A warning

[kitchenwitch.livejournal.com]

I notice that lots of people are making lip balm lately. Here's a warning about certain essential oils.

Be very careful when using citrus essential oils (orange, lemon, lime, grapefruit, tangerine, etc.). They contain a chemical that reacts with sunlight and can cause your skin to burn, which would be especially painful on the lips. Using it in small amounts combined with other essential oils (such as peppermint) will give you a little bit of sweetness and won't do any harm as far as I've found. However, it's best to avoid their use in products that will be left on the skin. Using them in cold process soap, as far as I've been able to tell, either reduces this effect or enough of the oil is washed off so that it doesn't do any damage. I'm not sure if melt and pour would yield the same results, since the soap doesn't get as hot. Heat might help "damage" the oil's effect.

You're now returned to your regularily scheduled programming.