Stevia in Lip Balm?

[tinycyclops]

Hi! I'm going to try my hand a lip balm in the next little bit and I had a few questions about using stevia. I bought some packets from Nature's Garden a couple months ago, and I opened one up today and the grains were larger than I expected. I'm worried this will make my lip balm grainy.

I know that the stevia doesn't dissolve in oil because it is water soluble. I have read about infusing stevia in coconut oil and wondered if anybody had tried this. If I infused the stevia in the coconut oil, how much would I use in my recipe? Are there any other/better ways to use the stevia in lip balm?

For reference, this is the recipe I would like to try:
25% beeswax
25% shea butter
8% coconut oil
40% sweet almond oil
2% flavoring oil

Also, this is what I purchased from Nature's Garden:
http://www.naturesgardencandles.com...s/item/stevia/-powdered-stevia-sweetener.html

Thanks!

 

[girlishcharm2004]

Is there a particular reason for stevia? If you just want something that's natural, you could use honey. While honey doesn't mix with oil, it does mix with lanolin. Although, this wouldn't be good for someone who's diabetic or for someone who is allergic or otherwise detests lanolin, so I'm wondering if stevia is needed for some reason. I haven't heard of infusing stevia, but that's a great idea that I never thought of! If you do try it, I would love to know how it goes.

 

[tinycyclops]

I would like to use the stevia just because it's what I bought originally. I'm not opposed to using something synthetic, the stevia is just what I have on hand. I'm thinking maybe I should have done some more research before buying it. At least it was pretty cheap. :/

 

[new12soap]

Yes, stevia works well in lip balm. If you have a mortar and pestle grind it as fine as you possibly can. On the NG page you linked to (the stuff you bought) it says 1-2 packets to 8oz of balm. I would use one and see how you like it. I never infused it in coconut oil, I just stirred stirred stirred it into the melted lip balm.

I would not recommend honey. Yes, lanolin (or lecithin) will act as an emulsifier and hold it in suspension, but IMO you would then need a lip-safe preservative.

HTH

 

[girlishcharm2004]

A preservative is not necessary with honey.

I can't attest to the grittiness of stevia, but work fast and cool so the balm cools immediately and doesn't allow time for the stevia to settle. Good luck!

 

[new12soap]

As I said, In My Opinion, the moment you mix anything water based with anything oil based, you absolutely do need a preservative. It is up to the individual whether they want to use one or not, but I do not want moldy lip balm.

http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/lipbalmmold.asp

 

[kchaystack]

Honey is VERY hydrophilic. It will absorb water from the atmosphere and once it gets enough it will allow bacteria/mold to grow.

Trust me, I also make mead, and have seen this myself.

 

[tinycyclops]

Finally, an excuse to buy a mortar and pestle! I'll give it a shot in the lip balms and see how it turns out. Thanks.

 

[IrishLass]

I used to use stevia in balms when I first started making them, and it worked really well for me as long as the stevia was really fine, and was dispersed well in a carrier oil first. For what it's worth, I used either castor oil or fractionated coconut oil as my dispersing/carrier oil.

Re: infusing: if by 'infusing' you mean soaking the stevia in an oil to extract its sweetness and then straining it out of the oil before adding to your balm, I was never able to get it to work that way for me. The oil never became sweet no matter how long it was infused with the stevia.

Instead, this is how I went about it: I made up a mixture of .5g of the stevia powder (weighed out on my lotion scale) per every 3 mL of carrier oil, and I stored this mixture in a small tub-like container in my fridge. When I used it in my balm, I would first stir the mixture real well, and then I'd use a toothpick to pick up the equivalent of a single pipette-drop on the end of the toothpick and stir it really well into my melted balm. I used the equivalent of a single pipette-drop per every .15 oz. amount of melted balm.

And then I'd cool down my balms quickly by placing them in the freezer until solid (which only takes about 2 to 3 minutes). This helped to freeze the stevia in animated suspension and give me a sufficiently sweet balmy without any graininess.

The trick, though, was in finding stevia whose grain was really fine and powdery. Happily, I was able to find just such a fine grade at the time at my local health food store without having to resort to a mortar and pestle, but when all the new and different brands of stevia started flooding the shelves, they no longer sold that particular brand of stevia any more.

I now use MMS's Sugar Baby liquid sweetener, which is wonderful by the way, but just for fun, I have it on my list to try out the honey and lanolin method that GirlishCharm mentioned. MMS has a recipe for it on their blog.


IrishLass

 

[tinycyclops]

Thank you so much for the info! I guess I'll avoid the infusing and just mix it in a carrier oil, and try that out. If the stevia doesn't work out for me, I'll look into buying a liquid sweetener.

 

[DeeAnna]

I use an essential oil blend in my lip balm. It has a pleasant odor that lasts for a few minutes after application, but doesn't have an obvious taste or long-lasting odor. The balm is a nice product as-is and I get a lot of compliments about it. The commercial products I've used don't have a sweetener either. Am I missing something?

