All Natural Lip Balm

Although it took me a while to get the recipe exact, Brookvalley Farm's all natural lip balm is not a complicated product to make. For anyone who might be interested in the process, I've detailed it below. Of course, I didn't include my recipe (I can't give it all away), but if you are interested in trying it for yourself, conducting a quick web search will yield you a lot of information and places to get started. I'd be more than happy to help you out as well, just drop me an email: laura@brookvalleyfarmpa.com.

Here we go...

The equipment: A scale that measures in pounds and ounces (very important that you can measure ounces precisely), lip balm tubes and caps (this recipe will yield 10-12 tubes), a spoon for measuring out the olive oil (at room temperature it's solid), a small measuring cup for flavoring oil, a Pyrex measuring cup for melting and blending (this needs to be heat resistant because it will also act as the top of a double boiler), something to stir the mixture with (I like to use one of my glass coffee stirrers), and a small pot.

The ingredients: Olive oil, beeswax, castor oil, flavor oil.

Mix all but the flavor oil in the Pyrex measuring cup and melt double boiler style over low heat, stirring constantly. 

The coconut oil will melt first, but keep stirring until the beeswax is melted and well combined.

Remove the oil/beeswax mixture from the heat, and stir a few more minutes to cool it down a bit.

Add the flavoring oil if using, and mix well to combine.

Now for the tricky part - pouring it into those little tubes. I crafted a quick jig using a scrap piece of wood. This recipe makes 10-12 tubes (usually 11), so I always have at least that many ready to go. The mixture sets up fairly quickly, so you don't want to waste much time during this step. Of course, if it does get too thick too quickly, you can always return it to the water and re-melt it.

After the tubes are all filled, cap them, and put them in the refrigerator to firmly set.

Add labels and shrink wrap to protect your product, and voila! Your own, homemade, all natural lip balm!

Enjoy! Or, if you're not up to taking on the task yourself, stop over at the Brookvalley Farm Store and let us do it for you.