I've never made it from a kit. I have purchased the tubes in bulk, and give them out at Christmas and many friends love it. You can purchase your own beeswax, Almond oil and Shea butter - check your local organic store to see if it would be cheaper. When I first started making mine, to try out recipes I purchased the tubes at Hobby Lobby (either when they were half off or with the 40% off coupon). Now you can get the tubes on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Balm-Tubes-Caps-Natural-Clear/dp/B006WBEGNI
So I would suggest checking prices before purchasing the kit. I personally don't like the jars of lip balm - I find sticking my fingers in it icky since I can't always wash my hands when I need balm.
To make about 20-25 tubes, I use the following recipe:
1.5 oz beeswax pearls
1 oz coconut oil (I use organic)
0.8 oz of almond oil (or sunflower, or grapeseed, or other oil)
15 drops of vitamin E oil
10 drops of essential oil (rosemary, peppermint, orange etc.)
Melt 1st 3 ingredients over very low heat, once melted add other oils and pour into tubes, let harden, then cover and label.
I find a small science beaker (about 150ml) is great for pouring these, well worth the investment.
To pour the tubes, it helps if you have something to hold the tubes in place. I use a piece of something like flowers are pushed into, and pushed about 20 tubes into it to make indentations to hold them. This helps keep them from falling over while you are pouring. I keep saying I'm going to take about a 1' 2"x4" and drill a bunch of holes in it with the drill press, but have never gotten around to doing so.
You will need a good scale also. I don't usually use shea butter in my lip balm. I have also sometimes added a little lanolin or honey (about 1/2 tsp), or titanium dioxide (for sun protection).
Dawn
