Ointment and balm making, part 3: Vegan options and butters

<To go back to Part 1 click here, for part 2, click here

Below you will find 3 methods: (the standard beeswax method 1 can be found on the previous page)

• Method 2: Vegan alternatives to beeswax

• Method 3: Using butters

• Method 4: Using butters to make packaging free, hard massage bars

Method 2: Vegan wax alternatives to beeswax

In ointment recipes, you can replace the beeswax with one of the following list. Bear in mind that beeswax is also a partial emulsifier so it gives a great texture hard to replicate with other vegan waxes. These are rough rules but may change per recipe. Use the tip box below to experiment with your ointments.

Beeswax has a melting range of 62 to 64 °C (144 to 147 °F), therefore if you replace it with a wax of a higher melting point, you usually need less. Beeswax is also an emulsifier so it makes ointments less ‘oily’ and more easy to absorb. In contrast, the following waxes do not have quite the same effect and feel oiler to put on. To counteract this, sometimes in recipes you will see lecithin (a waxy emulsifier added to counteract this and make a nicer ‘finish’ on the ointment.

• Candelilla wax obtained from the leaves of various Mexican and Texan species of Euphorbia antisyphilitica (syn. E. cerifera). The melting range is higher than beeswax is 68.5–72.5 °C (155.3–162.5 °F). A guide to using this wax is to use half the amount of beeswax in the recipe, i.e if a recipe says 10g beeswax, replace with 5g candelilla wax.

• Caranauba wax obtained from the wax found on the surface of Copernicia prunifera palm leaves, from Brazil. However, takes really high temperatures to melt so bear that in mind if using cold pressed oils. The melting range of carnauba is 82–86 °C (180–187 °F). A guide to using it is to use three quarters - half the amount of beeswax in the recipe, i.e if a recipe says 10g beeswax, replace with 5-7.5g carnauba wax.

• Sunflower wax is the most local (to British/Europeans) natural wax that is not made with chemicals to turn the oil into wax. It has a higher melting point than beeswax, 74-77°C (165-171°F), but in this case you actually need more… ratios coming soon.

• Soy wax is obtained from soy beans (Glycine max.). It has a melting point of 49–82 °C (120–180 °F)so you may need to use more to replace the beeswax.

• Other waxes - you may notice other waxes such as canola or olive waxes. These are pseudo waxes, but as they use chemicals to turn them into waxes, it is not something we have used.

• Butters. See below, but to some extent, you can use cocoa or shea butter, but you will need much more. Butters have a lower melting point than waxes which means they are less stable and more likely to melt in hot weather. If you want to use butters, see ratios in Method 3 below.

Method 3: Using butters (vegan)

As said before, butters have a lower melting point than waxes which means they are more susceptible to melting under hot conditions like in your pocket or in hot weather. But they do make excellent moisturisers for skin care.

To use butters, melt them, infuse with your herb of choice (See infused oils pages), strain and measure. The use the following ratios to make a softer ointment.

• Cocoa butter, melted and mixed with up to 50% oil (i.e. up to 50 ml oil mixed with 50 ml of melted cocoa butter).

• Shea butter mixed with up to 20% oil (i.e. up to 20 ml oil mixed with 80 ml shea butter).
  
  

To make these basic vegan balms herb-infused, check out the instructions on our infused oils page.

Method 4: Hard massage bars

If you want a packaging free, moisturising massage bar, use the following ratio to create a solid version.

• Melt together 50% cocoa butter and 50% shea butter

To infuse butters with herbs, use the same method as found in the infused oil section.