honey in lip balms

[Jeana]

I've used honey in lip balms twice now and it doesn't seem to blend, instead it stays in a ball at the bottom of the cup while I am pouring. I haven't been able to taste it in the mix either. Is there a way to make it blend better? Or is there a better sweetener? I have also tried liquid stevia, I didn't taste that either.

[soygirl]

Hi Jeana,

Here is a link I found that might be helpful: http://home.earthlink.net/~skinesscentuals/Sweetener.htm. I personally use unsweetened flavor oils in my lip balms and do not add sweetener. I think the flavor oil "tricks" the mind into thinking the balm is sweet anyway, and not having a sweetener means you are less likely to lick your lips. So far my testers haven't complained that the balm doesn't taste sweet, but if you are making lip balm for kids, you probably would want to add a sweetener.

Here's a related question: Has anyone ever tried confectioner's sugar (powdered sugar) as a lip balm sweetener?

[Jeana]

Thanks,

by reading this link it doesn't look like there is a way to successfully sweeten lip balm. I don't think the powdered sugar would it mix into the oil, just like the stevia powder? I guess you could test it in some warm oil to see what it does. I think you are right when you said that using a sweet smelling flavor oil does make you think it is sweet. Many of the lip glosses from the stores are sweet though, I wonder how they do it. I don't want all of mine to be sweetened but it would be nice to get at least one type sweet.

[the_amber_woods]

I was just going to ask this question....

There HAS to be a way, so many recipe's I've seen call for honey.

Anyone out there have any suggestions?

[soygirl]

I'm pretty sure that most of the commercial lip glosses and balms contain saccharin as a sweetener. I think Wholesale Supplies Plus (WSP) carries it.

[Carrie]

I saw liquid saccarin at Safeway yesterday. In the baking aisle near the sweet N low and the splenda.

[TexasBrat]

Soygirl is right, WSP has it, I bought some but haven't used it yet. http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/Product.aspx?Tab=3&CatalogID=4&GroupID=509&CatalogTitle=0&CategoryID=431&CategoryName=Lip+Base+Sweetener

I personally don't like honey in lip balm, I bought the Honey flavor oil from BCN and I wanted to barf after I was done making the balms. I wasted a whole batch. ewwww

[Jeana]

Thank you very much for this site. I guess this type of sweetener could be an option, I really wanted to stay natural though. Oh well, like I said I can chose one flavor to sweeten and it will be the consumers choice from there. So far one of my favorite flavors has been toasted coconut, I am a coconut freak. But this is not over the top sweet smelling.

[sune42]

No one has mentioned this on any of the boards I read, but couldn't you use agave? Its very sweet, but liquid.

[gerrie]

I got some Sucralose when Fairy Light did her co-op on it but still can't find the time to try it, but heard some good things about it over at The Dish. I'm just worried I'll get to much in my batch since it's soooooo powerful. From my understanding it's Splenda without the fillers, just pure sweetener.

[RobinInOR]

I've never gotten a sweetener to work, so I stick with presweetened flavors. The powder stuff just takes too much time to play with, and the rest of the liquids always seem to be water soluable and a hassle to incorporate.

Sugar Kisses from MMS works pretty good as an addition to a flavor that needs a bit more sweet.

[soygirl]

I'm pretty sure agave is water-based, like honey. It wouldn't mix well.

[LaVida]

this was an old thread, but has anyone cracked the code of syrups in lip balm? I use honey (i'm going to try stevia and agave syrup)... it emulsifies at a lower temperature. you have to stir until you get a creamy consistency then pour.

[Crafty1]

I've never gotten a sweetener to work, so I stick with presweetened flavors. The powder stuff just takes too much time to play with, and the rest of the liquids always seem to be water soluable and a hassle to incorporate.

Sugar Kisses from MMS works pretty good as an addition to a flavor that needs a bit more sweet.

i do as Robin, use MMS Sugar Kisses to sweetened my flavor lip balms. My other lip balms, I use essential oils only

[kittykat]

I think the addition of a bit of lanolin in your recipe will help keep the honey incorporated.

I've never tried it but have seen it mentioned before. Some people are allergic to lanolin though so that may be a concern.

[3bees~1flower]

i didn't read all the posts so don't know if this has been mentioned...but i have successfully added honey by first mixing it in some lanolin...lanolin acts as an emulsifier so if you blend it with the honey before addinf it to the mix, it will keep it in suspension. you only want to warm the lanolin, not melt is. then stir in the honey....then add it to you melted oils HTH!

ETA: shoulda read all the posts i guess...the post right before mine mentioned lanolin too...<blush>

[Jadryga]

I tried honey in some lotion bars, I got gooey pockets at the bottom that spilled when I popped them. I'm thinking of trying it LaVida's way... by stirring until it's pretty much creamy before I put it into the molds. Last time I just poured it straight in. Don't have access to lanolin here, and it's quite a hassle for me to import it

Keeping my fingers crossed for the agave tests!

[Pepperi]

I use the honey flavor oil from bcn and my customers love it! Not just that they love it but some have reported that their lips seems more plump after using my lip balms maybe its the combination of honey and the ingredients. I don't know but I sell them as soon as I make them! I forgot to ask, how about using honey powder??