Cosmetic Science: Testing Lip Balm Recipes

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Abstract

Did you know that cosmetics companies employ teams of specialized scientists to develop and test each new line of makeup, perfume, lotion, or soap? This science project lets you be the cosmetics scientist. You will create your own lip balm right in your kitchen using a short list of ingredients, then test it, and follow up with some creative cosmetics science of your own!

Summary

Areas of Science

Chemistry
Cosmetic Chemistry

Difficulty

Time Required

Average (6-10 days)

Prerequisites

None

Material Availability

This project requires a few special materials. See the Materials list for details.

Cost

Low ($20 - $50)

Safety

Minor injury is possible.

Credits

Sabine De Brabandere, PhD, Science Buddies

Thanks to volunteers at the Science Education Council at PPG industries for feedback and advice on this science project.

Sources

This project is based on a DragonflyTV episode.

Q-tips is a trademark of Unilever United States, Inc.

Objective

Create your own homemade lip balms, test your products quantitatively, and (optionally) evaluate costumer preferences.

Introduction

Believe it or not, the glamorous world of cosmetics and beauty products is actually based on serious science. Cosmetics companies employ teams of specialized scientists to develop and test each line of makeup, perfume, lotion, and soap. Their research leads to top-secret formulas that are carefully analyzed for safety, stability, performance, and customer appeal.

Cosmetics chemists choose from thousands of ingredients when they create new products, but they are always careful to select ones with chemical properties that enhance the look, feel, and use of the product they are making. For instance, no one wants lip balm to be too hard, which is why most homemade lip balm recipes call for some type of oil or butter. Oils are generally thick, viscous liquids at room temperature and are usually emollients, meaning that they soften and smoothen the skin. Butters are another kind of emollient; they are soft, but not liquid, at room temperature. On the other hand, a super soft, runny lip balm would be too messy, so waxes, like beeswax, which are solids at room temperature, are added to thicken the recipe. The "perfect" product means getting just the right ratio of emollients to waxes.

Oils, butters, and waxes are excellent ingredients for lip balms because they are occlusive agents, which means they create a physical barrier between the moisture in the lips and the outside environment. A "good" product creates a protective barrier with just one or two swipes across your lips. No one wants to go over their lips again and again before there is enough to adequately protect their lips!

What other properties do you like your lip balm to have? How about a fragrance? But be careful—no one wants a lip gloss that smells good, but tastes awful! This is another case where the chemist making the product needs to think about the properties (in this case, fragrance and flavor) of the ingredients they are using. Also, should the balm be stable and functional under cold and hot circumstances? What if people take it on a ski trip, or leave it in their car on a sunny day? The slipperiness and stickiness of a balm when applied with a specific pressure and speed is yet another parameter; scientists use machines to test these.

Are you curious about how you can replicate the process of creating and testing lip balm at home? Follow the Procedure in this science project and create four different lip balms, then put them to some rigorous quality tests. Maybe you would even like to call in a test panel to evaluate their preferences, and from there, who knows? You might come up with a recipe so good that you can use it for birthday and holiday gifts!

Terms and Concepts

Oil
Emollient
Butter
Wax
Ratio
Occlusive agent
Fragrance
Bain-marie
Qualitative data
Quantitative data
Random order

Questions

Why do people use lip balm? Can you relate these reasons to properties of ingredients typically found in lip balm?
What are emollients, and why would you use them in a lip balm?
How would you quantify or measure properties of lip balm?
Do some research online. Can you find scientific tests that commercial companies perform on lip balm?

Bibliography

Neudahl, G. (n.d.). Cosmetic Formulation Basics: What's in a Lip Balm and Why. Chemists Corner. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
Perry44. (2015, March 5). How Do Skin Moisturizers Work. Chemist's Corner. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
Castro, J. (n.d.). Cosmetic Chemistry. Chemistry Explained. Retrieved July 7, 2016.

