**Let’s make a stick balm to help combat dry, cracked or damaged skin!**

Hydrating Stick Balm Formulation

This post may contain links but they are not affiliate links. I am not in any sort of affiliate program at this time. They are links to things I actually use.

As we begin to enter the colder months one thing I’ve always had to combat is dry skin. You know the kind that eventually starts to crack & look all scaly.

This stick balm is the perfect solution & it is completely customizable too

I’ve used this stick balm on minor cuts, scrapes & abrasions as well & it helped increase the speed of healing.

However, I will ask that you don’t use it over deep puncture wounds as doing so may increase your risk of infection. This can happen when the top layer of the skin heals before the wound gets cleaned out, essentially trapping dirt or germs in the wound potentially leading to infection.

This formulation is a mixture of 2 butters & 5 oils held together by beeswax. We’ve also added some Vitamin E for some extra skin healing & antioxidant effects.

Now, if you wanted to switch out the butters and only use 1 or maybe all you have at home is a completely different butter, that’s ok, just use what you have and let me know in the comments what you used & how it turned out.

Before we get to talking about the ingredients I have a bit of a warning, if you or the person you are planning on giving this to has a natural latex allergy I would avoid this formulation. Some of these ingredients do contain natural latex. Perhaps some of the refined versions will have removed enough to not invoke an allergic reaction, but I don’t think it’s worth it.

Latex is a milky/sticky sap that works as the plants natural defense mechanism helping protect the plant from herbivores & insects. It is made up of a mixture of proteins, enzymes, carbohydrates & other organic compounds. It is the substance that allows the plant to seal it’s own wounds, helps deter predators & prevents water loss. There are more than 20,000 plant species or 10% of all plants produce sap that contains latex.

Key take away is to always be sure you know of all allergen potentials if you plan on using this balm or making it for someone else.

Let’s go over the ingredients I’ve chosen & why I’ve chosen them to go in this formulation

Comes in unrefined & bleached versions
Has a high melting point of 63C/145F & helps to raise the melting point of the other ingredients
Helps to slow the absorbency speed of other ingredients & increases their staying power
It is used as a thickener & hardener depending on the concentration used. It thickens when small amounts are used & hardens with larger amounts, like this stick balm which has a total of 20% beeswax

Just one more thing to mention before we get to the rest of the ingredients, there is some inaccurate & potentially dangerous information regarding beeswax floating around on the internet.

Beeswax is NOT an emulsifier & any formulation that tells you to use beeswax as an emulsifier needs to be backed away from slowly. Full transparency I’ve followed one of those formulation that told me I could use beeswax & what happened was I was left with an unstable product. A product that ended up changing color, scent & consistency over time leaving me with no choice but to throw it in the trash.

My goal is to share how to use ingredients with their proper intention in mind. I know this isn’t an emulsified formulation but it’s still a very important piece of information to always keep in the back of your mind.

I understand the desire to use natural products & sometimes we can judge a product before we actually understand its properties. But being afraid of certain ingredients & just attempting to replace them without doing proper research, isn’t going to get us that far in the long run.

Even ingredients that are considered synthetic can be safer than products that are considered natural. I will be going over this concept more in a future blog post.

Now let’s talk about the rest of our ingredients.

**Shea Butter**

*INCI: Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter) Fruit*

Antioxidant properties
Hydrating & calming to the skin
May help fade scars & heal burned, cracked or peeling skin
Slow absorption speed
Beneficial to anyone with dry skin but may best be avoided by those who are allergic to tree nuts
Contains natural latex
Comes in raw (crude) & refined forms.
- Refined = processed with fewer vitamins & minerals than raw but it is unscented.
- Crude = unprocessed with its complete vitamin & mineral profile with a natural nutty/smoky scent.

Shea butter has a naturally nutty scent that I absolutely adore but if your shea butter smells like old crayons, likely it’s gone rancid & needs to be disposed of. I like to store mine in the refrigerator to help it stay fresher longer & to prevent it from going grainy. This can happen when the butter is heated & cooled improperly.

To read more about the amazing benefits of shea butter check out this post on a Cold Processed Whipped Shea Body Butter.

**Cocoa Butter**

*INCI: Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter*

Considered a hard & brittle butter
Full of antioxidants
May help reduce the appearance of scars & stretch marks
Emollient that is high in fatty acids to hydrate the skin
Helps to thicken formulations
Fast absorbency speed
Contains natural latex
Comes in raw (crude) or refined forms
- Refined = no scent & missing some of its vitamin & mineral profile
- Raw = smells like chocolate with its complete vitamin & mineral profile

I used raw cocoa butter with its lovely chocolate scent, but the finished product doesn’t have much smell.

