Uses of Beeswax

Bee wax or beeswax is a natural secretion from wax glands on the sides of the body of honey bees and is used primarily as a building block for the bees' comb cells in which the young are raised and honey and pollen are stored. To stimulate the production of beeswax, the honey bees feed themselves with honey and huddle together to raise the temperature of the cluster. To produce one pound of wax requires the bees to consume about ten pounds of honey.

Ranges from yellow to almost black, beeswax is extracted by boiling the honeycomb in water and skimming the wax off the top. It has a subtle natural aroma, the fragrance of honey ingrained with the other scents present in a beehive that is often pleasant enough for many honey lovers to just chew like a gum and swallow as a form of roughage.

Beeswax works well in cosmetic products because of the "wax esthers" that exist in both beeswax and human skin. These compounds help to bind and emulsify ointments, lipstick and lotions. As a natural hydrating ingredient that increases skin essential moisture, beeswax is safe to use and commonly found in hand cream and body cream that help retain natural skin moisture and relieve itch from sensitive skin. In folk medicine, bee wax ear candles are used for ear wax removal. They are believed to be able to heal ear infection and improve hearing by removing the wax inside the ear. Originating from many countries such as China, Czechoslovakia, Mexico and Italy, this ancient art is known as ear candling.

Processed by melting, straining, filtering, centrifuging, bleaching and solidified in various sizes blocks for shipping, bee wax today is widely used in pharmaceuticals, waterproofing materials, polishes, furniture wax and light lubricants in manufacturing. It is also popularly used as a coating for cheese; to protect the food as it ages. While some cheese makers have replaced it with plastic, many still use beeswax in order to avoid any unpleasant flavors that may result from plastic.