the salty caramels are not just lip service!

So...when I get excited, I get crafty!  I have been wanting to try my hand at making lip balm for some time now.  If the Steeldrivers' show is so lip-smacking good that you feel em' a-crackin' then come find us (we'll probably be shakin' it in the front somewhere)!  

This was so much simpler than I expected.  I ordered some beeswax from Ebay and paid a visit to Grandview's Earth Elements since I like to shop local whenever possible. They were so helpful!  The sweet lady mixed my sunflower and apricot kernel oil all in one container with the essential oils we picked out after some major sniff testing.  Since I am obsessed with cooking with olive oil, that was one ingredient I didn't need. I tried to get as close to caramel as possible with tonka bean and bitter almond.  It smells delicious and feels so soft on your lips with the cocoa and shea butter!  

---

All it took was a little mixing and melting!  I recruited my eager and creative stepdaughter to help me.  We melted all of the solid fats in a pyrex container in the microwave in one minute intervals until it was liquid and then combined the other ingredients.  One everything is mixed together you simply pipette the liquid into the lip balm containers and wait for them to harden.  I left mine overnight.  Such a fun and easy project!

I had a good time designing the labels but probably had the best time shrink-wrapping the tubes.  You buy the plastic already cut for the tubes and use a hairdryer to melt them on!  It is so cool...but then again I am very easily entertained by simple things. 

I can't wait to experiment with more flavors!  Maybe we will actually put salt in the next batch of Salty Caramel lip balm.  Who doesn't want a little exfoliation, right?!

---