http://www.care2.com/greenliving/citrus-lip-gloss-how-to-formula.html
Citrus Lip Gloss: How-To Formula
This make-it-yourself Citrus Lip Gloss tastes lick-your-lips delicious with both tangerine and lemon essential oils offering their benefits and flavors. Tangerine essential oil is a bit of an aphrodisiac, so it is nice to wear out on a special date. The essential oils and honey combined make the gloss a tasty product that will keep your lips soft and moist for some time.
All the ingredients for this formula are easily found in most health food stores and the formula only takes about 10 minutes to make, so why not give it a try?
INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons sweet almond oil
2 teaspoon beeswax (pearls or solid beeswax grated and measured)
1 teaspoon aloe vera gel
1 teaspoon honey
800 IU Vitamin E
4 drops lemon essential oil
3 drops tangerine essential oil
Melt the beeswax and sweet almond oil together in a heat-proof container over boiling water. When the beeswax is melted, remove from the heat. Add the honey and Vitamin E, mixing briskly with a wire whisk. Add the aloe vera gel and stir into the mixture. Add the essential oils and stir in well. Pour into a low wide-mouth jar.
Adapted from Natural Beauty Basics, by Dorie Byers, R.N. (Vital Health Publishing, 2001).
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11 comments
add your comment »What is the shelf life of this lip balm? How long to keep it before its properties are destroyed?
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Caralien, lol about the smelling like a salad, I can imagine. Thank you for your very knowledgable and important information.
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Cinnamon would definitely plump the lips (it's a natural irritant and in items like Lip Venom). Olive oil has an SPF of 4 (not much, but better than nothing) which might help if used instead of the almond oil. Personally, when I've slathererd olive oil on my legs, I've neither gotten burnt or tan, but did smell like a salad (I'm very pale, but olive, and now prone to burning since I've avoided the sun for 23 years). Cinnamon oil is VERY potent. It's anti-microbial effects would help the longevity of the balm, but it is an irritant (the reason for the plumping effect). Maybe add some calendula for soothing?
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Caralien, thank you so much for the website and the advice about the citrus oil. I was hoping the citrus oil would have a plumping effect on my lips, but hope it won't blister or such. Could we use cinnamon oil?
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I wonder about the citrus oils too, as for the photosensitivity. Has any tried this & had any issues with burning or discoloration of lips due to sun exposure?
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I use carnauba wax (plant based) from wholesalesuppliesplus.com They also sell bee and other waxes, shea butter, etc., for reasonable prices/shipping. I would just be a little wary of citrus and lipbalms particularly during the hot summer--citrus oils make the skin more photo-sensitive, and the lips, being non-oil producing, can be more affected and liklier to burn if you're so prone.
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Rachel, thank you so much for your comment. I too would like to know if you have a website you know of I can buy the beeswax from. I live in the boonies and no one around here sells it. Thanks again, Rose Perkins
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how about a vegan version? thanks
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I love this recipe! Just make sure to buy beeswax that is yellow to a deep golden color. If you purchase beeswax from a craft store, the quality is sometimes compromised, by the way if the wax is white in color don't buy it. I usually melt the wax separately on a medium temperature in a crock pot. If the beeswax is melted at high temperatures it can change the chemical structure. The best way to make the lip gloss "glossy," is by adding just a little more carrier oil.
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Where can you buy beeswax?
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