But that made me realize it's time to post another STEM activity here on my blog. School has started again, so what better time to get your STEM on than with the start of a new school year? Below is how to make your own lip balm.
You may ask, what's lip balm got to do with science, but the answer is straightforward: make up companies hire scientists, engineers, and doctors. STEM professionals are needed for creating the make up formulas, adding/manufacturing the chemicals (or natural elements) in the make up, and testing the products.
Just look at the ingredients of any make up product, and you'll see compounds, minerals, and chemicals, the basis of chemistry right there on the label. Read on to learn more and to have fun creating your own lip balm!
Title: Make Your Own Lip Balm in 5 Steps
Author: Suzie Olsen at momeesuzee@gmail.com
Materials Needed:
- Pot
- Pyrex measuring cup
- Measuring Spoons
- Whisk
- Water (for pot)
- Chapstick/ Lip Balm
Containers (To-Go Condiment Containers work too)
- Pot holder/hot pad
Ingredients:
- 3 tsp of Bees Wax
- 4 tsp of Cocoa Butter
- 5 tsp of Sweet Almond Oil
- 2 tsp Shea Butter
- 1/2 tsp honey
- Optional natural fragrance
oil and food coloring
Instructions:
1. Use a stove and
the pot to boil some water. As a safety
precaution, check with your parents or guardians first before using the stove
top to boil the water.
2. Add the Bees Wax, Cocoa Butter, Shea Butter, and Sweet
Almond Oil in Pyrex cup. Put the Pyrex cup into the boiling water; this
technique is called a “double broiler.”
3. Mix the ingredients in the Pyrex cup with a whisk until completely
melted. When completely melted, add the honey.
4. Use the pot holder and take the Pyrex cup out of the pot.
Pour the melted ingredients, which will be a liquid, into lip balm containers.
5. Wait fifteen minutes for lip balm to harden and cool.
Optional experiment:
Add natural fragrance oil of your
liking between steps 4 and 5 to flavor the lip balm. Extracts used for baking, like vanilla and
peppermint, can be used to flavor the lip balm as well. To color the lip balm,
add a few drops of food coloring; gel food coloring will have a stronger color,
while liquid food coloring will be more pastel.
Play mix and match with flavors and colors.
Fun facts relating to lip balm:
Chemical engineers can become cosmetic chemists using the
knowledge of chemistry and the methods of engineering to extract, create and design
new compounds and make-up. Engineers are problem solvers and can be given the
task to find better anti-wrinkle cream or a more glossy lip balm.
Women in Ancient Egypt used crushed insects and toxic
seaweed paste to redden their lips, whilst the Mesopotamians used the dust of
semi-precious jewels and fish scales to add color and luster.1
The primary ingredients found in lipstick are wax, oil,
alcohol, and pigment. The wax used usually involves some combination of three
types—beeswax [just like we used], candelilla wax, or the more expensive
camauba. Wax enables the mixture to be formed into the easily recognized shape
of the cosmetic.2
Some lipsticks also intentionally contain skin irritants
such as capsaicin, the molecule responsible for the heat in chili peppers, to
cause temporary swelling of the lips and give a ‘lip-plumping’ effect. 1
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