**Sweet Almond Oil**

*INCI: Prunus amygdalus dulcis (almond) oil*

Extraction method: cold pressed
Processing type: refined
Obtained from: nuts
Antioxidant rich hydrator with high concentrations of Vitamin E, magnesium, phosphorus & copper
Reduces irritation & calms inflammation
Helps even out skin tone & improve your complexion
May help with UV damage & reducing the appearance of stretch marks
Low scented
Average absorption speed
Suitable for any skin type but beneficial for those in need of calming & hydration but is best avoided by those with nut allergies

Extraction method: solvent extracted
Processing type: refined
Obtained from: fruit
Anti-inflammatory, antioxidant & emollient properties
Acts as a humectant which is a type of moisturizer that attracts & retains moisture from the surrounding environment
Aids in wound healing
Medium to heavy oil

Our olive oil is infused with calendula for its astringent, vulnerary & inflammation modulating herbal actions with a specific affinity for the skin. Learn how to make you own infused oils with a Double Boiler or an Herbal Infusing Machine

While it is not necessary to infuse your oils I find it is a nice way to add the healing power of plants into our formulations.

You could infuse any of the oils in this formulation not just the olive oil

I like to get my herbs from Alpine Herbs Company in Canada

In the United States Mountain Rose Herbs is a reputable place to shop for all your botanical needs

If you wanted to add botanicals via essential oils or oil soluble extracts see the Notes & Substitutions section after the formulation.

**Castor Oil**

*INCI: Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil*

Extraction method: expeller pressed
Processing type: filtered
Obtained from: seeds
Humectant drawing moisture to your skin from the surrounding environment
Antibacterial, antifungal & analgesic properties
May help reduce the risk of scarring & help speed up the healing process
May help promote collagen production
Enhances the absorption of other skincare products helping them to become more effective
Thick, heavy oil

**Safflower Oil**

*INCI: Carthamus tinctorius (Safflower) oil*

Extraction method: cold pressed
Processing type: refined
Obtained from: seeds
Antioxidant rich & contains anti-inflammatory properties
Made up of mostly oleic acid which is an acid that is very moisturizing, & helps the skin cells regenerate quickly
May accelerate wound healing, reduce the appearance of scars & help repair the skin barrier
Fast absorption rate

**Coconut Oil**

*INCI: Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil*

An edible oil that comes from the kernel of mature coconuts
Comes in raw (crude) & refined versions
If you don’t like the scent of coconut you can purchase the RBD version (Refined/Bleached/Deodorized)
Anti-inflammatory properties helping to reduce redness & irritation
Can help reduce transepidermal water loss (TEWL) due to its high concentrations of saturated fats
The high saturated fat content helps to prevent coconut from going rancid
Shown to help improve skin elasticity while reducing the appearance of scars
Average absorption speed

I’ve used both traditional coconut oil that is hard at room temperature & liquid MCT oil with wonderful results each time. I make a balm for my dogs I like to call Bean Balm, because you put it on the toe beans, that uses MCT oil as it does absorb quicker than traditional coconut oil. Once we run out I will be sharing that formulation.

Hydrating Stick Balm Formulation

Image of filled tubes setting up upside down. Always be sure to know how to properly fill your tubes.

For my packaging I’ve chosen to use a twist up, bottoming filling tube for my balms as that is what I had on hand but you could use a push up tube as well. Just be sure you know how much your tube holds & the appropriate way to fill it. I found mine on Amazon & almost didn’t buy them because of the reviews stating that they leaked. However that is because the people who left the poor reviews didn’t bother to read the description & filled them from the top.

If you get the same tubes I got, you just need to carefully pull the bottom off & fill them upside down. Then just allow them to cool off in the refrigerator.

You do want to make sure you let them cool in the refrigerator because of the shea butter. Shea butter that has been cooled on the counter at room temperature can turn grainy & that is not going to be a very desired effect that could be easily avoided

Let’s go over how to scale a formulation because if you use this formulation as written you’re going to end up with 100g of finished product. This is why we write formulations in percentages so you can achieve consistency in the amount you’re making & your desired results

The tube I’m using can hold approximately 30g or 1 oz. This means I need to take each ingredient amount & multiply it by 0.3.

