Vegan Lip Balm

This quick and easy lip balm recipe with have you smiling in no time!

Create your own all natural, bee-free lip balms so that you will never need to be seen with less than kissably-soft, smooth lips.

(But if you're a beekeeper, or just a big fan of beeswax, it can easily be substituted in!)

Step 1 Materials

• 1oz hard wax (candelilla, soy, etc)
• 1 oz solid-at-room-temperature oil (coconut oil, avocado oil, mango butter, or shea butter)
• .75 additional hard-at-room-temperature oil (cocoa butter, floral waxes, or palm oil)
• 2 oz liquid oil (jojoba oil or olive oil) (not shown)
• few drops of Vitamin E Oil (Tocopherol)
• Essential oils (optional, your choice) - maximum 8 drops for each lip balm

Tools

• Microwave-safe cup or bowl with pour spout
• Digital scale sensitive to at least .1 oz (a postage scale will usually work for this)
• Stirring spoon
• Funnel that will fit opening of tubes/canisters
• Lip balm tubes/canisters

Comments

[sharlston]

hi whats the difference beteen a vegan and a vegetarian?

[nachobobs]

One is a female reproductive organ the other is a person who doesn't eat any meat 

[Cara_ftw]

There's no need to bring misogyny into the discussion. And what exactly did vegans ever do to you that makes you call them such a thing?

[nahnahnah]

A vegetarian doesn't eat meat (such as pork, fish, or any other type of meat) or anything that an animal was killed to produce (such as gelatine, animal rennet, etc.). A vegan doesn't eat anything that comes from an animal (eg. meat, milk, honey, etc.).

[Cryptonat]

Great instructible. How does the lack of beeswax make it "vegan"? Silly fad if you ask me.

[Adelap]

TO: Cryptonat:  "vegan" means that NO animals of ANY species; NO products of these animals and NO items made of such animals and their products are used or consumed in any way - even if their products are "naturally produced on their own"!   After all, how would YOU feel if something that your body produces is snatched away for direct consumtion and/or for profits???   It's not difficult to understand... 

As to honey and/or wax, please read this article where you can see clearly how honey and wax producers sacrifice those little souls for the so-called benefit to humans:  http://www.vegetus.org/honey/honey.htm     :o)       Adela

[Scurvymcdiggle]

pfffft.
something my body produces- labor
snatched away- company making profits off said labor.
same thing...and i dont hear you vegans crying about that.

[Cara_ftw]

Except you choose to give your labor, while animals confined in slaughterhouses for their milk, eggs, beeswax and honey don't get to choose. So no, it's not the same thing.

[scoochmaroo]

Using any animal byproduct is against vegan policy. The idea is that it's not good practice to take anything from animals, even if it's something they naturally produce on their own. Honey is a controversial topic between the vegan/non-vegan communities.

[tataylor]

This was a good starting point. For my preferences, this was way too soft/oily. Maybe it depends some on the specific ingredients that you choose. I used soy wax, mango butter, coco butter, and olive oil.

My second try was a smaller batch with 0.5 oz each of soy wax, mango butter, and coco butter (i.e., equal parts, by weight). This was much better but still a little soft, so I added another quarter ounce soy wax. The result (for me at least) was pretty good. It is fairly stiff/hard, but I like it to stay in place to protect my lips, so I'm happy with this. This batch made 12 tubes (0.15 oz each).

So, my advice is to start with very small amounts in case you want to start over or adjust to get the consistency you like. Also, I suggest mixing, pouring one tube, letting it cool thoroughly, and testing. You can reheat and pour the rest of the tubes once you get a recipe that you like. Finally, I suggest starting with no or very little oil.

[dvan winkle]

Great recipe! I get my tubes here: http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/ProductSearch.aspx

$0.20 each if you get the caps and tubes separate, and then you can pick your cap and tube color.

Also, I've tried using a pipette, and it doesn't work. The balm cools in the pipette and you just end up wasting balm and a pipette.

Just pouring from a container with a pour spout(with a careful hand) or the funnel works best.

[porcupinemamma]

Lovely! where does one purchase the tubes?

[scoochmaroo]

I got them online, but I also save up all the tubes I've gotten and used up over time. I know eBay sometimes has great deals on this kind of thing, and a Google search should turn up some good results!
These in particular came from PV Soap Company. Ten for $5.

[mguer133]

I stumbled upon this producer. You can also order premade bee wax lip sticks.

[porcupinemamma]

Thanks for the info scoochmaroo :0)

[rcowgirl_6]

olive oil works better and its great to keep arteries clean

[Adelap]

Hello...where can I read about the meaning of "DIY" and "Instructables"?  I think I searched the site but no luck.  Thanks very much!        Adela

[pixie989]

How many tubes of lip balm does this recipe produce?

[TimTheScarecrow]

bee vomit tastes so good though. on an unrelated note- whe i first saw this i read "vagina lip balm" and i was like waoooohhh. then i reread it and here i am

[mephistocat]

Yay for vegan-friendly instructables! :D I love not having to sort vegan-friendly alternatives for the listed ingredients. -laughs- Brilliant job with the photographs and explanations as well. X3

[scoochmaroo]

Oh, thank you!

[omnibot]

Great!

[killerjackalope]

Cool, featured...

[drewSaysGoVeg]

Great instructable! Nice photos. I'm glad to see more vegan ones going up!