What you need:
- 1/4 cup of vegetable, olive, or sweet almond oil
- 1/4 ounce or 1 teaspoon of beeswax, chopped into small pieces or grated
- 4-5 drops of essential oil of peppermint (or another essential oil)
- Heat-safe disposable plastic cup or a clean, microwave-safe glass jar
- Disposable spoon
- 6 empty, clean, dry mini-mint tins or old lip-balm pots
Optional:
- 1/8 teaspoon glycerine
- 1 vitamin E capsule
- Lipstick
- Superfine glitter (food grade)
How to do it:
- Pour the oil into the plastic cup or glass measuring cup and add the beeswax. Microwave the oil and wax for about one minute, stirring every 20 seconds, until the wax is completely melted. ( Watch out, the cup will be hot.)
- Test the consistensy of the base. Do you want a glossy gloss base thats soft like Vaseline, or a creamy lip balm base that's harder, like Chap Stick? Dip the plastic spoon in melted base mixture and let the excess drip off. Put the spoon on a piece of aluminum foil or wax paper and stick it in the freezer for about a minute until it cools. If it's too hard, or you want an even gloddier finish, add some more oil, a little bit at a time. If the mixture is too soft, or you want somthing more lip-balmy, add a tiny bit of wax and stir until it remelts.
To make it fancy:
- Add the peppermint oil (or other essential oil) and stir well.
- Stir in the glycerine. You don't have to use it, but glycerine adds moisture and makes the lip balm or gloss smooth and silky.
- Pierce a vitamin E capsule with a pin and pour the contents into the melted oil and wax. Vitamin E is a moisturizer that helps preserve the final product.
- Take a small chunk of your favorite color of lipstick and add it to the melted oil and wax mixture. The lipstick won't add a lot of color to your lips, but it will make the gloss look nice.
- If you really want to sparkle, add a pinch of superfine glitter (make sure that its food-grade) to the mixture.
Make it cool:
- When you're all done tinkering, pour the misture into tins or jars. If you're using mint tins, check to see of there are holes by the hinges. Be sure the mixture only comes up to the holes or it will pour out. If you're using an old lip balm pot, be careful not to fill the pot all the way to the top.
- Let the mixture cool undisturbed for a smooth professional finish. After about 20 minutes, your lip balm and lip gloss will be ready!
Flavors to try:
- Pink lemonade = gloss base + lemon oil + chunk of pink lipstick + dash of superfine glitter
- Orange creamsickle = lip balm base + orange oil + vanilla oil + piece of orangy lipstick
- Lavender fields = lip balm base + lavender oil + plum lipstick
- Cinnamon clove = gloss base + clove oil (only a drop or two) + a dash of cinnamon + brownish lipstick
Tips:
- If your lip base hardens, pop it back into the microwave for about 15 seconds. If it is still too hard, keep microwaving it in 5-second increments until its totally melted.
- Health food stores and craft stores carry tons of essential oils. Remember, oil and water don't mix because of their different density levels, so be sure that whatever flavoring or scent that you're using is an oil, and not just a watery extract. Also be sure before you buy that it is OK to use it for lip balm. Just because that candle scent smells delish doesn't mean its OK to put it in your gloss. Save it for the candles.
- It takes a lot of elbow grease to get that annoying lip balm haze off glass, so stick to disposable or only-for-crafting cups.
- Oil + metal tin + microwave = potential fire hazard, and no one likes a fire hazard. Watch the base when you're melting it, and for the love of Pete, don't put metal in the microwave.
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