| This is the type of recipe that I have been wanting to try for awhile now. I wanted to create a lip balm for dry lips that included Lanolin to see how it fairs. Lanolin is a product that is dear to my heart. I am a die-hard knitter, and spinner of wool, and Lanolin is something that I know and love. I have bought and washed a sheep fleece entirely by myself and then have spun it on my spinning wheel, so I know the touch and feel of Lanolin. If you have dry hands and are working with raw fleece, the lanolin works itself into the cracks and moisturizes your hands, then provides a barrier to any elements that want to dry out your skin.The lanolin that MMS sells is so nice and not nearly as sheepy smelling as a raw fleece but with all of the benefits. I want to reassure those that have had the experience of smelling lanolin from the source that our Anhydrous Lanolin is awesome and when used in the right amounts the odor disappears completely. The odor reminds me of non-stick Band-Aids from my childhood.
I also chose coconut oil, Palm Kernel, and Calendula Extract for their wonderful moisturizing properties. Castor Oil was chosen because it leaves that nice, almost tacky, feeling on the lips and seems to bring a skin protecting property to the table.
Recipe: Yields 100 grams or 3.53 ounces.
q.s. = quantify sufficient Instructions Dip a toothpick into the Ruby Lip Balm Color and take out a tiny dot of color. My intention was to lightly color my 100 gram mixture. You can see in the picture the swirls of red after I added the color. When using a small amount of oil soluble color this does not tint the lips. You are just adding a nice and light color to the balm. Mine ended up a very light rose hue. Lovely! Stir your color in and start pouring into your containers! I used our new Rectangle Slider Tins. These hold 0.15 ounces of product. I did not even use a pipette with these. I just poured the hot balm into the tins directly from my beaker. Be careful not to fill these right up to the top. The slider top will cut into the balm and create an ugly mess. I filled up 12 tins plus one partial tin. When I tried the lip balm I was amazed at the feeling on my lips. This balm has a nice tack and creamy feel to it. I hope that you all enjoy this recipe! Note: After my initial test batch I made up a larger 500 gram batch to send out as samples from the blog. I used more color than I meant to so it is a stronger pink, but it is still not going to tint the lips. I got carried away with the oil soluble color. When the instructions say a little goes a long way we mean it! You can always put more in but you cannot take it away.
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 Finished product  Weighing ingredients  Ruby Lip Balm Color  Adding color to the melted ingredients  Rectangle Slider Tins |
This recipe sounds terrific! Of course I adore lanolin and used to carry an entire line of products made with it, all of which were very popular. I think lanolin added to soap always makes it wonderful, really rich and moisturizing. I still get special orders for it and people with skin problems swear by it.
One suggestion to someone who hasn’t used lanolin before, in my experience it is difficult to impossible to get out of fabric! So be careful when you are measuring and mixing, and I always wiped equipment that came into contact with it off with paper towels (a wasteful practice I don’t use for other products) after I lost several dish towels. It really does waterproof fabric (which is why it makes such a fabulous barrier for the skin) and regular grease cutters just don’t have the power to clean it out of the cloth. But as long as you know before handall is well, and what it adds to any skin product is more then worth a little extra cleaning!
Good points. When washing wool we use super hot water and a good soap, even one that makes bubbles. If the water doesn’t get hot enough to liquefy the lanolin, it doesn’t come out of fabric at all. This is where the water heater needs to be turned up and the hot water wash is used. Or hand washing with soapy water in the sink. I really like Taylor’s Wool Wash. I’ll see if we can come up with another post on lanolin and fabric care.
Another fun recipe to try – so excited!!! We live in a very dry climate and it has been an especially dry year so all these moisture items are FABULOUS – MARVELOUS – SPECTACULAR!!! THANK YOU JOY!
Hi! When you say “microwave in short bursts” in your recipes, how many seconds do you mean? I usually go for about 45 to be the longest, but I don’t want to jeopardize the properties of the oils.
Thank you!
Heather,
If I am doing a smaller recipe (100 grams)I only do 20 to 30 seconds at a time and stir in between. Since I am constantly working with different oils in different recipes I don’t want to risk overheating my oils and having to wait to pour into my containers longer than necessary. Doing these shorter bursts allows me to check my mixture and decide when it is done melting without overheating it excessively. If you are doing a larger batch 45 seconds might be okay for the first “burst” but make sure you are stirring things every time you check your container and then reduce the amount of time after the first burst in the microwave.
Joy
never worked with lanolin before but would like to try, this recipe sounds fun! also love the little tins M
As a fellow knitter….I too appreciate lanolin.
I love it in salves, now I’ll have to try this
recipe.
Another great recipe to try! I have a bad habit of licking my lips, so lanolin helps counter that drying action.
I’ve been loving your posts Joy! I’m a knitter too, I hope to learn to spin someday. This balm looks great!
Sara,
I have to warn you about spinning. Once you get the hang of it, it is just as addicting as knitting. I find that lotion and soap making lends itself very well to knitting because we are always working with our hands. I always need something to moisturize and soften my hands to keep that pesky wool from catching on my fingers.
Joy
Good to know that MMS’s lanolin isn’t as sheepy smelling as others. That’s one thing that always deters me from using it in my products. Looks like a good recipe!
Joy,
This is awesome! I love a great lip balm! Thanks for sharing this wonderful idea!:)
Thank you for this recipe. Do you think it would work well in lip balm tubes?
i have always loved lanolin in lip balms, whether it smells sheepy or not, simply for it’s stick-to-it-ness. it’s the one thing that doesn’t lick off the lips right away and conditions and softens. thanks for the recipe, joy. i’ll try it out some time!
The lanolin that MMS offers is great, we use it on our milk cows. Talk about a happy herd, only the best for our girls!!
I’ve always avoided using lanolin in my products because my favorite aunt is allergic. We went to visit a family cousin at sheep shearing time, and she had to be careful not to touch the raw wool. If I wanted to substitute for lanolin, what would be the best? I’ve used jojoba in the past with decent results.
Jennifer,
I would use Golden Jojoba with beeswax added to make a lanolin type texture. Make up just the Golden Jojoba with beeswax mixture first to test the consistency before adding it to the lip balm recipe. I might try 90 grams jojoba and 10 grams beeswax as a first trial.
Joy
Hi, I just recieved my sample of the dry lips balm in my order today. I like the way it feels and mostly found the information you gave on the Lanolin to be very helpful. I already use lanolin in my lip balm recipe but have to use such a tiny little amount because of the smell. I will have to give yours a try. Thanks
ps. Love the color and the cute tin 🙂