Monday 28 January 2013

"Lip balm addiction" does not exist

You lip balm people out there, you are addicted to a product that makes you need more lip balm! You are being charged a fortune at the same time, surprise, surprise!

I'll explain why you are addicted to the good shit later...


I live with someone addicted to lip balm, so I gave him the shea butter challenge. Let me fill your overpriced lip balm myself. Please note that a "decent" lip balm costs at least 7$ (or more if we are being real) 

You might also want to note that this huge brick of pure, natural, ecological, sustainable shea butter (beurre de karite in french) cost me $16.95 a few months ago. I love Bellapella products for this exact reason! http://bellapella.com 


So tonight I get to refill an empty lip balm container...

DISCLAIMER: The only flaw with this DIY (do-it-yourself) project is that the tube is (pardon the pun) "exit only"! Do not roll the tube out any further than you need because it don't go back in like those overpriced chemical laden thingys you all buy...


So to get the ball rolling, melt the shea butter on low low low, it will melt if you are not in a hurry. If you are in a hurry and ignore it, it will burn.


Patience, it dissapears eventually...


Once the butter has melted, take a teaspoon and slowly pour a quarter teaspoon at a time into the little tube and wait 5 minutes for the butter to cool. No I am not shitting you, a quarter teaspoon at a time!

 

On the first pour, no matter how much you pour in, the base will overflow, so you have to let it set and act as a sealant for the following pours. It does not hurt to put each layer in the freezer or out on the patio if you are currently living a Canadian winter!


Aside from wasting product, the other reason for the small pours is that all waxes have a pull factor when they cool, so you always get a whirlpool downward spiral in the middle like this! 


Small suck holes like this are okay but just filling the whole thing up will give you big air bubbles over a smooth surface instead of a solid lip balm stick. 


Funny thing happened, once I got one filled, suddenly there were 4 more empty ones on the counter to fill... I think I have a convert!

 

Even after filling all of them, there is lots left over to put on your hands, rub it all over wherever you need!


When you are all done with your rub down, you can even spill it back into the brick! When was the last time a beauty company sent you a sample of organic matter and said "oh, we over melted on your lip balm!"


So counting fast in my head, the amount I put in 4 lip balm tubes probably cost less than 50 cents (US or CAN, take your pick)

Once these tubes empty themselves, put them in the dishwasher for a couple cycles, all the extra residue and possible bacteria can get washed out this way.


If you are curious as to why lip balm is addictive, stop fast scrolling now... look at this lovely little tube of lip balm, it explains what it does not have (parabens) plus it even tells you the beneficial side effects from using it and how to use it... how thoughtful of them! After all, you are paying good money, they should tell you how you feel, save you the bother of thinking for yourself...


However, when I turn the tube once more to see the ingredients, my camera's 42x zoom lens starts to have some problems seeing clearly!


Only when I bring in the Hubble Telescope (aka my glasses, left eye) can I see what is written on the freaking little tube! 


As confusing as all of those ingredients may seem (and that is just touching the iceberg on the dangers of moisturizer) you only need to remember two simple rules that even your husband can remember!

ALCOHOL GOES IN YOUR GLASS AND PETROLEUM GOES IN YOUR CAR!

Rule number 1.

If it contains alcohol of any type, the final side effect is that it dries your skin. No matter how smooth it feels going on, and even later in the day, IT IS GOING TO DRY YOUR SKIN. You do your own research on your own skin products, you will be horrified.


Rule number 2. 

If it contains a petrolium product of any type, the final side effect is that it dries your skin. No matter how smooth it feels going on, and even later in the day, IT IS GOING TO DRY YOUR SKIN. You do your own research on your own skin products, you will be horrified.


So, I just spent 20 minutes producing 4 organic lip balms for less than 50 cents... the real benefit is that they are not addictive, they are actually beneficial! 

Don't tell me you don't have time to live better and healthier! You don't have time make these 4 things that took me 20 minutes to make the healthy way? Would you really prefer to spend over $20 to buy something full of toxins? The choice is yours.

1 comment:

  1. Now you have me scared. But,never mind, my lip balm is homemade. Cheryl makes it for me and sends me care packages. I'll ask her if she puts alcohol or petroleum in her tubes...

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