Do you want to make lip balm?

I thought it would be kind of fun to do a tutorial on my blog. I was trying to think about what I do that not many people know how to do. My work experience in the veterinary and medical fields has provided me with a few talents I considered sharing. Hmmm, I know how to express a dog's anal glands, I could share that with the world. Or what about treating genital warts? It's a useful skill occasionally (although you do need to have access to acid or a cryo tank). All of my ideas seemed a bit inappropriate. I finally decided to share my side job, lip balm making. And don't worry; I wash my hands really well.

So, here it is, step by step.

Step 1: MELTING THE BEESWAX. We get raw beeswax from a local guy who uses no chemicals on his hives. Glenn then filters it and saves it in these handy one ounce molds. I know one ounce of beeswax will make one batch so it saves us from having to weigh the dry beeswax. We use a double boiler to melt the wax. Beeswax is highly flammable so never leave it!


Step 2: HEATING AND MIXING THE OILS. We heat organic almond oil and organic jojoba oil in a little pot (never over an open flame). Then we add to it heated coconut oil. I like to use about 50% liquid at room temperature oil with 50% solid at room temperature oil (coconut oil)/beeswax mixture. You can change the ratios depending if you want a hard or soft lip balm. I add the beeswax last. Keep the temperature just high enough to keep the beeswax melted.

Step 3: ADD THE ESSENTIAL OIL. This is the last step as the essential oils will burn off quickly. I used organic lavender oil for this batch. Don't attempt to take a picture of yourself during this step as you will lose count of the drops. I do about two drops/tube of the lavender oil.

Step 4: POUR THE MIXTURE INTO CONTAINERS. If you have a toddler, he or she will start begging to be held during this step, then throw a tantrum as you frantically try to pour the mixture into the tubes before the oil burns off. I recommend a Winnie the Poo video. This part takes practice, but is easily mastered. My sister invented our handy lip balm holder (you can buy holders for those round tubes, but not for our oval tubes). If we ever make it big with our business, I'm giving her ten dollars of gratitude. So you want to fill up the tubes (if you are even using tubes, you can pour the mixture into any old container) to 2 cm from the top. Wait until it has cooled then fill it the rest of the way. Let cool completely, then cap.


It's totally easy and my lips have never felt better. Feel free to e-mail me if you need more info. Maybe I will write about something more challenging for my next tutorial, like the hand maneuvers for delivering a baby. You never know when you will have to deliver a baby on the side of the road (I keep hoping but to my dismay it has never happened). I'll leave you with a pretty picture of the bees in our artichoke plant. I hate having an entire post with dull pictures! Jess