Materials and Equipment

A project kit containing the specialty items needed for the lip balm is available for purchase from Amazon.com. You will need the following items from the kit:

Beeswax beads (30 g)
Shea butter (2 oz)
Sweet almond oil (2 oz)
Lip balm tubes (12)
Lip balm jars (4)
Wooden stirrers (6)
Labels to put on your tubes and jars

You will also need to gather these items (not included in the kit):

Glass measuring cups or small, heat-proof containers; at least 1 ½ inches high and about 1/3 cup capacity (4)
Soapy water and kitchen towel
Digital scale with 0.1 g increments. A digital scale that would be suitable (the Fast Weigh MS-500-BLK Digital Pocket Scale) is available from Amazon.com
Optional: Permanent markers, preferably 4 different colors.
Saucepan
Stove
Water

Additional items needed for testing:

Construction paper
Scissors
Medicine dropper or eye dropper
Timer
Cutting board
Paring knife
Metric ruler
Clean drinking glasses (4)
Oven
Pennies (12)
Refrigerator
Freezer
Glue
Bottle caps or small cups (4)
Coins for a total of about 60 g; such as 11 United States quarters or other small weights
Lab notebook

If you want to test your products on a test panel:

Cotton swabs (Q-tips®) or flat-edge toothpicks
Tissues
Volunteers (10 or more); Note: To find out how many volunteer subjects you need, check out the Science Buddies resource Sample Size: How Many Survey Participants Do I Need?.
- Important Notes:
  - Ask each volunteer if they have any allergies or sensitivities to makeup or lip sticks. If they do, do not use them as volunteers for your experiment.
  - For ISEF-affiliated science fairs, studies involving human subjects require prior approval. For more information, see Projects Involving Human Subjects.

Disclaimer: Science Buddies participates in affiliate programs with Home Science Tools, Amazon.com, Carolina Biological, and Jameco Electronics. Proceeds from the affiliate programs help support Science Buddies, a 501(c)(3) public charity, and keep our resources free for everyone. Our top priority is student learning. If you have any comments (positive or negative) related to purchases you've made for science projects from recommendations on our site, please let us know. Write to us at scibuddy@sciencebuddies.org.

Experimental Procedure

Making the Lip Balms

Ingredients	Recipe A	Recipe B	Recipe C	Recipe D
Beeswax	6 g	6 g	6 g	2 g
Almond oil	9 g	18 g	0	9 g
Shea butter	9 g	0	18 g	9 g
TOTAL	24 g	24 g	24 g	20 g

Table 1. Recipes for the four lip balms you will test in this project. The quantities listed will fill three sticks and one jar per recipe.

Show step-by-step instructions

Click through the slideshow for step-by-step visual instructions.

Testing the Water Seal

Lip balm is used to prevent the sensitive skin on our lips from drying out. This test will verify if a layer of lip balm can create a water seal. A good seal acts like a barrier and prevents moisture in the skin from evaporating.

Before you start, copy Table 2 in your lab notebook. It will help you record the data.

	Can The Lip Balm Create a Water Seal?
	Recipe A	Recipe B	Recipe C	Recipe D
Trial 1
Trial 2
Trial 3
% of Times a Water Seal is Created

Table 2. Table in which to record whether or not the lip balm can create a water seal.

Show step-by-step instructions

Testing Performance at High Temperatures

Occasionally, people leave their lip balm in the car on a sunny day, which is an environment that can get very hot. This test will examine which lip balm holds best under hot conditions.

Before you start, copy Table 3 in your lab notebook. It will help you record the data.

	Melting time in minutes when placed in an environment at 170° F
	Recipe A	Recipe B	Recipe C	Recipe D
Trial 1
Trial 2
Trial 3
Average

Table 3. Table in which to record the measured time between putting a lip balm sample in a hot environment and melting of the sample.

Show step-by-step instructions

Testing Stickiness at Different Temperatures

When you apply the lip balm, you want the balm to stick to the skin, regardless of the weather or ambient temperature. This test will quantify how well the lip balm sticks at room temperature, refrigerator temperature, and freezer temperature.

Before your start, copy Table 4 three times in your lab notebook: one for room temperature, one for refrigerator temperature, and one for freezer temperature. These tables will help you record the data.

	Stickiness of lip balms at ...temperature
	Recipe A	Recipe B	Recipe C	Recipe D
Trial 1
Trial 2
Trial 3
Average

Table 4. Table in which to record how long (in seconds) a sample of lip balm stuck to a penny can stick to a finger.

