Berry Wax experiments

I am a long time fan of using raw beeswax in my skin care, in particular balms. Sourced from a local beekeeper it is a rich gold colour, with a honey like aroma. But always willing to try something new, lately I have been experimenting with different vegan waxes. Which leads me to Berry wax.

Before I get into the experiments with Berry wax let me introduce you to some facts about it. Berry wax (INCI Rhus verniciflua peel cera) has a light creamy colour with a low melting point - 48-54C. Mainly composed of esters, it gives a velvety feel to formulations.

Being a wax with a lower melting point to my favourite Beeswax which has a melting point of 62-64C, it isn’t suitable on its own for a lip balm formulation which will be going in a tube for portability and ease of use. Starting with a base formulation I combined it with different ratios of beeswax /berry wax/lipids to test out its firmness as a co-wax. The lipid I chose for this particular experiment was a gorgeous orange infused olive oil. I love to support Australian companies whenever possible and came across this gem. It has a strong orange aroma which I love.

Some notes on the different batches. Each time the amount of Shea butter 26%, Castor oil 11.5% and berry wax 8% stayed the same. The only changes made were to the different ratios of beeswax and orange infused olive oil.

Batch 1 -

44% Orange infused olive oil 

10% Beeswax

THE RESULT:

A soft salve like texture, very similar to using Cera Bellina wax in an ointment formulation

Batch 2 -

42% Orange infused olive oil

12% Beeswax

THE RESULT:

A more firm salve, but still too soft to place in a tube. Would work well as a softer lip salve in a balm tin or perfect for rubbing into dry skin as a traditional salve/balm.

Batch 3 -

40% Orange infused olive oil

14% Beeswax

THE RESULT

Pretty much a standard lip balm texture, able to go in a twist up tube.

I am enjoying playing with Berry wax, so look out for more experiments coming soon. If you have used Berry wax before would love to hear from you. Always enjoy seeing how others use products