February's Food Group Recap: DIY Lip Balm

February's Food Group proved to be a productive and educational get together as Bethany led us through the art of making DIY lip balm. The warm sweet scent of melting beeswax drifted through the bustling room of about 15 local ladies, all learning the why's and how's of making lip balm to die for. Yeah, it's that good.

Bethany started the evening off by highlighting each of the ingredients involved in the DIY lip balm and the importance of each. She explained that even the "natural" lip balms on the market contain unnecessary ingredients. For example, check out the ingredient list of two well-know lip balms compared to the recipe Bethany used from GloryBee Foods:

Original ChapStick Ingredients: arachidyl propionate, camphor, carnauba wax, cetyl alcohol, D&C red no. 6 barium lake, FD&C yellow no. 5 aluminum lake, fragrance, isopropyl lanolate, isopropyl myristate, lanolin, light mineral oil, methylparaben, octyldodecanol, oleyl alcohol, parrafin, phenyl trimethicone, proplyparaben, titanium dioxide, white wax

Burt’s Bees Ingredients: beeswax, cocos nucifera (coconut) oil, helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed oil, mentha piperita (peppermint) oil, lanolin, tocopherol, rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf extract, glycine soja (soybean) oil, canola oil

DIY Ingredients: pure, filtered beeswax; sweet almond oil; vitamin E oil, aloe vera concentrate, essential oil

By making DIY lip balm, not only can you cut out the fillers, but the savings are incredible as the finished product costs less than $1 a tube.


Bethany walked us through the first batch then everyone jumped in, making delicious batches of lip balm with rich scents such as Tangerine Peppermint, Jasmine Lime, Bergamot, Red Currant Lime, and a Tropical blend.

Throughout the night, everyone kept commenting about the simplicity of DIY lip balm. Thanks to Bethany's organization, preparation, and instructions, everyone walked away with 12 tubes of nourishing lip balm.

The evening ended with everyone enjoying delicious snacks and refreshing conversation. I so enjoyed getting to know everyone new to the group...Food Group is definitely one of the highlights to my month. Thanks to everyone who participated! I hope you all are enjoying your lip balm!

For those of you who missed this awesome Food Group but are interested in making DIY lip balm, here is everything you need to get started at home. Enjoy!

{ Supplies } found at GloryBee Foods
1 oz. pure, filtered beeswax
½ cup sweet almond oil
½ teaspoon vitamin e oil
¼ teaspoon aloe vera concentrate
½ teaspoon essential oil
lip balm pots or tubes

{ Instructions }

• Cut beeswax into pieces (the smaller the pieces, the faster it will melt).

• Combine beeswax, sweet almond oil, vitamin e oil, and aloe vera concentrate in a small, pourable container (a glass measuring cup works well). Place this container in a saucepan and fill the pan with approximately 2 inches of water.

• Heat the mixture over medium heat until the beeswax is completely melted.

• Remove from heat and add essential oil.

• Pour into containers (pipettes come in handy here, otherwise, use a steady pouring hand).

• Cool completely before use.

Makes approximately two dozen 5 gram (.15oz.) pots or tubes. Instructions courtesy GloryBee Foods


Thanks again to everyone who participated! We hope to see you all again for the next Food Group about planning your garden on March 2nd. {Details coming soon!}

Blessings,
Emily