Show step-by-step instructions

For each recipe, cut off three 5 mm cylinders of lip balm from a stick, as shown in Figure 2 in the setp-by-step instructions of section Testing Performance at High Temperatures. Place these tiny cylinders on clean pieces of construction paper labeled with the recipe name.
Place one set of lip balm samples (this is one cylinder of each recipe) in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Place another set in the freezer for 1 hour and leave your last set out at room temperature.
Wash 12 pennies in soapy water, rinse, and let them dry.
Perform the stickiness test for your room-temperature sample:
1. Take one room-temperature sample to start with.
2. Press a penny lightly on top of the cylindrical sample, as shown in Figure 4.
3. Turn the paper over so the penny is resting on your workspace, with the sample on top.
4. Remove the paper and press a clean finger lightly into the lip balm sample. Keep the construction paper with the recipe name so you remember which recipe you are testing.
5. Start the timer as you lift up your finger. The sample and penny are now hanging from your finger, as shown in Figure 5.
6. Stop the timer when the sample falls. Repeat your test if the penny falls before the sample. If the sample with penny holds more than 90 seconds, you can stop and write "> 90 seconds" (indicating "more than" 90 seconds).
7. Note the time down in your data table under the correct recipe. Throw away your paper with the recipe name so no confusions arise when testing more samples.
8. Proceed with the next sample until you have tested all recipes.

Four circular pieces of lip balm on individual paper strips are pressed down onto the paper using a penny

Figure 4. Lightly press a penny on a sample. Note this set is marked with an 'R' for room temperature. For the other temperatures, you will only have one sample out of the cool area at a time.

A small piece of lip balm is pressed between a fingertip and a penny

Figure 5. The time a lip balm sample with a penny can stick to your finger is a measure of the stickiness of the lip balm.

Perform the stickiness test with your refrigerator set and freezer set. Be sure to take out one sample at a time and leave the samples you are not testing in the refrigerator or freezer.
This completes one trial. Repeat the steps 1–5 two more times for a total of three trials for each recipe.

Testing Yield at Room Temperature

Some lip balm sticks create complete coverage in one rub, while others need several rubs. Some sticks seem to last forever, while others are used up quickly. These are important characteristics of lip balm, and hard to quantify with home equipment. Why is it so hard to measure them scientifically? They depend on how you apply your lip balm: whether you press firmly or softly on your stick, or whether you rub fast or slowly over your lips. This test will compare the yield when one specific pressure is applied. Do your best to keep rubbing speed constant as well.

Note that the yield could depend on the roughness of the skin or paper used. Stick to one type of paper (such as one brand and weight of construction paper) for this test. The Variations explain how you can study the yield for various roughness of skin.

Before you start, copy Table 5 in your lab notebook. It will help you record the data.

	Yield Under Constant Pressure and Speed of Application
	Recipe A	Recipe B	Recipe C	Recipe D
Mass of Stick and Added Coins
	Number of Rubs to Create a Seal
Trial 1
Trial 2
Trial 3
Average
Rounded Average
	Number of Seals in 10 mm stick
Trial 1
Trial 2
Trial 3
Average

Table 5. Table in which to record the yield of a lip balm stick when applied with a specific pressure and speed.

Show step-by-step instructions

To keep the pressure constant as you test how the balms perform, you should first glue small cups or large bottle caps to the bottom of each lip balm test stick, as shown in Figure 6. The cups should be able to hold about 60 g in coins each.
Give it a try. Place coins (about 60 g) in the cup and position the stick next to a thick book (or the cardboard that comes with your kit). Rub the stick back and forth along the same line on the construction paper. Do not press on the stick, just push it forward or backward. Note: Some balms might be so soft they cannot carry this amount of pressure. Add "not applicable" in your data table for this test, with a note about why you could not apply this test to this recipe. As a variation, you can test how much pressure each stick can hold.

A bottlecap filled with coins rests on the top of a tube of lip balm

Figure 6. To keep the pressure constant as you test how the balms perform, add a mass to create the pressure. Then push the stick of lip balm forth and back over a piece of paper without pushing down. A book or cardboard can help hold the stick up.

