About to try my hand at lip balm and lotion bars... questions of course LOL

[gigisiguenza]

I'm so excited! I was gifted some ingredients to make lip balms and lotion bars, and I'm eager to try it, but I have a couple of questions.

Since I don't have any flavor oils or EOs, I want to add some vanilla extract to the lip balm for scent and flavor. Will this mess up the lip balm any? Same question for the lotion bars?

Also, if I want to color my lotion bars, would it be ok to use some of my infused oils, or is that a bad idea?

TIA

 

[lenarenee]

Hooray for you! Most vanilla extracts have water in them, which would mean you'd need a preservative. I wonder if the alcohol would be an issue too, but I don't know.

 

[gigisiguenza]

Hooray for you! Most vanilla extracts have water in them, which would mean you'd need a preservative. I wonder if the alcohol would be an issue too, but I don't know.

Crud I really wanted to use vanilla LOL. Hmmmm. Wonder if I simmer it down to remove the water if that would be okay.

 

[lionprincess00]

Hey gigi, I pm'd you.

 

[doriettefarm]

Got any vanilla bean pods? You could try infusing those in some oil you were planning to use in the lip balm. I wouldn't recommend vanilla extract . . . been there done that and it didn't turn out well (because of the water & alcohol I suspect).

 

[gigisiguenza]

Hey gigi, I pm'd you.

I replied

Got any vanilla bean pods? You could try infusing those in some oil you were planning to use in the lip balm. I wouldn't recommend vanilla extract . . . been there done that and it didn't turn out well (because of the water & alcohol I suspect).

Oh hmmmm well.I'm currently simmering the vanilla extract to gently cook off the water and alcohol, we will see what kind of fresh disaster I can create with that lol. I hadn't thought of the vanilla pods, I could probably get some from HEB. Hmmmm. Thanks!

 

[kchaystack]

It will still have water unless you boil it dry. So will still require a preservative.

 

[IrishLass]

Besides the preservative issue, water-soluble ingredients and lip balm won't stay mixed unless you include an emulsifier of some sort. Since lip balm ingredients are oil-soluble, anything that you add that's water-soluble will separate out.

Instead of boiling the extract down, I'd do what Dorie suggested instead (i.e., infusing vanilla pods into whatever oil you'll be using in your balm).


IrishLass

 

[gigisiguenza]

Awww drats you all are taking the happy outta my experiment LOL. I cooked it down to literally tar on the bottom of the pot. It took forever because I had it on simmer setting so it wouldn't burn (which it didn't, yay!) Then I mixed that tar with some honey because that's the only way it was going to come off the bottom anyway LOL. I now have a very very thick honey vanilla scented/flavored tar. I figure I will try a teeeny tiny batch and see if it mixes in. I wish I had preservative, just to be safe, but I don't yet (it's on the list of future acquisitions).

So fill me in on how bad this can go before I start? I really wanna know so I don't waste time n resources if it's too bad to try.

 

[kchaystack]

You might have separation problems. I'd also keep it in the fridge.

I'd just make it w/o the flavoring. You really do not want anything that will make you lick your lips anyway, it just makes them crack more

 

[lionprincess00]

Your inbox is filled

 

[gigisiguenza]

Ok you all are right, I'll skip using my concoction so I don't give myself gangrene of the lips or something LOL.

 

[gigisiguenza]

Your inbox is filled

Oops sorry, I deleted some so there's room now hahahaha

 

[IrishLass]

So fill me in on how bad this can go before I start? I really wanna know so I don't waste time n resources if it's too bad to try.

Sorry about sounding like a wet blanket, Gigi, but better a wet blanket than separated balm and wasted resources. lol

Lip balm is basically an anhydrous (no water) product consisting of waxes and oils/butters. As long as all of your balm ingredients are oil-soluble, it'll turn out good and won't separate. But if you add even a little bit of a water-soluble ingredient to it, you'll have separation issues on your hands.... unless you add an emulsifier with it. And if no preservatives are used along with the water-soluble ingredient, the potential for a bug invasion greatly multiplies. Same with lotion bars, too, which are also anhydrous.

A good rule of thumb to remember is "like dissolves like". An oil-soluble ingredient will dissolve in oil, and a water-soluble ingredient will dissolve in water.

A good example what happens when you add a water soluble ingredient to an oil soluble ingredient is homemade salad dressing made of oil and vinegar. The oil always separates and floats to the top when its not being shaken. But if you add an emulsifier to it like egg yolks for example, the oil and vinegar will stay mixed together.

The best way to flavor your lip balm is to buy an oil-based, lip-safe flavor instead of using extracts (which are usually water/alcohol based). Or you can infuse your lip balm recipe oils with things such as vanilla beans or mint leaves.

I like to flavor mine with MMS's flavor oils. They're some of the best I've found.


IrishLass

 

[gigisiguenza]

Ah ok, I understand the soluble thing and I really don't want cooties in my lip balm, so I made them without any flavor or color

But they came out awesome! I'm waiting for them to cool so I can try one

I went with the 1/1/1 ratio - 1/3 hard oils, 1/3 soft oils, 1/3 wax

Hard - Mango & Shea butter
Soft - RBO, Avo, Castor, Vit E
Wax - Beeswax

 

[gigisiguenza]

Oooooo this stuff reminds me of the original burts bees before they changed it and made it blech. I'm gonna have to figure out how to tint these puppies now. Hmmmm.

 

[kchaystack]

You can use your infused oils or add the tiniest amount (like less than 1/16 of a tsp) of mica. Just check the site you got the mica from to make sure they are lip safe. Not all of them are.

 

[MrsSpaceship]

That blend sounds lovely. I need to get some balm tubes and make some myself.

 

[gigisiguenza]

I have a variety of infused oils, so that will work

MrsSpaceship TY I just tried it and I like it a lot