Three Tips on Using Clay in Balms
This past winter has been all about skin-loving balms in my lab.
I've been working on a few melt-and-pour less-is-more formulas to see how minimalistic it is possible to get without sacrificing function (or luxury factor).
This kind of create-the-perfect-synergy 'roots' formulating has become a bit of an obsession. It's both fun and educational all at once, and you can't help but get real up close and personal with every aspect of every ingredient in a formula.
So let's talk about clay!
It can seem a little odd to add clay to an anhydrous product, but there is a purpose.
No, two.
- to help cut the greasy feel
- to tint the product with a natural colorant
My color goal with this balm: a light, baby's-breath barely pink.
Above are the ingredients: 2 butters, oil, e-vitamin and 'rose' clay (a blend of kaolin and red illite).
It took a few batches to learn how much clay is needed to color a balm.
Which brings me to the first tip.
Tip One - Less is Enough
If the clay is purely added as a colorant – use less than you might expect.See that bowl up there? That portion of clay will give a deep rose – it is about 6 times more than I needed to create a delicate pink.
Need a certain amount of clay overall in your formula and don't want a darkly colored product? Mix your colored clay with kaolin until you have the desired shade.
Tip Two - Don't Panic
If you add clay the moment your butters have melted (and temperature is at its highest), the color will turn much much darker than you expect. Don't panic. The color lightens up again as the product cools.Trying to create a very specific shade? Make a few small batches and keep copious notes on the amounts of clay you add to each one. Wait until the balm has cooled completely before adjusting the amount of clay.
Tip Three - Take Your Time
For even color throughout, don't pour up too early.Pictured above: what happens to impatient people who pour into containers too early.
To avoid streaky bits of clay residue settling at the bottom, stir your balm gently until trace. Then pour up.
Comments
@Ola - bacteria needs water in order to grow and develop. These are anhydrous balms. :)
20g Raw Organic Shea Butter
8g Raw Organic Yellow Beeswax
8g Organic Jojoba Oil
5g Organic Argan Oil
1g Vitamin E Oil
1sp Kaolin Clay
We melted everything expect the clay(on stove for about 30min total time)...turned off the stove, stirred it then added the clay and stirred again.
Placed in the fridge for about 30min...took out...then placed in a dark room over-night.
Thank you for each and every tip you give
As always amazing
I used kaolin clay , it didn’t dissolve completely when looked carefully it’s shows white speaks
What do I do to avoid this ?
I am struggling to get perfect blue
So I added blue tansy and white kaolin clay
How do I get thise two issues covered
Thanks a lot
Thank you for each and every tip you give
As always amazing
I used kaolin clay , it didn’t dissolve completely when looked carefully it’s shows white speaks
What do I do to avoid this ?
I am struggling to get perfect blue
So I added blue tansy and white kaolin clay
How do I get thise two issues covered
Thanks a lot
Adding clay to a balm take a little practice as clay won't dissolve at all. The trick is to disperse it evenly so you need to keep stirring right up until pouring and not pouring up too hot. :)
I recently purchased your natural balms book , I have a question regarding one of your recipe that incorporates Glycerol with anhydrous balm ,can we just add glycerol without emulsifier ? I would like to use strawberry glycerol into my lip balm .
Thank you.
I´m a bit nervous to use clay do to the reason that it attracts water and I´m worried that my products will not be safe to use. Do you have a max % of clay you can use in a anhydrous product and it will be safe to not attract too much water and still be safe?
Thank you for your lovely blog :-)
percentage of clay (under 1%) if you are worried about it. You can also have the balms tested when you have found the amount you prefer in your formula . Best of luck with it!