With the recent addition of Beet Root Powder to our line of Herbs, we received a great question from one of our readers. She wanted to know how Beet Root Powder would compare to Alkanet Root Powder when infused in Lip Balm. Inspired by her question, I experimented with our Lip Balm Base Kit and an assortment of Tinting Herbs.
For my experiment, I combined 1/2 ounce of Lip Balm Base with 1/8 teaspoon of each Powdered Herb, and heated the mixture in a double boiler for about 5 minutes each. Warming the Base for longer could result in a more intense color for some of these Herbs. As you can see, the Alkanet Root Powder yielded a deep red, while the Beet Root Powder yielded a softer purple. Cranberry Fruit Fiber was the least effective, only achieving a slightly orange pink. Paprika Powder, Turmeric Powder, and Oat Straw Powder created very intense colors. While these balms hold a bright color in their containers, they are likely to fade overtime, and will not add much color to the lips. However, their bold colors do make a great impression! For my experiment, I simply added the Herbs to the Base. Since the Herbs don’t dissolve in oil, they collected on the bottom of each container. A better way to do this, would be to infuse the liquid portion of Oil in your Lip Balm recipe with your chosen Herb prior to adding it to the Lip Balm mixture. You can strain the Herb Powder from the warmed Oil using a cheesecloth or fine mesh strainer.
I love those colors! Great fun for little kids, especially since they don’t actually add much color to the lips. 🙂
That is a great idea. Matched with some yummy Flavor Oils these could be a big hit with kids. These bright colors can also be toned down by adding a lower rate of Herb to the mixture.
Check out this nice purple that I get with Lithospermum root:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=19938609
Thanks for telling me about Lithospermum root. I’ve never worked with that ingredient, but I’ll have to check it out!
These are some really awesome lip balms. The best part is that they are based on herbs. Thanks for such a nice informative posting. 🙂
I’m glad you enjoyed this post. I hope you have fun experimenting with these fun colors!
I have an odd question! (I’m a writer). I’d like a character, a healer, to be able to make “paint” using ingredients she might have with her. The paint would not need to last long, just long enough to leave a sign to someone following behind. But it would need to be bright enough to catch someone’s eye who wasn’t looking for it. Any suggestions?
Hi Kathleen, There are many herbs that are brightly colored enough to use for the kind of purpose you are envisioning. The first that would come to mind for me would be Turmeric Powder. Turmeric is very, very bright orange/yellow, and stains many kinds of surfaces easily, but not usually permanently. Another good choice might be Parsley or Oat Straw Powder, which are very deep green, or Beet Root or Paprika Powder for red. Perhaps the character could create a kind of paint by mixing one of these powdered herbs with a simple, white clay, such as Kaolin?
Thank you so much! Do you happen to know whether any of those has medicinal uses? (I can look it up if you dont know off the top of your head).
To: kathleenoneillvt@hotmail.com
From: notify@sixapart.com
Actually, I would guess that most of them have been used in folk medicine of some kind or another. It would certainly be worth looking into.
Hello –
I used the beet root powder but it was gritty? Not sure what I did wrong? Has this happened to you before?
Hi Teresa. There are a couple of reasons why a lip balm might be gritty. First of all, if there is a lot of herb powder in the final product that could cause a gritty texture. Generally herb powders either sink or float in a melted balm, but sometimes they disperse more evenly. To avoid grittiness in the final product, try infusing the oils on their own before making the lip balm, then straining them through a fine mesh strainer or a cheese cloth. Another thing that can sometimes cause a gritty texture is the butter. Some butters, most notoriously Shea and Mango, can crystallize after being melted. The butters must be heated to 175 degrees before use to melt the crystals fully.
Do you have any tips for adding beet root powder? I am trying to use it to colour my lip balm but I can’t get it to mix at all. I have tried adding it to melted beeswax and oils and also infusing it to the oil first before adding to wax. Neither way is working for me.
The Beet Root Powder we previously carried benefited from a longer oil infusion. We recommend letting your warm oil steep for about 2 hours for a darker shade. If you are using a different beet root powder you may need to reach out to that vendor directly for their usage guidelines. Best of luck testing!