Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: Ben Framed on October 12, 2019, 01:01:18 am

Title: Has Any One Here Entertained the Idea of Making Lip Balm From Your Bees Wax?
Post by: Ben Framed on October 12, 2019, 01:01:18 am
Has anyone here thought of making lip balm from your left over beeswax?
Title: Re: Has Any One Here Entertained the Idea of Making Lip Balm From Your Bees Wax?
Post by: rgennaro on October 12, 2019, 09:35:08 am
I have not but I have a friend who makes it. He?s not a beek ... I think he gets the wax from local guys. It?s a hobby not a commercial enterprise... holiday presents kind of stuff
Title: Re: Has Any One Here Entertained the Idea of Making Lip Balm From Your Bees Wax?
Post by: The15thMember on October 12, 2019, 11:17:01 am
It's something I'd like to try in the future.  I don't know anything about actually doing it, but I always get beeswax lip balms when I go to bee supply places or apiaries.  They are so much better than normal chapsticks.   
Title: Re: Has Any One Here Entertained the Idea of Making Lip Balm From Your Bees Wax?
Post by: van from Arkansas on October 12, 2019, 04:56:35 pm
Phil, natural beeswax is kinda of hard so your going to have to mix with an ingredient that will blend and smooth.  Because of the unique nature of wax [ many carbon atoms and ONLY one functional group] there are FEW substances that will mix with wax.  Try coconut oil, coconut butter, or ghee butter, all digestible.  You might try to add pure lanolin although lanolin is not digestible,  You will have to heat the bees wax and stir with above suggestions as it cools to prevent separation to create a cream/waxy creation.  Note:  pure lanolin is thicker than crisco, much thicker than vasoline, lanolin is a very thick substance.

Try small batches at a time.  Once you find what softens bees wax then you can add flavor such as spearmint oil.  Good luck.
Blessings

Van
Title: Re: Has Any One Here Entertained the Idea of Making Lip Balm From Your Bees Wax?
Post by: van from Arkansas on October 12, 2019, 05:03:04 pm
Chapstick ingredients:   propionate, camphor, carnauba wax, cetyl alcohol, fragrance, isopropyl lanolate, isopropyl myristate, lanolin, light mineral oil, menthol, methylparaben, octyldodecanol, paraffin, phenyl trimethicone, Propylparaben, red 6 lake, saccharin, white wax.
Title: Re: Has Any One Here Entertained the Idea of Making Lip Balm From Your Bees Wax?
Post by: The15thMember on October 12, 2019, 07:58:00 pm
Here are the ingredients of the beeswax lip balms I have, so you can see the similarities and differences in various recipes. 

Fred's Formulas' "Not Just Lip Balm": Comfrey, Calendula, St. John's Wort, Chickweed, Plantain, Olive Oil, Beeswax, Vit. E, and essential oils.  This lip balm is very soft and tastes like plants (in a good way).  It's great in the summer, but not really protective enough for the winter season.   

Bee Well's All Natural Beeswax Lip Balm (Blue raspberry flavor): Organic soybean oil, Sunflower oil, Palm oil, Organic olive oil, Avacado oil, Beeswax, Cocoa butter, Shea butter, Vitamin E, Blue raspberry flavor.  This one is the closest to a normal Chapstick in texture. 

Savannah Bee's Tupelo Honey Beeswax & Propolis Lip Balm: Organic Beeswax, Organic coconut oil, Organic shea butter, Organic extra virgin olive oil, Organic cocoa seed butter, Propolis extract, Natural flavors, Organic sweet almond oil, Organic apricot kernel oil, Organic grape seed oil, Organic hemp seed oil, Organic honey extract, Royal jelly extract.  This lip balm is grainy and tastes like a hive smells.  Also, don't ask me what's up with the honey and beeswax being organic, but the propolis and royal jelly not being organic. 

Wehrloom Essentials' Simply Lip Balm: Beeswax, Organic shea butter, Organic coconut oil, Almond oil, Vitamin E.  This one is the hardest of the lip balms I have, and it's very waxy.  Great for really chapped lips in the winter.       
Title: Re: Has Any One Here Entertained the Idea of Making Lip Balm From Your Bees Wax?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on October 12, 2019, 10:29:09 pm
I bought a lip balm kit for my wife but we have never had the time to make it. Maybe one day soon.
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: Has Any One Here Entertained the Idea of Making Lip Balm From Your Bees Wax?
Post by: Ben Framed on October 13, 2019, 12:19:20 am
Mr Van & Member,  once again I thank each of you for your valuable input. It seems that this project will be a cold winters day project made for a day when snow is deep and time is plentiful. lol ;-)  The information of ingredients provided from each of you are a leg up to the saddle for me. I have some shopping to do!! Also,  thanks Jim and rgennaro for your replies also.
Thanks Friends,
Phillip
Title: Re: Has Any One Here Entertained the Idea of Making Lip Balm From Your Bees Wax?
Post by: Oldbeavo on October 13, 2019, 04:54:08 pm
We market a lip balm at the Farmer markets we do, has a real following.
Bees wax, olive oil, coconut oil, a little jojoba and some Vit E. That's all and the coconut oil gives the balm a coconut flavour.
The lip balm is in a tube like lip stick and sell for $3.
Title: Re: Has Any One Here Entertained the Idea of Making Lip Balm From Your Bees Wax?
Post by: Ben Framed on October 13, 2019, 09:08:44 pm
We market a lip balm at the Farmer markets we do, has a real following.
Bees wax, olive oil, coconut oil, a little jojoba and some Vit E. That's all and the coconut oil gives the balm a coconut flavour.
The lip balm is in a tube like lip stick and sell for $3.

