What protects the maker

A low-risk craft with two real hazards, one of which is obvious and one of which is not.

Heat is the hazard

Molten wax and butter run well above boiling water and they stick to skin. A splash does not run off, it holds its temperature against you.

That is a more serious burn than the same volume of hot water, and it is the injury this craft actually produces.

The risk moments are lifting a pot off a boiler and pouring from a full vessel, both of which are made worse by a cluttered bench.

What to wear

Long sleeves and closed shoes. Not shorts, whatever the kitchen temperature.

A heat-resistant glove on the pot hand for lifting, and a cloth in reach.

Eye protection when pouring anything at volume.

And clear the route between the heat and the filling tray before the pot is full, because a stumble with a liter of hot fat is the accident in this craft.

Pigment and fine powders

Mica and iron oxide are very fine and become airborne when you open a bag or grind a dispersion.

A dust mask while handling dry pigment, and weighing in a spot without a draft. It is not acutely dangerous and it is not something to breathe daily either.

Essential oils at neat strength

At the concentrations used in a finished balm they are fine. In the bottle they are not: cinnamon and clove in particular will burn skin, and citrus oils sensitize.

Handle the neat oil with gloves, keep it off the bench, and do not judge strength by sniffing repeatedly from the bottle, you lose the ability to smell it and overdose the batch.

References