Making Lip Balm in the Chemistry Classroom

I do not think of myself as a “crafty” person, so when I decided to have my students create lip balm and other DIY hair and skin products as part of a Chemistry project, I initially felt a little overwhelmed. However, not only was the process much easier than I originally thought, but I ended up gaining a new appreciation for making.

Beeswax, coconut oil, and shea butter melting in a double boiler.

The project started with all of my students creating lip balm. (I based the recipe I used off of this one from Katie Wells at Wellness Mama.) When I stayed after school one day to make the first batch on my own, I was surprised by how simple the process was. I was also surprised by the sense of pride I felt at making something as simple as lip balm by myself. I was excited to share this feeling with my students (and to figure out how to connect all of this making to the Chemistry curriculum) and so the next day it was my students’ turn to make their own lip balm.

The recipe we followed used beeswax, coconut oil, and shea butter. I also provided peppermint essential oil and a pink mica powder that students could use to add color or flavor as they wished. We used a pot on top of a hot plate with a mason jar inside in order to create a simple double boiler setup. I provided students with a modified version of the post linked above. I added the chemical formula for beeswax and the names of several chemicals found in shea butter (oleic acid and stearic acid). I did this because I wanted my students to think critically about the ingredients they were using. Often people will use words like “natural” or “chemical-free” to describe something as safe to use, and I wanted my students to be able to use their chemistry understanding in order to think critically about these kinds of claims.

Beeswax is an organic substance secreted by a gland in the bodies of worker bees. Beeswax contains many organic chemicals including palmitate, palmitoleate, and oleate esters. Applying beeswax to the skin can help to protect the skin by creating a barrier that can keep harmful irritants off of your skin. Beeswax is also a humectant, which means that it attracts water to keep your skin moisturized. Beeswax also helps to thicken the lip balm solution and hold it together. Since coconut oil melts at just slightly above room temperature and the beeswax is solid at room temperature, combining them allows the lip balm to be soft.

Shea butter is a fat (triglyceride) made of oleic acid and stearic acid. These compounds are extracted from the nut of the shea tree. Shea butter is soft and moisturizing, and a study published in the Journal of Oleo Science even found that it can have anti-inflammatory properties.

Coconut oil is similar to shea butter because it is also a fat derived from a nut. Coconut oil is excellent for moisturizing skin and hair and it can also help protect you from pathogens! One of the fatty acids found in coconut oil, lauric acid, has been shown to have antimicrobial properties.

Coconut oil and shea butter can often be found in cosmetics sections of grocery and drug stores near lotions or hair conditioning products. Beeswax can be purchased at hobby stores. We also used peppermint essential oil and rose mica for flavor and color respectively.

The recipe we used was as follows:

• 8.6g coconut oil

• 2.g beeswax

• 6.4g shea butter

Optional: 5 drops of essential oil, 1 gram of rose mica powder

Chemistry students put the finishing touches on a batch of lip balm.

We boiled water on hot plates while measuring each ingredient on a balance and combining them into a mason jar. Students added extra beeswax to make their lip balm firmer and more coconut oil or shea butter to make it softer. After about 5-10 minutes, the ingredients inside the jar would melt into a liquid and they would carefully remove the jar from the pan and add the essential oil and mica powder. They used plastic, disposable pipets in order to transfer their solution into the lip balm containers. After letting them dry for a few minutes, everyone had a few containers of lip balm to take home with them!

During this lesson, they also calculated the number of moles of beeswax they used and were asked to explain to a friend whether oleic acid should be used in lip balm or not. Now, my students are getting ready to create their own products and all of the recipes and instructions will be posted here! I am so proud of their creativity and I love seeing how every group is creating a unique product that they are excited about.