use only a tiny, tiny amount of honey. Also, adding a lip-safe preservative is mandatory if using honey, because honey will not function as a preservative when diluted. I want my balm simple to make and safe to use, so I never include water soluble ingredients.
Also see
Boomsilk moisturizer dupe
) somewhere to heat shea butter over low to medium heat. I heat all my ingredients minus the shea first on high. When it's all melted, I turn down the heat to low and add shea.