Thanks Oldbeavo, always good hearing from you sir.
Phillip
Title: Re: Has Any One Here Entertained the Idea of Making Lip Balm From Your Bees Wax?
Post by: Skeggley on October 14, 2019, 12:02:34 pm
Just came across this Phil, doesn?t look too hard, think I?m going to give it a go.
https://youtu.be/5fONWDWPZSA
Title: Re: Has Any One Here Entertained the Idea of Making Lip Balm From Your Bees Wax?
Post by: Ben Framed on October 14, 2019, 02:57:13 pm
Just came across this Phil, doesn?t look too hard, think I?m going to give it a go.
https://youtu.be/5fONWDWPZSA

Thank you Skeggley, I like this. I especially like the clear wrapper. Looks like a real winner!!
Thank you for posting!
Phillip
Title: Re: Has Any One Here Entertained the Idea of Making Lip Balm From Your Bees Wax?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on October 15, 2019, 03:59:22 pm
Thanks for posting that. He makes it look easy.
Jim Altmiller
Title: Re: Has Any One Here Entertained the Idea of Making Lip Balm From Your Bees Wax?
Post by: The15thMember on November 12, 2019, 08:35:36 pm
I found an easy recipe for beeswax lip balm in a book about uses for honey and beeswax.  I haven't tried it yet, so I don't know if it's any good or not, but I figured I'd share it. 

2 tbsp coconut or olive oil
1 tbsp beeswax
4 drops lavender, lemon, or peppermint essential oil
1 vitamin E capsule

1. Mix the coconut/olive oil, beeswax, and essential oil in a bowl.  Place in a bain marie, or in a pan of simmering water. 
2. Blend the ingredients gently together with a spoon or spatula until the wax is completely melted. 
3. Break open the vitamin E capsule, add the contents to the wax mixture, and mix well.  Pour the mixture into a suitable container and allow to cool and set.   

Source: The Book of Honey, by Jenni Fleetwood
 
Title: Re: Has Any One Here Entertained the Idea of Making Lip Balm From Your Bees Wax?
Post by: Ben Framed on November 13, 2019, 09:34:11 am
Thanks Member!
Philip
Title: Re: Has Any One Here Entertained the Idea of Making Lip Balm From Your Bees Wax?
Post by: The15thMember on January 08, 2020, 09:52:16 pm
I found an easy recipe for beeswax lip balm in a book about uses for honey and beeswax.  I haven't tried it yet, so I don't know if it's any good or not, but I figured I'd share it. 

2 tbsp coconut or olive oil
1 tbsp beeswax
4 drops lavender, lemon, or peppermint essential oil
1 vitamin E capsule

1. Mix the coconut/olive oil, beeswax, and essential oil in a bowl.  Place in a bain marie, or in a pan of simmering water. 
2. Blend the ingredients gently together with a spoon or spatula until the wax is completely melted. 
3. Break open the vitamin E capsule, add the contents to the wax mixture, and mix well.  Pour the mixture into a suitable container and allow to cool and set.   

Source: The Book of Honey, by Jenni Fleetwood
 
I got a bunch of lip balm tubes for Christmas, so I decided to try this recipe today.  It seems to have worked great and it was really easy.  I used olive oil and lavender essential oil, and instead of the bain marie/simmering water I just melted the wax and oil slowly in the microwave.  It's nice lip balm, soft but long-lasting.  We'll see how it holds up in the tubes over time, if it starts to separate or become granular, but at this point I'm really happy with it.  This is the first time I've ever made anything with my own beeswax, so I'm really excited about it.  And now I've forced a lip balm on everyone in my family because the recipe made enough for almost 8 tubes!  :cheesy:


You will have to heat the bees wax and stir with above suggestions as it cools to prevent separation to create a cream/waxy creation. 
I also tried making some facial moisturizer with another recipe from this book, but it didn't work, and this was the step where it fell apart.  Instead of a cream I got very tiny, almost perfectly spherical balls of wax floating on the liquid ingredients.  Interesting to be sure, but not exactly what I was going for.  :happy:  I'll have to try that recipe again, or try another recipe for moisturizer.  I'd really like to make some, since my favorite store-bought moisturizer was discontinued. 
Title: Re: Has Any One Here Entertained the Idea of Making Lip Balm From Your Bees Wax?
Post by: CoolBees on January 09, 2020, 05:47:44 pm
Thats awesome Member! ... that's on my list of things to do, but I haven't gotten there yet. Nicely done!
Title: Re: Has Any One Here Entertained the Idea of Making Lip Balm From Your Bees Wax?
Post by: CapnChkn on January 15, 2020, 08:12:53 pm
Ha Ha Ha!  YES!

Take a tin can you've washed out and dried.  Add a blob of Petroleum jelly.  Add a little mineral oil, you can get that at the pharmacy, look in laxitives.  Add a chunk of beeswax.

Heat this in a pan of boiling water.  When it's cool, check for hardness.  Too hard, add more mineral oil or petroleum jelly, too soft, add more beeswax.

Use a drop of Lemon Grass Oil, and some Anise Extract.  I like that scent, but you can use whatever you like.  You can make a batch of this stuff with a tablespoon of ingredients, and it will last a year or more.  I carry an old "Carmex" jar but a medicine bottle works too.