Lip balm has no water in it, so nothing grows in it the way it would in a lotion; what ends its shelf life is the oils going rancid, slowly, over a year or two. Shea butter can also turn grainy, and a tube left in a hot car melts and sets again with a different texture. Vitamin E slows the rancidity; it isn't a preservative, and lip balm without water doesn't need one. In the example below, a Pennsylvania apothecary's sealed tubes passed every test through day 720, and they're dated 540 days from the batch, a 25% margin. Below is what ends lip balm's shelf life, how storage changes it, the study, the date on the tube, and a free template.
The short version
- Lip balm's oils go rancid over a year or two.
- Shea butter can turn grainy after melting and cooling slowly.
- Vitamin E slows rancidity; it isn't a preservative.
- No water, no preservative needed.
- Run a real-time stability study and leave a margin.
- Print a batch code and a date; a period-after-opening symbol too.
- TaroStack gives every batch its date from the shelf life you set. More below.
What ends its shelf life
| What ends it | What happens | What slows it |
|---|---|---|
| Rancidity | Oils oxidize; crayon-like smell | Fresh oils, used oldest first; vitamin E; cool storage |
| Graininess | Shea butter recrystallizes into gritty bits | Temper the shea; cool the tubes quickly after pouring |
| Melting | Softens and sets again in a hot car | "Keep away from heat"; a firmer recipe for summer |
| Flavor fading | Peppermint and other oils fade | Sealed tubes; cool storage |
What goes on the tube is in cosmetic labeling requirements, and what MoCRA asks of a small maker in mocra small business.
How it's stored
| Stored | In the example's tests | On the label |
|---|---|---|
| Sealed tube, room temperature | Passed every test through day 720 | Dated 18 months from the batch |
| Opened, carried in a pocket | Not part of the study | Period after opening: 12 months |
| Left in a hot car | Melted and grainy after one afternoon in a side study | "Keep away from heat" |
The period-after-opening symbol is a convention from European labeling that many American makers use too; it tells the customer how long after opening, not from the batch.
An example: a shelf life study
Elder & Oak Apothecary, the made-up apothecary in Pennsylvania I use in these examples, kept sealed tubes of peppermint lip balm from one batch on a shelf at room temperature and opened two at each pull:
| Test | Pass if | Day 0 | Day 180 | Day 360 | Day 540 | Day 720 | Day 900 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rancid odor, 1 to 5 | at most 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Texture score, 1 to 9 | at least 6 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 5 |
| Graininess, 1 to 5 | at most 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Peppermint strength, 1 to 9 | at least 5 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 |
| All pass? | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Fail |
Everything passed through day 720; at day 900 the rancid odor rose, the texture fell and grains showed. Taking a 25% margin off day 720 gives 540 days, about 18 months. How the pulls and margin are planned is in shelf life testing.
The date on the label
No federal rule requires an expiration date on a cosmetic; the maker is responsible for the product staying safe for as long as it's sold and used, and a stability study is how a small maker knows. Many print a batch code, an expiration or best-by date, and the open-jar symbol with a number of months, the period after opening. The margins on a tube are in lip balm profit margin, and a batch record that carries the lot in cosmetic batch record template.
Get the template
Download the lip balm shelf life study template. One sheet: the product, the lot tested, the day it was made, how it's stored and the margin to leave; then each test with its limit and the result at each pull. It marks each pull pass or fail, finds the last day everything passed, takes the margin off, and gives the shelf life for the label and the date for a batch made today. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
The study gives one date for one balm. Peppermint, unscented and a tinted balm, batches every month, tubes at shops and markets: someone has to date each batch, give the tinted one its own date, and send the oldest tubes first.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack gives every batch its date from the shelf life you set, and sends the oldest out first.
Dates from the shelf life. Each balm carries its shelf life in days, and each batch's lot gets its production date and the date that follows from it.
First-expired-first-out. Orders take the oldest lots first by default, and a shop can be set to take only stock with enough days left.
What's coming up. A forecast shows what will expire unsold and what it costs, and anything thrown out is recorded with its reason, expired or spoiled, so waste shows by item.
| The job | Spreadsheet | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| The date on a batch | Worked out by hand | From the shelf life, on the lot |
| Which batch goes out first | Dates on tape | First-expired-first-out |
| Stock with enough days for a shop | Checked by hand | The customer's shelf-life rule |
| What expired last month | Not counted | Waste by reason |
Lots, dates, first-expired-first-out and the expiry forecast are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.