Matcha Lip Balm

Okay, so I said I would post about some of the crafty stuff I am working on...

...so here is a post about MATCHA LIP BALM!

Before I go into detail, I want to post a disclaimer about this "experiment." I did not pull this recipe from the internet - I looked at a bunch of different recipes, gathered different ingredients, and experimented to find a concoction that suited me. The resulting concoction works more as lip gloss than balm, and I have not yet perfected the recipe to my satisfaction. I am calling it lip balm because it does indeed soothe lips (and I would know because my lips get a little cracked in the winter). So far I have not experienced any weird side effects. The matcha I used is the highest-grade matcha, completely organic, and most of the other ingredients I bought at Hobby Lobby. The Cherry Blossom essential oil I bought on Amazon for $4.00.

These are the ingredients I used: shea butter, coconut oil, petroleum jelly, cherry blossom essential oil, and matcha powder from Steeped Tea. For containers I just grabbed a package of round containers from Hobby Lobby's jewelry department.

If you're wondering, "why matcha?" I have only to say that matcha - which is a powdered form of green tea - is extremely healthy, not only for ingestion but for skin care as well!

I had no idea how much of anything to use. That's how disorganized I am! I just thought I'd throw things together and see how it turned out.

I unfortunately have no pictures of the ingredients mixed together. My hands were constantly oily/buttery. Plus, I'm lazy like that. But I have a picture of the end result!

I wrote down the formula so I would remember for a later time. This balm was smooth (and a little too oily) and refreshing on my lips, and lasted for several hours. It also produced a nice shine! The concoction settled nicely and was in no way "watery." I was dissatisfied with it, though, because it felt more like lip gloss and less like actual lip balm.

Apparently I needed beeswax.

So I went out and got some, but seriously, every attempt with the beeswax resulted in too stiff a balm - it was more like a matcha candle. So I need to adjust my ingredient amounts, which hopefully will give me the balm I seek.

My experiments were cut short by the baby's demands for attention, but I learned a lot from my day of experimentation, and hopefully I will have a chance in the future to develop the matcha lip balm of my dreams!