I am toying with the idea of making an aftershave balm, among the ingredients for consdieration is lanolin. From my understand it is more of a waxy goo than an oily substance. If so, is there anyway to melt it in order to mix it with a lotion base, witch hazel, etc?
Using Lanolin in creating an aftershave balm
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Anybody with experience in this?
I buy lanolin by the kilo and use it for waterproofing leather boots, oilskin clothing and as a hand moisturiser (fantastic if you have dry or cracked skin - particularly in winter).
Its consistency will vary depending on ambient temperature. In the sun on a hot day and it will melt to an amber liquid but normally it is like a soft sticky wax.
It is very easy to melt in a microwave (20 second bursts on the highest setting will melt lanolin in a plastic container very quickly) - the problem is incorporating it into a balm. Lanolin normally repels water like you wouldn't believe. This can make it difficult to dissolve in anything containing water (e.g. witch hazel splashes are generally water, alcohol and a witch hazel plant extract). However it will mix easily with warmed fats and oils.
In saying this though, you can create an emulsion with lanolin (a similar principle as mayonnaise) and hold it in suspension. The problem is keeping the emulsion stable and stopping the lanolin and water separating out (for example this can happen if the mixture gets to warm on a sunny day).
This site has some interesting information about lanolin and an example of a DIY hand cream which involves creating an emulsion.
Its consistency will vary depending on ambient temperature. In the sun on a hot day and it will melt to an amber liquid but normally it is like a soft sticky wax.
It is very easy to melt in a microwave (20 second bursts on the highest setting will melt lanolin in a plastic container very quickly) - the problem is incorporating it into a balm. Lanolin normally repels water like you wouldn't believe. This can make it difficult to dissolve in anything containing water (e.g. witch hazel splashes are generally water, alcohol and a witch hazel plant extract). However it will mix easily with warmed fats and oils.
In saying this though, you can create an emulsion with lanolin (a similar principle as mayonnaise) and hold it in suspension. The problem is keeping the emulsion stable and stopping the lanolin and water separating out (for example this can happen if the mixture gets to warm on a sunny day).
This site has some interesting information about lanolin and an example of a DIY hand cream which involves creating an emulsion.
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