Vegan Lip Balm Base

This rich Creamy Vegan Lip Balm has a gorgeous ointment like consistency and a beautiful golden colour. All natural or organic lip balms are a blend of waxes and emollients (skin-softening plant oils and butters) and sometimes essential and fragrant oils for fragrance and flavour. You can also make plain lip balms which are a blend of waxes and butters with no lavour or scent added to them at all.

Creating a vegan lip balm requires a thoughtful selection of natural, cruelty-free ingredients that provide nourishment and protection for the lips. Key ingredients include plant-based waxes such as candelilla wax or carnauba wax, which serve as a sturdy base and offer a smooth application. Natural butters like shea butter and cocoa butter are essential for their rich, moisturising properties, helping to keep lips soft and hydrated. To enhance the balm’s emollient qualities, oils like coconut oil, jojoba oil, and almond oil can be included, providing additional moisture and beneficial nutrients. For a soothing touch, a few drops of vitamin E oil can be added, offering antioxidant benefits that protect the lips from environmental damage.

Remember, because your lip balm is applied on the lips which have very thin skin, you should consider the safety of your essential oils and only use a small amount of essential oil (generally under 0.5%). We recommend using a lip flavour.

As the ingredients in this recipe are in percentages as well as grams you can easily calculate it to any size using a spreadsheet to upscale. As written in grams this recipe will make 100g (~3.53oz).

METHOD

1. Sterilise your equipment: Begin by thoroughly spraying all of your equipment with isopropyl alcohol and allowing it to dry completely. This step is crucial to maintain a clean and hygienic workspace.

2. Weighing and Melt your Waxes and Butters: Measure out the specified amounts of rice bran wax, candelilla wax, and shea butter. Place these ingredients in a heat-resistant container. Utilise a water bath, keeping the temperature at approximately 60-65°C (140-149°F), to melt these components until they become a smooth, liquid phase.

You could also heat this phase in the microwave (use a pyrex jug) in short bursts until liquid.

3. Prepare the Oil Phase: In a separate container, accurately weigh the castor oil, apricot kernel oil, and camellia oil. Mix these oils until they are well combined. Heat this oil phase to approximately 50°C (122°F).

4. Combine the Phases: Once the wax-butter phase has completely melted, discontinue the heating process and remove it from the water bath. At this point, introduce the warm oil phase.

NOTE: Gradually incorporating the oil phase into the wax phase while it is still warm helps prevent a sudden temperature drop. If the oil phase is at room temperature, adding it to the wax phase may cause the mixture to solidify immediately.

5. Stir and Cool: Thoroughly stir the entire mixture while initiating the cooling process. You can choose to cool it either in a cold water bath or in a refrigerator, remembering to stir at regular intervals.

6. Achieving Trace and Adding Essential Oil: Observe the mixture closely as it cools. Once you start to notice a solid trace forming in the overall blend, it's time to incorporate the oil for fragrance or flavour. Stir well to ensure even distribution.

7. Filling and Cooling in Jars: Pour the lip balm mixture into suitable jars, but do not completely seal them yet. Instead, keep the jars in the refrigerator overnight to allow the lip balm to set and solidify.

8. Final Sealing and Labelling: Remove the jars from the fridge, seal them with their caps, and label them appropriately with the product name and date of creation.

9. Adjusting Consistency: After approximately 24 hours, assess the consistency of your lip balm. If it feels excessively hard and waxy, consider reducing the wax and butter content in your formulation. Conversely, if the balm appears too soft and runny, think about increasing the amount of wax or butter used.