Hi Guys and Gals,

It came as a huge surprise a few years back when I found out that those of us who wear lipstick and lip balm on a regular basis can ingest approximately 6 to 7 pound in our life time.

Now, I’m a woman who loves lipstick. I wear it everyday. I wore reds and bright colours back when lippy was not as big a deal as it is today. The brighter and more colourful the better. I for sure feel naked with out some colour on my smooch machines.

This information shocked me with out a doubt, so I did some investigating. What I found was not agreeable.

Have you ever actually looked at what is in your makeup and in particular our lipsticks and lipbalms???. It’s quite shocking really.

One brand in particular had over 50 ingredients  including chemicals and preservatives and none of them good for you. Especially as you are ingesting them. Many toxic and harmful ingredients you would never eat. So why put them in Lippy!!!. Well the answer to that is because they can and because it makes a better colour or staying lipstick or lipbalm.

I for one vowed never to spend money on anything like that again, so I started to make my own Lipbalms and looking into the most natural lipsticks out there.

If I couldn’t eat or ingest it safely, it wasn’t going in the balms.

I found that making lipbalms was as easy as making a dinner but sourcing natural lipsticks was a little harder. I could of course add colouring to my lipbalms but they wouldn’t have the staying power of a brand lipstick. I did eventually find a few lipsticks I use on a regular basis.

I adore all of the bareMinerals products as they are as natural as you get and My skin loves them. They have a wonderful line of lipsticks and glosses. I have them in many colours. The red colours surprised me the most as the are moisturising, creamy and have staying power even with out all those harsh chemicals. I have also found that the Burts’ Bees brand have lovely creamy Lipbalms and Lip Crayons and are as natural as can be.

But, the  most Important thing I have found out during this whole process is that I can make my own very easily, so I did.

I gathered all my information, tools and ingredients to make a stab at it. How did I get on you say, I would say quite well thank you.

Where did I get all the ingredients? Amazon, etsy and ebay supplied me with many of the more unusual items like the organic bees Wax (yellow or white) and the empty little tins and tubes to put the balms in to, along with the cute stickers to put on the tins and tubes.

My local health food shops were more than helpful to supply the rest from Organic Coconut oil, Organic Shea Butter, Organic Cacao Butter, Jojoba oil Organic Olive oil, Organic sweet almond oil, Organic avocado oil, Organic Manukau Honey,vitamin E capsules and some of the essential oils. I have even made my own Calendula oil from last years flowers from my Balcony Garden and Olive oil. Calendula Marigolds are so good for the skin in many ways especially the face and lips as it is gentle and soothing.

The oils you use should be the best you can buy or afford. I know from experience that they can be expensive to buy but you will get a long time out them as you don’t need much and save you money in the long term. I love using Coconut, Jojoba, Olive and Sweet Almond oils. Jojoba is a very expensive one but it is an amazing oil as it is the oil most like our own human sebum oils. A Little goes a long way

Mostly I buy my essential oils off of an Irish brand that work from Co Wicklow called Atlantic Aromatics. They deliver,are reasonably priced and have excellent quality, many being organic. I love their website. http://www.atlanticaromatics.com/

what do you need?

A sauce small saucepan

A small jug that will sit in or on the water in the saucepan so you can pour straight from it into to the tubes etc.

A grater if you buy bees wax bars, alternatively you can buy pellets which I will buy next time as they are convenient

Empty lipbalm tubes, tins or pots. I got some cute ones from discount stores also. I do like to keep and recycle them as well.

 Time and patience.

I have made many batches, some amazed me and others not so much. Trial and error was how I learned and getting to knowing your product also. I feel I have nailed what I think is the best quantities for a lush Lipbalm.

My Favourites to date are My Minty Mint with Vitamin E and Organic Olive oil and My Tropical Pink Grapefruit with Coconut and Jojoba Oils.

Minty Mint

to make approx 10  x  10ml tubes use the following.

8 teaspoons of grated Organic Bees wax or pellets

12 teaspoons of Organic Extra Virgin Olive oil (or any liquid oil)

4 teaspoons of Organic Cold Pressed Coconut Oil

2 Vitamin E capsules content or 1 teaspoon

20 Drops of Organic Peppermint or Spearmint Oil.

Method:

Melt the Wax, Coconut and Olive oil in the jug over simmering water. Make sure that the water does not get in to the jug.

It will take a while for the 3 ingredient to mix so be patient.

Don’t over heat.

When melted and slightly cooled add the Vit E capsule and Mint oil.

Mix well with a spoon (not a whisk – awful to clean afterwards – I know, as I did it and I kicked myself afterwards) and quickly pour while still hot into the tubes or pots.

Try and get as much out of the jug as possible as it cools quickly and can make a right mess.

Allow to cool in the fridge or at room temperature.

When cleaning up it can be a bit messy as the Wax does not work with water very well so try to get as much off with a knife or while hot.

Do not put the jug in the dish washer. Bad things will happen. !!!!!

Tropical Pink Grapefruit.

to make approx 10  x  10ml tubes use the following.

8 teaspoons of grated Organic Bees wax or pellets

12 teaspoons of Jojoba oil (or any liquid oil)

4 teaspoons of Organic Cold Pressed Coconut Oil

2 Vitamin E capsules

20 drops of Pink Grapefruit essential oil

The Method is the same as above.

I like to play around with the oils, flavours, essential oils and even sweeteners like honey and maple syrup.

I liked a Chocolate Orange batch I did once as I made it with Cacao butter instead of Coconut oil and Tangerine essential oil. It was like Terrys chocolate orange.

I’ve used vanilla, Lemon, Juniper (has a Gin Vibe), Tea tree ( Go easy as its strong but good for cold sores), lime, and Ginger essential oil and mixed them as I please. Its up to you and your taste but if you follow the basic ingredients you can’t go wrong.

*****If you want more solid balm – add more wax,  or softer – add less wax or more oil. Easy!!! *****

Depending on what oil you use the texture can vary but my advice is to pour a drop onto a plate etc and test it first before you pour into the containers.

You can make them as minimal or as elaborate as you like and with what ever flavours you love. You can even buy natural colouring powder to make them tinted.

I keep it simple by making my Lipbalms and buying my Lipsticks. I might branch out, Who knows!!!!! If I do you will know.

Happy Lippy making

Kind Regards

Sarah.