How to Make Your Own Beard Balm - In Bulk! | Infinity Jars

Is your beard looking scraggly and unkempt? No need to shave it off! Learn how to make your own beard balm, as well as how Infinity Jars can help you keep your balm fresh and potent.

But why, you may ask, would you ever make beard balm in bulk? Several reasons; the first of which is that DIYs can be a fun, educational experience -- or, at least, you’ll learn the limits of your patience and you’ll get to clean the mess up afterward! However, if you’re the type who’s not exactly a menace in the kitchen, this particular DIY can actually be quite simple and fun to do.

Another reason is that it’s practical. If you’ve been blessed with a thick, lush beard, making a batch of beard balm that can last years can save you a decent amount of money as well as trips to the store. You can also portion out a batch of beard balm into small containers and give homemade, preservative-free, and all-natural beard balm to your bearded friends and family. If you have a more entrepreneurial side to you, you can also sell this balm by the jar.

Core ingredients

Beard balm is made up of four core ingredients: beeswax, a type of butter, a type of carrier oil, and an essential oil. Each of these ingredients perform specific functions, and without one, your beard balm won’t work. So what are these ingredients exactly, and what do they do?

1. Beeswax

Beeswax is what gives the balm its hold -- and as a bonus, it can provide vitamin A as well. The important thing to remember about beeswax is that you should make sure not to go overboard with it. If you use too much, your beard might end up too stiff, like you styled it with that glue that kindergarteners eat.

2. Butters

Typically, you have two choices of butter for making beard balms: shea butter and cocoa butter. If beeswax is what gives the balm its hold, the butters are what make the balm easily spreadable. Other than spreadability, however, these butters can also provide vitamins and help reduce itchiness.

While these are the typical butters, you can also choose to use mango butter. Mango butter can make the balm feel and function less like wax, and it can also help moisturize your skin. It’s best to delve deeper into each butter to figure out which one you prefer.

3. Carrier oils

There are a lot of carrier oils you can use, like jojoba oil, almond oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, and more. No two carrier oils are the same, and each can offer a specific set of benefits for your beard and skin. For example, jojoba can help improve oily skin and hair. Make sure that the carrier oil you use can help you with a specific issue you have.

If you’re selling or gifting the balm, you can make smaller batches and use a different carrier oil per batch so you can have balms with different benefits and functions.

4. Essential oils

Essential oils are actually another reason that carrier oils are important. Essential oils are the highly concentrated extracts of various plants, so they can be quite irritating to the skin. Carrier oils dilute essential oils and make them safer to use.

An essential oil can also provide your balm with its scent, as well as other additional properties. When it comes to beard balm, a single essential oil will do. If you plan on using more than one type of essential oil, make sure that the scents go together well. You should also make sure not to use too much of the essential oils to keep the scent subtle and pleasant.

Tools of the trade

Of course, these ingredients aren’t the only things you’ll need. You’ll also need some things that will help you make sure that you put these ingredients together the right way.

Cooking vat/pot
Kitchen scale
Metal spoon
Wax paper
Jars to store your balm in

One thing that’s important to remember is that most of the things you’ll use to make your beard balm should not be used for food. Thus, you should use a vat or pot that you have no need for in food preparation. The metal spoon, which you’ll use to stir the ingredients, should also no longer be used with food.

Making your beard balm

If this is your first time making beard balm, it’s best not to make things too complicated. Once you’re more familiar with how the ingredients work, the ingredient proportions that work best for you, and which scents you prefer, you can take your production techniques up a notch. However, for now, let’s stick with a simple recipe that’s sure to work.

Ingredients:

70g beeswax
100g shea butter
20ml jojoba oil
20ml grapeseed oil
3 drops cedarwood essential oil

What you should do:

Measure out all of your ingredients before you start mixing them together. This way, you can simply add each ingredient to the mixture with no trouble.
Place your pot over very low heat. Add in the beeswax and the shea butter, stirring occasionally. Make sure that the mixture never boils -- not at any point in the cooking process. Wait for the beeswax and butter to completely melt.
Once both ingredients have melted, add the jojoba oil and the grapeseed oil. Stir until the oils have mixed thoroughly with the beeswax and butter.
Stir in the essential oil drops right before you spoon the balm into the waiting jars. Don’t put on the lid right away so you can let the balm cool down for about 12 hours before putting on the lid.
Take the wax paper and form a sort of tent or cone. Put these cones over the jars, making sure that none of the balm is exposed. This can keep condensation from forming as the heat in the balm dissipates while protecting the balm from dust or bugs.

Finishing up

This batch can fill up more than three 60ml cosmetic screw top jars from Infinity Jars. These jars are made of ultraviolet glass, which can protect organic materials from light rays that can promote degradation. Since this beard balm is made of all-natural ingredients and can last you for quite a while, it’s best to keep it in containers that can extend its freshness.

Usually, beard balms are kept in aluminum tins. This is because the hot balm can melt plastic and shatter glass as it’s poured in. However, the jars and bottles of Infinity Jars are durable enough to withstand this kind of heat.

You can adapt the recipe above to make a bigger or smaller batch of beard balm. Depending on how long and thick your beard is, you’ll need only a little of the balm for every use. You also likely won’t be using the balm every day. Thus, a batch can last you quite a while. This means that using ultraviolet glass jars is even more important, since you’d want the vitamins and nutrients in your beard balm to still be potent even after months or years.