Do you want to make lipsticks and do you want to know the basic ingredients? If YES, here is a 5-step guide on how to make lipsticks with vaseline and crayons. In the cosmetic industry, a $35 luxury lipstick only costs about $2.50 to make. That’s a huge difference, and this is true across board. So many luxury cosmetic brands in the United States actually mark up their product 10 to 11 times.
Ingredients, on average, cost as little as $1; components (tubes, brushes, etc.) require just $0.70; assembly costs $0.38, and shipping runs just $0.10 a pop. But according to reports, most cosmetics products are always marked up so high because conglomerates aren’t just in the ‘sell you great makeup’ business.
Most of the companies in the business are in the lifestyle and brand business, and because cosmetics are so cheap to make, they use the opportunity to make 90% profit on the makeup they sell you in order to subsidize the rest of their business. There are so many fashion companies that use lipstick to pay for everything from really expensive brand campaigns, to unprofitable designer clothes, to the profits for the retailer that sells the makeup.
Basic Ingredients Needed to Make a Lipstick
One of the best and cheapest ways to make a new lipstick is by recycling old crayons. While many name-brand lipsticks contain a wide array of chemicals, lipsticks made from crayons are non-toxic, include a single ingredient, and can be done and arranged by you alone. Plus, producing customized shades can be lots of fun.
You don’t even need to use coconut oil. You could use mineral oil, Vaseline, or Shea butter. It just needs to be something that will make the finished product easier to spread. Coconut oil is good for moisturizing, and you probably already have some.
But if you don’t, Vaseline is becoming an ideal option in the industry due to its petroleum jelly content. Also, you may not even have to use the stove. You could probably warm this mixture up in the microwave, but keep a close eye on it.
Since there is no industry standard to lipstick size and container shape, there are no standard types of, or proportions for, ingredients used. Aside from the base ingredients (wax, oil, and antioxidants) supplemental material amounts vary greatly. The ingredients themselves range from complex organic compounds to entirely natural ingredients, the proportions of which determine the characteristics of the lipstick.
How to Make Lipstick with Vaseline and Crayons
Making lipsticks with Vaseline and crayons can be quite easy and can be done comfortably at home. The ingredients and equipment needed will include Crayon, Vaseline, Water, Tiny containers (for packaging or storage), a Pyrex glass bowl (for melting), and a Medium-sized pot or saucepan.
1. Heat Up Your Water
While you’re prepping the ingredients, it is advisable you start warming up the water. Pour one cup of water in a medium saucepan or pot, and heat on low. You want the water just above simmering but definitely not boiling. Once the water in the saucepan is boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low. You are working in small amounts, so your ingredients will melt faster. Using a lower temperature will prevent them from melting too fast.
2. Load up Your Mixing Bowl
Pick a crayon colour that particularly suits you, and remove the protective papers. You can do this by placing the crayon under warm, running water for a few minutes, then peeling the wrapper off. Or you can use a craft knife to score a shallow line down the length of the crayon and peel the paper off.
Ensure to dispose of crayon parts that were not covered by paper, as these parts may be tainted with germs, bacteria, or other crayon colours. Then hold the crayon between your fingers and snap it into smaller pieces. If you are having difficulties breaking the crayons, you can cut them using a sharp knife.
Breaking the crayon into smaller pieces will not only make it easier to melt, but will also make it easier to mix colours together. Next, you will want to add half a good amount of Vaseline. Place the bowl in your heated pot of water, but don’t let any of the water get into the bowl. The water is only there to heat up the oil and wax gently; so it doesn’t burn.
3. Melt the Vaseline and Crayons
You may want to use a toothpick to stir your melting crayon into the Vaseline. Continue stirring the ingredients until everything is completely melted. At this point, you can also add in additional ingredients, such as extracts or essences, or even some cosmetic-grade glitter. Once the crayon is completely melted and mixed in, take the bowl out of the pot using potholders. It will be hot.
4. Moulding
After the lipstick mass is mixed and free of air, it is now ready to be poured into the tube. You can choose to do this manually, but there are also varieties of machine setups used for this purpose. High volume batches are generally run through a melter that agitates the lipstick mass and maintains it as a liquid.
But for smaller, manually run batches, the mass is maintained at the desired mix temperature, with agitation, in a melter controlled by an operator. Note that you can pour the melted mass into a mold, which consists of the bottom portion of the metal or plastic tube and a shaping portion that fits snugly with the tube.
Lipstick is poured “up-side down” so that the bottom of the tube is at the top of the mold. Any excess is scraped from the mold. Once the lipstick is cooled (automated molds are kept cold; manually produced molds are transferred to a refrigeration unit) and separated from the mold, the bottom of the tube is sealed.
If this production is for business purposes, then it is now time for the lipstick to pass through a flaming cabinet (or is flamed by hand) to seal pinholes and improve the finish. After that, the lipstick is visually inspected for air holes, mold separation lines, or blemishes, and is reworked if necessary.
5. Labelling and packaging
Once the lipstick is retracted and the tube is capped, if it is for business purposes, then the lipstick is ready for labeling and packaging. Have it in mind that labels identify the batch and are applied as part of the automated operation.
Although there is a great deal of emphasis on the quality and appearance of the finished lipstick product, less emphasis is placed on the appearance of lipstick. Luxury lipsticks are always produced in an automated process (except for experimental or test batches). The heated liquid is poured into the tube in the retracted position; the tube is then capped by a machine—a far less laborious process.
Conclusion
According to industry data, lipsticks are the least expensive and most popular cosmetic in the world today. Crayon lipsticks are so very cheap to make and just need a few cheap ingredients to produce, even for the most luxurious brands of lipsticks.