consistency of salve

[3bees~1flower]

i was wondering what kind of consistency you like your salve? i have made my first batch and have had to dump it out of the containers 3-4 times because it is too runny. i want it a little softer than carmex (the kind in the little jar)....is there a formula of some kind for consistency? i had a little over a 1/2 c oil and have put in way more than 1/4 c beeswax and it still seems too runny. there is also cocoa butter and lanolin in it along with some eo's and wheat germ oil. any suggestions would be great!!

[Marco Esquandolas]

Hmmm, this is tough for me to b/c I'm doing too many conversions in my head. I try to keep it all the same-be it measuring by parts or by ounces. So you are using 4 oz of oils to 2 oz of beeswax? That seems like it should be approx the right amounts. Did you prep this in a double boiler? I do my stuff in a double boiler (or two pots that'll fit together to create that effect). Once everything is fully melted together, depending on what I'm making, I can either pour it directly into containers or I'll hand whip it to get it creamy and then pour in containers. You can easily leave your mixture in the double boiler and just pour a dash onto a spoon and let it harden to see if you have your consistency right. Once you have desired consistency, then pour out the rest into your containers. I like my lip balms to be softer than my solid perfumes and my bum balms to be kinda in the middle-not too hard, but not too soft. Before I go blah'ing away, why don't you just add another oz or two of beeswax to further harden it up. I have actual conversions from batches I've made somewhere....will go look for my book. Off the top of my head, I think I used to use one oz of beeswax to 1/2 c or more of all oils (and distilled water, if it called for it) combined. I count all 'liquids' together and use them in a 2:1 or 3:1 ratio to beeswax parts. Lemme go dig up my book b/c I could be talkin right out my tail.