Lip Balm Help

[WYJen]

I recently decided to venture into the world of bath and body stuff, to add to my candle/home fragrance line. I decided to start testing with some simple (ha ha!) lip balm base. I got the soy lip balm base from the Chemistry Store. My finished product is very grainy. Its not grainy in the jar from them. I used 5% flavor oil (from Sweet Cakes) to 2.25 oz of base. Can any one tell me how to get rid of the grainy-ness? I just heated it until it was melted, never checked a temperature or anything, mainly because I couldn't find any guidelines for temps anywhere. Does it need to be heated to a certain temp? Poured at a certain temp? Also, when it cools, it seems to be tunnelling down the center. If I top them off, does it work the same way it does with candles where I'll have to pour at a hotter temp than before to get the layers to bind together? Any help that anyone can provide would be great. The "grains" seem to melt once on the lips, but it definitely doesn't feel good going on!

[elle110]

I had the same problem you did with my lip balm, the shea got grainy, (even tried with Brambleberrys butter that they say does not get grainy, it does) then I switched to mango and it got grainy, they sold well because I marketed them as lightly exfoiation Ha Girls gotta do what she has to do (in fact keep getting order for it)

Now I also make one similar to burt's bees, no shea or mango, I got it off of the PVS website, revised a little and I love it, not tight, not grainy, pure heaven.

As for the tunneling, let them cool somewhat, top them off then hit the tubes lightly with a heat gun or blow dryer so that they seal together, if you don't do that the part you topped off with will just fall off bcz it is not melted with you original pour.

HTH

elle

[Jenn A]

I quit using shea in my lip balms a long time ago,they always went grainy,no matter what.

I know this is very simple but I like equal parst of jojoba oil,beeswax and cocoa butter.Easy!

Jenn A

ETA that I meant i *quit* using shea...

[sudsnwicks]

they sold well because I marketed them as lightly exfoiation Ha Girls gotta do what she has to do (in fact keep getting order for it)

What a clever idea! Body Shop used to sell something called Lip Scuff (maybe they still have it...I haven't been there in a long time) which you apply to exfoliate and then follow with lip balm. Yours is even better, as it's a 2-in-1.

[Melly]

You could try tempering the base. Just melt it, turn the heat source off and let the base sit in the hot water for atleast 10 minutes. This can sometimes prevent certain butters from going grainy. Some inendtation is normal when lip balm cools. Mine always have a small little hole in the middle where the stick of the tube is. Try overfilling them so that there is a bubble of melted lip balm sitting ontop. when it shrinks it will be a bit more level with the top of the tube.

[edensong]

Try sticking them in the refrigerator right away after they're poured. Quick cooling helps prevent graininess.

[WYJen]

Thanks for all the help!! I tried some of the suggestions and now have a lip balm that isn't grainy!! I ended up using the same base, and just put them in the fridge immediately after they were cooled and they're not grainy now! Thanks so much for the suggestions!