natural lip balm

cossci21cossci21 Member
in Formulating
Hello
I have made a natural lip balm that includes castor oil and beeswax and peppermint oil. Nice and simple.
Have found that with heat it melts to a very liquidy mess. Is there anything to use to give it a higher heat stability? other waxes?
Have also found that it melts and doesnt re solidify as well as originally would the peppermint oil be playing a role in this.
Thanks

Comments

  • galinagalina Member
    You may need to include wax with higher melting point. May be Candelilla or Carnauba. Also inclusion of butters like Cocoa, Shea, Mango and the like may help with consistency. Good luck!
  • cossci21cossci21 Member
    Thanks Galina
  • PerryPerry Administrator, Professional Chemist
    I agree with @galina.  You need a higher melting point wax to get better heat stability.  You could also reduce the level of peppermint oil.
    Learn to formulate cosmetics
  • BobzchemistBobzchemist Member, PCF student
    Try Koster Keunen for waxes, they have a good selection
    Robert Zonis, Sr. Formulation Chemist, Beaumont Products "All opinions and comments expressed are my own, have no relation to Beaumont Products, are fully copyrighted, and may not be used without written permission."
  • cossci21cossci21 Member
    Thanks perry and bobzchemist. Have used candelilla wax so far and it has helped however now  the customer thinks it is too shiny. Never ending fun!
  • PerryPerry Administrator, Professional Chemist
    Ha!  The life of a formulator.
    Learn to formulate cosmetics
  • Chemist77Chemist77 Member, PCF student
    If I remember our old lipstick formulas we used to incorporate carnuaba to give a little matte effect to the so shiny look of the stick and it worked. You can try that by using an optimized mixture of these waxes. 
  • heraklitheraklit Member, PCF student
    Speaking about natural lip balms, my sister informed me that after she used my balm (olive oil, beeswax, chamomile extract, tocopherol) her lips swelled. She had suffered this also before with a balm from a large company. I searched google and found that this is something well known. It's from beeswax - maybe the propolis, or ingredients from flowers like linalool?. But EU regulation don't list beeswax as an allergen: http://ec.europa.eu/health/scientific_committees/consumer_safety/docs/sccs_o_102.pdf
  • MichelleReeceMichelleReece Member
    Yes, @heraklit, propolis is a potential allergen. Estimations of contact sensitivity based on studies range from 1.2 to 6.6%. Chamomile and its derivatives can also cause allergies, though it's usually the whole extract, as there are numerous chemicals within those extracts.


  • heraklitheraklit Member, PCF student
    Chamomile ess. oil doesn't have any known allergen. I used a CO2 extract at very low amount. I haven't see anything so far about allergies from chamomile extracts.
  • BobzchemistBobzchemist Member, PCF student
    @heraklit, aside from water, EVERYTHING is a known allergen, to someone somewhere.
    Robert Zonis, Sr. Formulation Chemist, Beaumont Products "All opinions and comments expressed are my own, have no relation to Beaumont Products, are fully copyrighted, and may not be used without written permission."
  • BobzchemistBobzchemist Member, PCF student
    This is precisely why they make us list every ingredient on our ingredient labels, not just the ones that might be allergens - they all might be. We try to avoid the ones really large sections of the population are commonly allergic to, but that's the best we can do and still be able to make products.
    Robert Zonis, Sr. Formulation Chemist, Beaumont Products "All opinions and comments expressed are my own, have no relation to Beaumont Products, are fully copyrighted, and may not be used without written permission."
  • heraklitheraklit Member, PCF student
    Now my sister (age 49) learned that she is sensitive to beeswax or propolis!
    Thats why EU authorities thinking to add about 200 more substances as allergens, that must be listed on our labels!
  • PerryPerry Administrator, Professional Chemist
    Actually @Bobzchemist, even water can be an allergen.  Or at least cause a skin reaction.
    Learn to formulate cosmetics
  • bortopabortopa Member
    So far my lips swell with beeswax and candelilla wax, never tried carnauba wax, so I tried to order sunflower wax from koster keunen waxes but they won't sell in smaller batches, hard to find products??
  • MichelleReeceMichelleReece Member
    @Bobzchemist, @Perry, @ heraklit

    Even worse, there might be impurities in the product, such as metals, that cause irritant or allergic reactions.

    @bortopa

    It's a good idea to get patch-tested by a dermatologist or allergist, just in case. It's definitely possible you'll be allergic to or cross-react with carnuaba wax. Plant-based products tend to do that.

    Microcrystalline and okozerite waxes are good substitutes, and they're technically "natural" (well, they are minerals),
  • beautynerdbeautynerd Member
    @bortopa If it's just for testing purposes and you can stand the markup... The Herbarie has a good selection of waxes in small quantities including Sunflower Wax.
  • bortopabortopa Member
    Thanks MichelleReece & EliseCortes
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