Make Your Own Lip Balm

Make Your Own Lip Balm | Homemade Recipe | The Old Farmer's Almanac

Overview:

In this experiment, students will learn about how chemicals in beauty products affect our health and alternatively, using more natural products can create less waste and is more beneficial for the environment. They will explore these concepts by creating their own lip balm.

Time: 

30-40 min

Lesson Materials:

*You can use the document in the link below to either: tailor the experiment to your needs or to have a printable version of this lesson plan*

Make Your Own Lip Balm Lesson Plan

The plan is editable and printable. Copy the Google Doc in your own drive and make edits or you can just print.

Make Your Own Lip Balm Lesson Video:

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this experiment, students will be able to:

  • Identify harmful chemicals on ingredient lists in beauty products.
  • Explore all-natural alternatives and their benefits to our bodies.
  • Identify ways to eliminate waste in beauty products
  • Expand knowledge on how to better the environment through local sourcing.
  • Create homemade lip balm. 

Materials Needed:

  • Coconut Oil
  • Shea Butter
  • Beeswax
  • Glass measuring cup and pot to melt mixture on the stove
  • Tin or jar to store the final product
  • Essential Oils (optional)

Experimental Methods:

Part 1, Day 1, 8-12 hours before beginning or Preparation

  1. Make sure all of the ingredients have been purchased and are ready to use.

Part 2, Day 2

  1. Start the experiment by adding each ingredient into a glass measuring cup. 
  2. Ask students what they predict will happen after applying heat to the properties of the components as they begin to form a new substance mixture.
  3. Now that all the ingredients have been added to the measuring cup, place the measuring cup in a pot over the stove and heat water in the pot to create a boil.
  4. Once the mixture turns from a solid to a liquid, remove it from the heat and let it cool.
  5. After the mixture has cooled, pour into individual tins or jars. As quickly as possible otherwise the mixture will start to solidify. 

Deep Thinking Questions:

  1. Why is it beneficial to make your own lip balm?
  2. How am I reducing waste by making my own beauty products?
  3. Does local sourcing matter?
  4. Why does sustainability matter to the environment and our health?

Chemistry:

1.Why is it beneficial to make your own lip balm? It saves you money, and you’ll have extra ingredients to make multiple more sets of lip balm in the future. It doesn’t take that much time to make. It’s better for the environment and it’s nontoxic so you aren’t putting any harmful chemicals into your body that would get absorbed into your bloodstream. 

2.How am I reducing waste by making my own beauty products? The beauty industry’s amount of plastic packaging in the U.S. has increased by over 120 times with 70% of that waste piling up in landfills. Making your own products reduces plastic usage and chemicals that can harm your body.

3.Does local sourcing matter? Yes, local is best. It benefits the planet by cutting down on fuel emissions because it takes less fuel to transport goods than it would to transport them across the country or across continents. Plus the ingredients will be fresher and last longer. 

4. Why does sustainability matter to the environment and our health? It matters in order to have healthy communities, we need clean air, natural resources, and a nontoxic environment. All of these things start at home and the choices you make and what purchases you make with your money. Your money and where you spend it creates a demand. 

Society:

1. Creating sustainable beauty products directly affects our health as well as the planet by limiting waste, fossil fuels, and the use of toxic chemicals.

2. Teaching the youth to normalize making products at home vs. having to go out and buy everything is teaching them the importance of saving money and reducing plastic. 

3. It’s also a fun way to experiment and explore creativity. 

Logistics:

STEAM Subjects: 

Science (Chemistry) 

Science Vocabulary: 

Emulsifiers, Emollient, Substances, Compound Mixtures

References:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/04/beauty-personal-care-industry-plastic

https://www.opportunityfund.org/the-importance-of-sourcing-locally/#:~:text=Sourcing%20your%20products%20and%20materials,the%20country%20or%20across%20continents.

http://www.unthsc.edu/operations/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/Sustainability_Summary_Half_