The pressure applied is proportional to the mass of the stick with added coins. Weigh the lip balm stick with the cup and coins, and note the measurement down in your table next to "Mass of stick and added coins."
Take a new piece of construction paper and test how many rubs or streaks are needed to create complete coverage with the pressure created by adding coins. To do so, start by making a line with only one streak of lip balm. Then, next to it, add a second line in which you make one forward and one backward streak along the same line. Continue with creating subsequent lines of 3,4,5, ... rubs/streaks on the paper, as shown in Figure 7. Note down the minimal number of rubs from which you consistently get complete coverage (such as line 8—indicating 8 rubs—in Figure 7) in your data table. Some hints to perform a good test:
1. Always have enough balm out of the tube so the plastic tube does not rub against the paper.
2. Use the same type of construction paper throughout the whole test.
3. Do your best to keep the speed with which you move the tube back and forth the same throughout the complete test.
4. Complete trial 1 (test each lip balm recipe) before repeating the test for trial 2, and then trial 3.

Lip balm is streaked across a piece of paper eight times with the number of passes increasing for every streak

Figure 7. This picture shows the coverage created with a particular lip balm by an increasing number of rubs.

Calculate the average number of rubs needed to create complete coverage from your three trials. Round the average to the nearest whole number and register the results in your data table. You will use this knowledge to measure the number of complete coverages you can create with a 10 mm stick.
To measure the number of complete coverages in a 10 mm stick:
1. Have 10 mm of lip balm sticking out of the tube.
2. Look up the rounded average number of rubs to create a complete coverage for that recipe as determined in step 5. For this recipe, this will be the number of streaks you use for each line.
3. Make as many lines with complete coverage over the width of a construction paper as you can with the 10 mm of lip balm. Remember to use the same type of construction paper, the same added mass and the same speed of rubbing as used in step 4.
4. Count the number of lines you could make and write it down in your data table.
Repeat step 6, first for all four recipes, and then again for a second and third trial.
This test might yield additional qualitative data worth noting, like pieces chipping of. Consider creating an additional table with qualitative observations to collect observations you make during your quantitative tests.

Technical Note:

The pressure is the component of the force impacting at a right angle divided by the contact area. In this case, the force is the weight or the force by which the earth pulls on the stick. The contact area is, in this case, the circular area on which the stick rests; in other words, the cross-section of the lip balm stick. If you hold the stick up right while you apply the lip balm, the stick and the surface area are at a right angle. Can you calculate the pressure? Can you see that in this case, the pressure is proportional to the mass, as the contact area does not change in size? Note that as you use the stick, its mass will decrease a little, so the pressure will decrease slightly. This test does not take into account this small change.

Testing Customer Preference

Note Before You Start This Test: Make sure you are familiar with your science fair's rules about tests involving human volunteers. For suggestions and common rules, check out the Science Buddies resource Projects Involving Human Subjects.

Previous tests mainly provided quantitative data. The results were captured in numbers that can be analyzed statistically. This test will help you capture valuable qualitative data, like preferences or how volunteers rate the texture, smell, taste and appearance. The video in the Introduction shows an example. Jazi and Danielle used a test panel to study the look, feel (texture), taste, and overall performance of their products. You can also perform this type of test for three characteristics of your choice.

Before you start, make a table like Table 6 in your lab notebook. Feel free to switch the characteristics "Look," "Feel," and "Overall Performance" with the three characteristics you would like to test.

	Test Panel Results
Volunteer	Look	Feel	Overall Performance
1
2
3
...

Table 6. Table in which to record which lip balm recipe (A, B, C, or D) volunteers prefer, with respect to three characteristics.

Show step-by-step instructions

Analyzing Your Results

You collected a lot of data, now it is time to bring it all together. For help with data analysis and setting up graphs, check out the resource Data Analysis & Graphs.

For your quantitative data tests (these are the high-temperature performance, the stickiness tests, and the yield tests):

Calculate the averages of all three trials and write them down in your data tables.
Create bar graphs to represent your results. Put the lip balm recipes (A,B,C, and D) on the horizontal axis and the averages of the studied variable on the vertical axis.
Draw conclusions. What did you learn from this test? What do your measurements tell about the lip balms? How did changing an ingredient in the recipe influence the variable studied?