 

[IrishLass]

The commercial products I've used don't have a sweetener either. Am I missing something?

Only if you were able to make it through adolescence without trying LipSmackers brand lip balms. They were packaged in thick tubes and were very flavorful and sweet. They were all the rage when I was in high school and I always carried a grape one in my purse. It was either that or plain old Chapstik brand original flavor. As an adolescent sugar junkie, guess which one I chose. lol

Nowadays, I don't like my balms to be as super sweet as LipSmackers, but I do like a hint of sweetness to be present.


IrishLass

 

[DeeAnna]

Ohhhhhhhhh...... Yep, my adolescence was sadly deprived of Lip Smackers. :wink:

 

[cm4bleenmb]

Several of the suppliers mention in their descriptions that most of the lip safe oils for balms don't actually have a flavor--instead they are strongly scented and when you add a little sweetener it tricks your brain into thinking it tastes like whatever the scent implies.

Of course, if it tasted yucky you probably wouldn't lick your lips as often . . .

 

[Trix]

Is this for personal use, or are you going to be giving it to your friends and family to?
I was out of my usual resources, and made a 'temporary' lip balm this weekend.
I really wanted to flavour it, and with nothing else around, I ended up adding strawberry syrup (the one you mix with drinks)...and now I can't stop tasting my lips, and they remain soft.

With a preservative I guess it should last longer than the 3-7 days I intend to use mine up in. Just another idea....

 

[HoppyCosmetics]

As I said, In My Opinion, the moment you mix anything water based with anything oil based, you absolutely do need a preservative. It is up to the individual whether they want to use one or not, but I do not want moldy lip balm.

Eos Lip Balm Mold Problem | Snopes.com

I know this is an old thread, but i was wondering if i was to use food grade hops extract which contains purified water, i take it i'll need a preservative? And if so, what do i kind? I have no idea!

 

[Quanta]

I know this is an old thread, but i was wondering if i was to use food grade hops extract which contains purified water, i take it i'll need a preservative? And if so, what do i kind? I have no idea!

You would have to use an emulsifier, first of all, otherwise the oil and water wouldn't stay mixed (lanolin can be coaxed into providing this function in certain conditions, one condition being a very, very small amount of water). And yes, you'd have to find a lip-safe preservative. And just in case you didn't already know, things like essential oils are not preservatives. Neither are rosemary extract, vitamin E, and grapefruit seed extract. Rosemary oleoresin and vitamin E are antioxidants, which protect against oxidative rancidity, and grapefruit seed extract on its own does nothing. It goes bad almost immediately after extraction, and so a preservative is added to it. It is the action of that added preservative that has the antimicrobial effects that people ascribe to it. However, you aren't going to be able to know for sure what has been added and whether it's enough to preserve your product, so I would advise you to not even think about putting it on your skin at all, especially the lips which are very sensitive.

You would need a broad spectrum antimicrobial preservative that is specifically approved for a leave-on product intended for the lips.

May I ask what would be the purpose of adding hops extract to a lip balm? What are you trying to achieve?

Also, usually, if you have a question like this, you will get more responses if you start a new thread with a title that has to do with your question, instead of using another thread that has an unrelated title.

 

[HoppyCosmetics]

May I ask what would be the purpose of adding hops extract to a lip balm? What are you trying to achieve?

Im a beer enthusiast and do beer tastings for my blog. Then i got into soap making and more recently lip balm making, so ive decided to make beer related products. Wither there are any health benefits or not, the oils and butters i'll be using will have health benefits regardless.

Also, usually, if you have a question like this, you will get more responses if you start a new thread with a title that has to do with your question, instead of using another thread that has an unrelated title.

I done a google search to get to this thread, relating to emulsifiers, so just thought i'd ask my question here. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Quanta]

Im a beer enthusiast and do beer tastings for my blog. Then i got into soap making and more recently lip balm making, so ive decided to make beer related products. Wither there are any health benefits or not, the oils and butters i'll be using will have health benefits regardless.

If you want my advice, try to find a beer-related flavor oil instead. It's difficult to make an emulsified lip balm. It's just not worth the hassle. Any ingredients that are botanical in nature are particularly difficult to preserve as well.

 

[HoppyCosmetics]

If you want my advice, try to find a beer-related flavor oil instead. It's difficult to make an emulsified lip balm. It's just not worth the hassle. Any ingredients that are botanical in nature are particularly difficult to preserve as well.

Thanks. Most flavour oils ive found have water, alcohol, or propylene glycol in it. Ive been trying to find a proper 100% hop oil, and ive contacted two beer brewing companies, but not heard anything back yet. I thought about crushing hop pellets into powder and mixing with oil, but im not sure if this would work. Sierra Navada beer company brought out a hop & mint lip balm years ago.