There are all kinds of recipes online for making lipgloss at home. I learned a thing or two... might as well pass along some tips because this is pretty experimental stuff.
I was making this for Activity Days so I needed an easy and inexpensive recipe. But I also wanted a firmer lipgloss than what the Vaseline recipes could offer. I found a recipe using Beeswax,
Shea Butter, and Coconut Oil.
CONTENTS
The Beeswax is what makes it firmer, but be cautious about what you're buying, some have a musty smell that is tough to mask. I've heard that the pellets are more refined which takes away the sweet honey smell. The bag I
bought was 100% natural, yellow and melted really well because they were pellets, but it took a lot of Lemon Essential Oils to cover the smell. I'll still use these pellets but next time I'll try buying a brick of Beeswax to see if that helps.
The Coconut Oil and Shea Butter help to smooth and moisturize the mixture. I've heard of adding Honey, Cocoa Butter, or Olive Oil among other ingredients... I could mess around with various ingredients for a long while... it's pretty fun to play cosmetic chemist. I really want to try coffee balm!
Food coloring (liquid, or paste) doesn't mix well with Beeswax but works great for the Vaseline method. You need cosmetic powders if you want a color with Beeswax. I was ok with the yellow coloring because I used Lemon flavoring. Next time I might try using some powdered pink eyeshadow and berry extract for flavoring.
I got little plastic screw top pots
here and they worked perfectly. I just made sticker labels to put on top with the flavor. I also want to try chapstick tubes.
TOOLS
I don't have a double boiler so I used a small saucepan with about 1 1/2 c of water. I boiled it and then turned it down to simmer. Then I put another small metal bowl on top of that. That's as good as a double boiler.
I also had a glass measuring cup handy and a metal spoon. I had several little pots open and ready and was able to pour straight from the metal bowl (using a hot pad).
RECIPE
I started small because it was an experiment.
2 TB of each ingredient (Beeswax, Shea Butter, Coconut Oil)
Stir to melt and add drops of Lemon Oil (you can smell the mixture to see if it's enough) If you do too much, add more Shea Butter or Coconut Oil.
If I didn't have enough to fill the pots then I just added more ingredients. I kept the stove going for about two hours with small batches and filled all 50 pots, used 1/2 a bag of Beeswax and probably about 1 cup of the Coconut Oil and Shea Butter