For your qualitative data tests (these are the water seal test and the customer preferences test):

Count how many times a particular answer ("yes" for the water seal, or A,B,C, or D for the customer preferences) was given.
To translate these total counts in percentages, divide this number obtained in step 1 by the number of trials for the water seal test or the number of volunteers tested for the customer preferences test. Multiply the obtained number by 100.
Write the percentage for the water seal test in the last row of that data table (see Table 2). Create a new table to list the percentages that a particular answer was given for the customer preferences test.
Represent the percentages in a bar graph, where you have the lip balm recipes (A,B,C, and D) on the horizontal axis and the percentage on the vertical axis. You will have one graph for the water seal test and three graphs (one for each characteristic tested) for the customer preference test. More advanced students can visualize the customer preference test data in 1 graph where different colors represent the different characteristic.
Draw conclusions. What did you learn from the test? What does that mean for the lip balms? How did changing an ingredient in the recipe influence the variable studied?

Overall Conclusions:

Can you draw conclusions from your study? Are there areas that need more study? Did your project bring about new questions?

Ask an Expert

Do you have specific questions about your science project? Our team of volunteer scientists can help. Our Experts won't do the work for you, but they will make suggestions, offer guidance, and help you troubleshoot.

Post a Question

Variations

This project lists four recipes. Search online for other recipes to test and try, or make your own recipe. You can also switch ingredients to different products from the same category, like switching almond oil to coconut oil. Use the things you learned from your background research to make your new recipes complete.
Perform the quantitative tests on commercial lip balms and see how these compare to your lip balms. Also compare the ingredient lists. Which ingredients are commonly added to commercial lip balms that are not in your lip balms? What is the function of these ingredients? How could you replace it in a homemade lip balm if you wish to do so?
Analyze the "shelf life," or stability, of your lip balms. After testing is completed, leave the lip balm samples out at room temperature, with their lids securely fastened. Carefully observe your lip balms each week and watch for signs of spoiling, such as changes in color, texture, or smell. Record your observations and note how long each sample remains stable. Research the preservatives and stabilizers used in commercial lip balms or cosmetics. Are there similar ingredients in your balms?
- Research the typical shelf life of cosmetics. Ask your friends and family how long they usually keep their makeup, soaps, or lotions. How many of them know or follow the manufacturer's guidelines?
This project studied the yield of the lip balm sticks when applied with one particular pressure and at one particular speed. Could you extend this study and see how yield changes with pressure and/or speed? You can also keep the pressure and speed constant, but study how the yield changes with roughness of surface by applying the test on paper with increasing roughness, or you can study how the yield changes with changing temperature.
Do research on rheology (the science of flow and deformation) and biotribology (the science of friction and lubrication related to humans or animals) and how these are used in skincare products. Can you reproduce scientific tests used in these disciplines on your products at home?
If you would like to test the moisturizing effect of the balms, check out the following project to get ideas of how this can be done: The Skinny on Moisturizers: Which Works Best to Keep Skin Moist?.
Create a different product like hand lotion or soap. Do some research to find how commercial products of this category are tested. Perform an at-home version of the tests on your products and/or do a customer preferences test.

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General citation information is provided here. Be sure to check the formatting, including capitalization, for the method you are using and update your citation, as needed.

MLA Style

De Brabandere, Sabine. "Cosmetic Science: Testing Lip Balm Recipes." Science Buddies, 17 Aug. 2023, https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/Chem_p022/chemistry/cosmetic-science-testing-lip-balm-recipes. Accessed 3 Dec. 2023.

APA Style

De Brabandere, S. (2023, August 17). Cosmetic Science: Testing Lip Balm Recipes. Retrieved from https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/Chem_p022/chemistry/cosmetic-science-testing-lip-balm-recipes

Last edit date: 2023-08-17

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Cosmetic Science: Testing Lip Balm Recipes

Abstract

Summary

Sources

Objective

Introduction

Terms and Concepts

Questions

Bibliography

Materials and Equipment

Experimental Procedure

Making the Lip Balms

Testing the Water Seal

Testing Performance at High Temperatures

Testing Stickiness at Different Temperatures

Testing Yield at Room Temperature

Testing Customer Preference

Analyzing Your Results

Ask an Expert

Variations

Careers

Related Links

News Feed on This Topic

Cite This Page

MLA Style

APA Style

Explore Our Science Videos