Soften and soothe your dry chapped lips inexpensively by making up your own glossy flavored lip balms. You will need a thin-tipped marker, cooking pot and stove, measuring spoons, paper cup, paper towels, lipsticks and a utility knife. It is a good idea to begin by hand washing all mixing jars, plastic tubes, and plastic pots. Dry them thoroughly. Set aside two pipettes to measure the essential oil. A pipette, acts like a baster, drawing the oil or lip balm up inside. Use the remaining pipettes to stir the lip balm, and transfer it to the tubes and pots. To get a glossy lip balm, add an extra 1½-teaspoon of sunflower or safflower oil.
Fill the pot with 1” of water, and bring to a boil; lower the heat to medium. Combine teaspoons of the beeswax beads and 5 teaspoons sunflower or safflower oil in a mixing jar, and set the jar into the pot; the water should be below the rim of the jar. Stir the mixture using the pipette; the wax will begin to immediately melt. After it is thoroughly mixed, add the preferred oil one drop at a time. I recommend limiting the total number of 10 drops to prevent an overpowering scent.
Experimenting With The Oils
You can experiment with the assorted oils provided you wash the pipette with warm water before adding different oils. For an added touch, add lipstick shavings from old discarded lipsticks, directly to the mixing jar until you reach desired color you like. When you are satisfied with the scent and color of the balm, use a clean pipette to fill the tubes and pots. Caution; lip balm is hot. Fill each container to the rim. Allow lip balm to settle for a few minutes, after filling tubes then add a final drop. The extra drop helps to prevent holes that can form in the center.
Let the lip balm to set for 20 minutes before you replace the lids. Return it to the boiling water to melt if lip balm hardens inside glass mixing jar. Discard all pipettes; pour any leftover lip balm into a paper cup before disposing of it. Use a paper towel to wipe lip balm from inside the mixing jar; if the lip balm has hardened in the jar, return it to the boiling water to melt before wiping it off. Hand-wash the mixing jar with soap and hot water.
Mixing Flavors
Many lip balm kits include an array of flavors such as grapefruit, peppermint, tangerine, and vanilla. Or you can experiment with the flavors to create your own personal recipe. Each batch begin with 3 teaspoons beseswax beads and 5 teaspoons sunflower or safflower oil. Some combinations I recommend are:
You can also create pretty colors with unusual patterns with your essential oils for your very own extra special lip balm. To make a bull’s-eye, fill a pot with lip balm, and allow it to set for at least 20 minutes. Once it is set, press a cap from one of the plastic tubes open-side down into the middle of the pot. Twist and remove the cap; a round chunk of lip balm should come away in the cap. Add another color of melted lip balm into the hole, flush with the first color, and let it harden. To make a striped design, use the utility knife and fill one pot with one color of lip balm and allow it to set. Once it has hardened cut four parallel lines through the lip balm. Put a second color of melted lip balm into the empty slot you’ve made until it is lever with the first color, and all to set. Now you have your own flavored lip gloss to show off and give as presents to thier friends and family.