The lip balm filling trays allow you to neatly fill up to 50 lip balm tubes at once, ultimately speeding up the entire lip balm production process.
. The lip balm filling tray is a great tool used to fill multiple .15 oz (standard size) lip balm tubes. The neck diameter of a standard tube is approximately 0.55 inches. The lip balm filling trays allow you to neatly fill up to 50 lip balm tubes at once, ultimately speeding up the entire lip balm production process.
We have a couple of hints for users.
1) Pour the lip balm mixture as cool as possible. The tubes can become mis-shapen if the lip balm mix is super hot. Use our quick test to determine if your lip mixture is ready: stir the mixture with a pipette, hold the pipette horizontal after stirring, if the pipette bends downward then the mixture is WAY too hot. If the pipette holds it's rigid form and the mixture is still clear then the mixture is at perfect pouring temperature.
2) Load the tray with tubes just before filling. Long term storage of tubes held in the tray can cause temporary distortion of the tubes. To return tubes to their original shape, remove them from the tray and allow them to sit without their caps for a few days.
3) Allow the filled tubes to fully cool before removing from the tray. This may take a hour depending on the temperatures of the lip balm mixture and the room where you are working. Then, when the tubes are cool, give the tube a twist just before pulling straight out. The lip balm mixture at the top of the tube (the glorious crown!) can be damaged if the lip balm is too soft when removed from the tray. Patience is certainly an asset in this case.
ATTENTION! Before you use this tray please look VERY closely at the tutorial. Specifically look at the picture that shows the first pour into the tray. There are three tubes that have been filled and the fourth tube is being filled in the photo. We want you to notice the cooled lip balm mixture around the top of the Pyrex container. Please stir your lip balm mixture until it develops a haze just like this photo. If you pour while the lip balm is still too hot then the tubes can be temporarily warped. When the warping happens the caps may not fit tightly. If you will cool the lip balm mixture until a haze develops the chances of warping the tubes is greatly decreased.
What happens if you have poured too hot? Well, we suggest placing the cap on the tube then fitting a shrink band over the tube and heat shrinking the band. This short period of heating will relax the plastic tube and allow it to go back to the original size.
UPDATE! We now have the tray for the oval lip balm tubes!