Lip balms and candelilla wax

[Debs]

Good morning...I want to make some lip balms with candelilla wax as I am making them for a vegan friend. In my eagerness to get the order in I didn't read the description of the product correctly and candelilla peeling beads have arrived. The person on the help desk wasn't too sure if using them in a lip balm would work as they use them for exfoliating.....so.....has anyone used them either as exfoliators or in lip balms???? long question and thanks for hanging in there!

 

[shunt2011]

Sorry, Never heard of peeling beads. I've used candelilla wax in my lip balms. It's harder than beeswax so I used less. You may want to try to melt them and see what happens. As long as there's no additives with it, it may be okay

 

[Debs]

Thank you for reply. I've just ordered 1kg of proper candelilla wax in case it doesn't work but yes I will give it a try.
Just out of interest, how much do you reduce the recipe by if the recipe simply says wax, as much as half ?

 

[MySoapyHeart]

Thank you for reply. I've just ordered 1kg of proper candelilla wax in case it doesn't work but yes I will give it a try.
Just out of interest, how much do you reduce the recipe by if the recipe simply says wax, as much as half ?

Yes, I have seen advice that leans towards using half of candelilla for replacing beeswax, and that may work for people. But in my personal experience I do find that I need to use a littlebit more than that, or else my balm becomes a wee bit too soft (Depending on the rest of the recipe of course) so I usually end up with 55-58% candelilla wax for the beeswax, instead of 50%.

 

[shunt2011]

I'm in the neighborhood of 55-60% myself. It takes a bit of playing with to get it to where you want the texture.

 

[earlene]

Thank you both for this thread. While in Texas last month I ordered a small baggie of candelilla wax to try out in the lip balms my granddaughter & I were going to make together. As it turned out, we didn't get around to that project, so I haven't used them yet. But it's good to know your experience with it, MySoapHeart, because I would have just simply winged it. It's so much better to have the benefit of your experience for when I do make more. I made a mini practice batch before the candlelilla wax arrived and really liked them, but they were better for pots due to softness in Texas weather.

 

[IrishLass]

I go higher on the candelilla than is generally recommended, too (64% the amount of beeswax I normally use).


IrishLass

 

[Debs]

Thank you all so much ....Really looking forward to the 'proper stuff' arriving now!! I'll have to make some soap or bath salts to keep me occupied whilst I wait lol!