How to incorporate honey into oil based balms - Chemists Corner

Formulating

How to incorporate honey into oil based balms

Posted by Anonymous on March 20, 2014 at 5:55 am

Hi all,
I am hoping someone can give me some tips on how to add honey to my oil based balms. I do not add any water to my priducts, they are made using a mix of herbal oils, beeswax and shea/cocoa butter.I know honey can separate or even ferment in water based creams, but I have not seen any formulas for adding honey to oil. Is it even possible?

Thanks in advance
Netta

MakingSkincare replied 10 years, 8 months ago 2 Members · 4 Replies
4 Replies

MakingSkincare

Member
March 20, 2014 at 7:29 am

Try using lanolin or lecithin - a small % to allow you to add the honey.
Bobzchemist

Member
March 20, 2014 at 8:34 am

Typical honey analysis:

Fructose: 38.2%

Glucose: 31.3%

Maltose: 7.1%

Sucrose: 1.3%

Water: 17.2%

Higher sugars: 1.5%

Ash: 0.2%

Other/undetermined: 3.2%

None of the sugars in honey are oil-soluble, so even boiling the water out will not help you incorporate honey into an oil-based product.

As Jane (@MakingSkincare) says, you’ll need an emulsifier to get honey into your system. I would try pre-mixing the emulsifier with the honey before adding the mix to your balm.

Because you’re now introducing water, it would be prudent to include a preservative as well.
Anonymous

Guest
March 21, 2014 at 4:40 am

Thanks so much for a great reply!
Will I need to add extra water to the honey and emulsifier or is the naturally occurring water in the honey enough?
Woul potassium sorbate be appropriate?

Many thanks
Netta
MakingSkincare

Member
March 21, 2014 at 8:07 am

Potassium sorbate isn’t sufficient I’m afraid netta - see list/reviews here - http://makingskincare.com/preservatives/

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