Pucker up, naturally: Learn how to make your own lip gloss

What's in that store-bought lipgloss?

Junk.

Seriously.

"In my herbal journey, I've discovered that there's just a lot of junk in products out there, especially in cosmetics," said Faith Goguen, a certified clinical herbalist at Rebecca's Herbal Apothecary, 1227 Spruce St.

Goguen is hosting a Luscious Lips class at Rebecca's on Nov. 16 and will demonstrate how to make natural lip balm and lip gloss.

"I like to make my own so I can know exactly what is going into the product," said Goguen, who makes Rebecca's herbal medicine as well as the store's bath and body care products.

Goguen said many makeup products contain parabens and other synthetic ingredients.

Parabens are chemicals used to preserve many cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.

"I personally wouldn't want to rub that on my skin," Goguen said. "If you think about it, your skin absorbs most of what you put on it -- that means you're absorbing those chemicals internally."

In the class, Goguen will discuss the natural ingredients that are used to enhance the beauty or healing quality of the lips.

Rebecca Luna, owner of the apothecary, said more research has surfaced regarding illnesses relating to the synthetics that are in certain makeup products.

Not to mention the animal testing, she said.

"When you make your own makeup, at least you're in control of what goes into the product," Luna said. "Plus, you get to have fun with it. I think it's so much fun to custom it to your tastes -- it's empowering."

Goguen said the process of making lip balm is a matter of having the right proportions of oil and beeswax.

"From there you can infuse herbs into your oil to give it a therapeutic quality," Goguen said. "You can add shea butter, cocoa butter, honey."

Goguen said she uses natural dyes such as the alkanet root to transform the balm into a pink or red color, and she uses mica to make it "sparkly."

"There are some natural lip balms out there you can buy that are great," Goguen said. "But this way is much more cost effective and fun."

The class is $35 and participants will learn how to make the product from start to finish.

Participants will leave with a handout full of recipes to take home as well as one of the lip balms made in class.

"All of the things they need to make lip products, Rebecca's has in the store," Goguen said. "So from here on out, you can make your own tailored to your own taste."