Beard Balm advice

[anjouwu]

I realized today that I've been spending a small fortune on beard oils and balms, and that I could make them with the ingredients I have on hand for CP soapmaking. I prefer balm to straight oils. But, my first recipe;

2 Tbsp Beeswax
4 Tbsp Apricot Kernel Oil
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2-3 Drops Cedarwood Oil
2-3 Drops Clary Sage Oil

Was too hard and not scented very well. I could drop the beeswax but does anyone have other suggestions? Cheers.

 

[Lion Of Judah]

i would try to incorporate one or two butters in the mix , cocoa butter , Shea, or mango butter. Don't know your beard type or skin type , but i always try to oil my facial skin under my beard 1st and then run my hands through my beard with the excess , trying to combat dry skin and flakes then giving a nice light sheen to my beard . Oils that is use as well are Avocado , almond , Olive oil , Apricot kernel oil ...... something that does not sit too heavy on the skin but gets absorbed over time.

 

[Obsidian]

I don't have a beard but I do use oil on my head hair. I'd stick to lighter liquid oils like avocado, almond and argan. Olive is good but is really heavy, so only use a little. Technically, you don't even need a blend, one oil is enough.

 

[BattleGnome]

For my husband's beard oil I use fractionated coconut oil, hazelnut oil, and vitamin e with a few drops of fragrance.

Swiftcraftymonkey has a few articles about what oils can penetrate the hair shaft vs which oils coat the outside of the hair. I chose the coconut oil because it can soak in to nourish the hair. Olive oil does really well with sealing the outside of the hair shaft for that glossy look.

 

[lsg]

Here is another source for ideas on formulation of men's products: https://www.makingcosmetics.com/Mens-Product-Formulas_ep_100.html

 

[DeeAnna]

If you want a product with a soft salve consistency and you want to use beeswax, then try using beeswax at about 15% of the total weight of oils. Just a rough estimate here, but it looks like the recipe you posted is closer to 20% to 30% beeswax by weight.

If you want to get away from the beeswax, then follow the others' suggestions about using butters. Be aware that you won't get as much "hardening power" from the butters as you will from the beeswax, so you'll have to use them at a higher percentage.

Raise your total fragrance to 0.5% to 1% of the combined weight of fats + wax. Again, just a rough estimate, but a 1% dose of scent for the recipe you posted is going to be closer to 20 drops of EO. Err on using too little until you know what amount of scent works best for you.

And that brings me to my last point -- you might be able to get away with measuring oils by volume, but beeswax is tough to measure by volume. To get more consistent results, get a little scale and measure everything by weight. You'll be happier in the long run!

 

[BrewerGeorge]

I just use BB's base and add a few drops of scent. It's got argan, sweet almond, etc. You could add a bit of wax and a butter if you want a balm.

I also use that base as the liquid oil third when making lotion bars.

 

[anjouwu]

Thank you all for the comments and suggestions. I have made some changes, but ultimately may just go with @BrewerGeorge's suggestion and buy some base. That's not a bad price at BB considering...

If you want a product with a soft salve consistency and you want to use beeswax, then try using beeswax at about 15% of the total weight of oils. Just a rough estimate here, but it looks like the recipe you posted is closer to 20% to 30% beeswax by weight.

I mainly wanted to use the beeswax because I had some on hand. Thank you for this suggestion! I added some butters and reduced the beeswax and it's better, but still not what I was hoping for. More experimentation is in order, clearly!

 

[BattleGnome]

SoapQueen.com now has a beard balm recipe up. 3oz beeswax to 16oz of their oil mix, if I remember right.