If your tube holds 60g or 2oz you would need to multiply by 0.6.

Now I do understand that there are 28 grams in an ounce but I like to round up to a 30 so that there will be enough to fill the tubes. Due to the beeswax this does set up fairly quickly & some is almost always dried in the bowl.

You could also put this in a tin like a slave but I find the tube easier with far less mess to use & apply

Since the purpose of this stick balm is to use it on dry, cracked skin I have decided to skip the preservative as this formulation does not contain a water component. If you did want to add a preservative some suggestions are:

Euxyl® PE 9010 Canada USA
- Water & Oil soluble preservative
- 0.5-1% maximum use
Jeecide CAP 7 USA
- Water & Oil soluble preservative
- 0.5-1.5% maximum use
Optiphen (not to be confused with Optiphen Plus) USA
- Oil soluble
- 0.5-1.5% maximum use
Phenonip Canada USA
- Oil soluble
- 0.5-1.0% maximum use

Just a note on maximum usage rates. I recommend using the maximum usage rate allowed unless you have the proper instrumentation or access to a lab that can be formally tested for potential microbes. If you do choose to use a preservative take the amount out of any of the liquid oils & add it into phase B

Equipment:

Melting pot or stainless steel bowl for mixing
Hot plate or stove
Beaker for measuring
Precision scale
Spatula for stirring
Storage tubes

Formulation:

Phase A- heated oil

20% Beeswax

24% Shea Butter

10% Cocoa Butter

15% Coconut Oil

10% Sweet Almond Oil

10% Calendula infused Olive Oil

5% Safflower Oil

5% Castor Oil

Phase B- cool down

1% MT-50 Vitamin E (optional)

If you were only wanting to make 30g worth you would need to downscale those percentages.

Phase A- heated oil

20% = 6g Beeswax

24% = 7.2g Shea Butter

10% = 3g Cocoa Butter

15% = 4.5g Coconut Oil

10% = 3g Sweet almond Oil

10% = 3g Calendula infused Olive Oil

5% = 1.5g Safflower Oil

5% = 1.5g Castor Oil

Phase B- cool down

1% = 0.3g MT-50 Vitamin E (optional)

I do like to go back & re-add the numbers to make sure that it reaches the desired amount.

6 + 7.2 + 3 + 4.5 + 3 + 3 + 1.5 + 1.5 + 0.3 = 30

Image of phase A ingredients about to go into the melting pot

Method:

Weigh out phase A into a heat proof container
Weigh out phase B into a beaker & set aside
Heat phase A to 70-80 C & remove from the heat
Allow to cool slightly & add phase B & stir thoroughly
Place in a storage container

Notes & Substitutions:

Essential oils can be added into phase B. I would take the amount of one of the liquid oils or butters. Leave the beeswax amount as is
If using essential oils always measure in weight not in drops & consult the IFRA information sheet that accompanies your oils. If you don’t have an IFRA information sheet I would avoid using that brand of oil in your formulations. We want to make sure that we are always under the safe dermal limits when using essential oils on the skin or you may run the risk of sensitization which is an allergy you will come back from & you can kiss that essential oil goodbye. Add any ESSENTAIL OIL ingredients into phase B.
If you want to use a botanical extract you need to make sure it is OIL SOLUBLE. Many extracts are water soluble so be sure to know the solubility before adding it to this formulation. Water & oil don’t mix without the help of an emulsifier, which this formulation does not have so you can not use water soluble ingredients. The water component will end up separating & seeping out of your balm which means you will not be getting the desired effects & are essentially wasting product & therefore your hard earned cash. Add any OIL SOLUBLE ingredients into phase B.
You can switch out any of the oils for different ones, just know that the absorption rate might shift but that isn’t too big of a deal in this formulation. Just be sure to keep the oil around 55%. If you wanted to add more oil you might need to make an adjustment to the beeswax.
You can use a different butter in their refined or crude forms. Just be sure to keep the butters around 35%.
You can skip the MT-50 Vitamin E & just add the 1% back into the other ingredients. I took 1% out of the shea butter originally but feel free to add that 1% back however you want, just leave the beeswax amount alone.
If you wanted to make this a vegan formulation, you could switch out the beeswax for candelilla wax. You will have to play around with the exact ration but aim for 80% less candelilla wax than beeswax
Avoid using this stick balm on any deep puncture wounds as you may run the risk of infection. Minor scrape are alright.