Teach Soap

I have tried several recipes. The all come out shiny. Before i try adjusting, i was just wondering, is it even possible to make a not shiny lip-balm?

I was hoping to make something that men can use too. I have even tried a recipe with 10% candelila wax and 60% butters and 30% oils.

Help please. Thanks!
Michelle

Yes Michelle you can make a not so shiny balm. I don't know your exact oils, but try cutting back on castor oil and/or the soft butters. Kokum, Cocoa, and Illipe Butters are very hard at room temperature, while Shea, Aloe, and Macadamia Nut Butters are soft and creamy.
Alternatively, you could try altering your percentages. Different people use different ratios for making balms. 1 part Wax, 2 parts Butter, and 1 part Liquid Oil works, just as a 1:1:1 ratio, or even a 1 part wax 4 parts oil will give you a sufficiently hard balm. The only real thing to do is to experiment.
Good luck!

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Remember, it's not just that we weather the storm, but how we dance in the rain.

Tammy

My current favorite ratio is 1 part wax, 2 parts butters: 1 part oils. Here's a sample recipe from Brambleberry: .

I don't know that guys are looking for anything super different than women, but maybe, because it's important to me that the balm is reasonably hard. I prefer balms that are stick tubes, not pots or tins. Maybe all the conditioning of using chapstick as a kid. Ha! Maybe there are differences that I haven't really considered. As for shiny, I don't care if a balm is shiny. It's more about how it feels for me during application & after. I personally don't like the feel of chapstick, which is like applying wax to me, but I also don't like a super mushy feel. Anyway, this ratio passes the "pocket test", i.e., won't melt in pant pockets, when I use at least 50% cocoa for the butters.

I've purchased a bunch of different handmade lip balms to compare against. Nothing I've tried is as good as the basic recipe I make using these ratios. I'm surprised by that, but hey, sometimes simple is better. It does matter what ingredients you choose. I've had balms that use these ratios that were too hard during application and not good afterwards either. So you will probably need to play around with which oils and butters you use.

Aren't they amazing compared to the store bought products?!

thanks!
okay - i just make a new batch...increased my wax to 20%. I was originally just using 10% or 1 part. from doing the plate test, it seems that it is much less shiny. but since candelila wax takes 3 days to set up completely- i have to wait and see.
fingers crossed!

I started with the recipe in this blog post:

http://blog.thesage.com/2012/04/16/summ ... -lip-balm/

I tweaked it a bit to get exactly what I want, and have been getting very enthusiastic responses from any testers/customers.

However, I decided that I wanted to offer one for the guys, and I wanted a formula that would give me a firmer, less shiny result.

As I know that castor gives a lot of shine, I dropped the castor oil completely. I divided up the castor oil amount (which is 10%, if I remember correctly) between beeswax, PKO, and the hydrogenated soybean oil. I made a teeny (two-tube) batch with the new recipe, and am pretty pleased with it.

Anita

Congrats on success with the new recipe!

Thanks, Robert!

I used a bacon flavoring oil. I must say, it makes me giggle every time I use it. I am fairly fond of bacon.

My other two "guy" flavors are popcorn and pizza.

I've haven't used the pizza yet, but I really like the popcorn. I just bought it as a joke, but it's become one of my favorite flavors. You can very distinctly taste salt, butter, and corn.

Anita

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~*~ Jennifer ~*~

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Amber D that'd be me!

I believe GetSuckered.com carries bacon flavor.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

Grrrr, they only have it in huge sizes

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Amber D that'd be me!

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Genny

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

Chocolate and Bacon, those two things are my kryptonite and the killer of every diet I've ever tried. Salad all day and a pound of chocolate covered bacon before bed....think Dr. Oz will ever declare that healthy cuz I'm totally on board with that one.