Unsightly air pockets in balm tubes

[alwayssomething]

I make my lip balms in clear oval tubes. When my lip balm is a dark colour, there are all these light patches along the walls of the tubes that are not so noticable with light-coloured balms. It makes the lip balm look moldy or something but it's not -- the balm itself is definitely all one colour, but there are these very thin patches of air all around the insides of the tubes. Not like big holes in the middle of the lip balm or anything, but when the lip balm cools it tends to shrink just a very little bit leaving these uneven, light-patches on the walls. I also use clear labels so there is no way of hiding it superficially.

What do I do to get rid of this? I tried sealing the lip balms in a bag and submerging them upright in hot water in attempt to heat up the lip balm and let it settle into the tube more tightly, but it didn't do anything.

Again, there is really nothing wrong with the lip balm. When I push it up I can see that it is all one solid colour, and there are no visible gaps or holes, it just won't stick all the way to the sides and I don't want people to have gross-looking lip balm. I tried pouring in the balm a bit cooler as well, but that just results in actual holes and pockets in the lip balm.

Any ideas?

Thank you!

 

[carebear]

sounds like the "wet spots" one gets with container candles. but sorry, no solution.

 

[alwayssomething]

Just in case anyone else has this issue...

I think I have found a way to minimize the problem a little. Instead of using a lip balm filling tray to pour the lip balm in quickly, I am using a dropper to deliver the lip balm into the tube in the direct center of each opening so that it does not trickle down the inner sides and I get a much more even-looking fill. Normally after filling my lip balms I place a light sheet over the top to prevent any particles from entering the lip balm while it is cooling, but this time I I put the lid on very quickly so that it cools more slowly instead of waiting for it to cool completely before capping it. I think this helps as well. Now I just have some very little thin white lines appearing instead of big splotches.

 

[alwayssomething]

Aha!

Again, JUST in case anyone else is browsing with this same problem in the future... I fixed it.

I added a little more jojoba oil so that the lip balm will harden more slowly. I figured out that there was too much wax, and it was cooling way too quickly, which is what was leaving those pockets along the walls of the tube.

 

[Lindy]

Thank you for letting us know what was creaating the problem..

 

[Stacey]

Boy o boy! Talk about perfect timing. I'm going to be whipping up my first batch of lip balms tonight..thanks for posting your solutions to your own question.