Lip balm "top off" pour fell off

[AmyW]

I finally settled on a lip balm recipe and filled a couple lip balm tubes up for personal use, let cool and then added a few more drops to fill in the divot that formed. I just went to use one and the tiny top layer fell off. Whoops. Any tricks to keep this from happening?

 

[carebear]

What I do is when it's kinda gelling, I stick my pipette (when I fill individual tubes I use a disposable pipette) down into the liquid and squirt more into the mass - that way it's not a separate layer.

But mostly I use a filling tray to do 40 at a time and it has a lip so I can do an overpour then scrape.

You can use a heat gun to smooth out tops also, but that's not typically pretty and you can still end up with the bit coming off. Ick.

 

[Tegan]

I just leave the divot....No one complains lol.

 

[carebear]

if mine was just a divot I'd leave it - but mine get tunnels.

 

[fiddletree]

I find that if I fill the tubes up only half way, and then finish the pour when it is starting to 'gel' but isn't completely solid yet that I don't get any separation issues. I haven't had any luck using pipettes because the lip balm solidifies in the pipette and then obviously doesn't work.

That said, I usually fill all the way to to the lip on the tray, and then scrape off.

 

[AmyW]

I got the tunnel as well lol ...I had plans to get the filling tray so I think I'll go with that option. Using the piquette is ok for a couple, but dozens at a time would be a major PITA. Thanks for the help!

 

[IrishLass]

I 'top off' when when my first pour is at the 'gel' point, too (about 1/2 to 2/3 of the way between a solid and liquid state).

I haven't had any luck using pipettes because the lip balm solidifies in the pipette and then obviously doesn't work.

Same here. I get too much wastage for my liking when utilizing a pipette. Here's my chosen method of madness when making lip balms- it works great for making small batches of lip balm at a time (this is a revised 'copy and paste' of my own post from a thread from last year):

When I make lip balm, I melt the balm in these silicone egg poachers:


http://www.amazon.com/Fusionbrands-3-In ... 505&sr=8-1

I float the poachers in a pot of barely simmering water and melt the balm in them. When ready to pour, I take the poacher out of the pot and wipe the water off the outside with a cloth. As I'm gently patting the water off (which only takes a few seconds), I choose a side of the poacher that I'll pour the balm from, and then I squeeze the opposite sides of the poacher together in on that side so that it forms a lip or spout of sorts, and then I pour the melted balm into my tube. The poacher really makes for easy-peasy pouring with zero wastage.

I pour only 3/4 of the way up my tube at first, and then I place the poacher back into the pot to keep the remaining balm warm and melty while I stick my partially filled tube in the freezer. I keep it in the freezer for only a few minutes- just long enough until the balm sinks and hardens somewhat (but doesn't get too hard- very important). Then I take my tube out of the freezer and top it off, making sure to pour carefully so as to keep the surface tension of the melted balm intact so that it forms a nice dome on top, and then I let cool and harden up.

Needless to say, this procedure of mine will no doubt prove very tedious for those who are making large batches of balm at a time, but if you're making small batches like me (one to four balms at a time), it works quite nicely.

IrishLass

 

[Soapy Gurl]

I fill to just over the little turny thing. Then let it all settle and top off. I have had the divot thing happen. By leaving more room for a pour it heats up and adheres.

 

[Stacey]

I fill my tubes to just under full. So I can hit my lip balms with the heat gun a little just to get it a tiny bit melty then top them off.

Careful you don't heat them too long. The idiot that I am ended up melting the tops of the plastic tubes a little bit. Doh'!

Irish Lass: I must have read your original post because that's pretty much what I do too (except for the heat gun thing). Fill, freeze, heat gun then top off. Except I have a silicone measuring cup. Thanks for that posting! Works like a charm.