• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

By Root 660 0

has many applications for healing. It has been used for centuries as an ingredient in natural salves and balms. It is a completely pure, natural, and earth-friendly wax. As an ingredient, beeswax is known as Cera Alba and Cera Flava and is perfect for personal-care products. When combined with oils and butters, beeswax is used as a thickening agent, emulsifier, and humectant. It can be mixed with a wide range of essential oils, herbs, and other natural ingredients to create balms that are more emollient than many commercially made products. Beeswax tends to feel better on the skin than other, refined waxes because it allows the moisturizing properties of the product to absorb and heal.

Thrifty beekeepers save every extra scrap of beeswax, because regardless of whether it is in the form of burr comb or broken pieces of foundation, all beeswax has value. Artists, crafters, sports enthusiasts, and hobbyists all use pure beeswax for a wide range of applications. I save all my scraps in a plastic bucket throughout the bee season, and while my bees rest during winter, I melt it all down and filter it for my own crafts.

The Boundless Benefits of Beeswax

Dipped candles

Molded candles

Beeswax foundation (used by beekeepers in the beehive)

Beard/moustache/dreadlock wax

Grafting wax

Crayons

Carving objects

Lost-wax process

Batik-dyeing process

Etching glass

Ukrainian egg designing

Tack cloth

Encaustic painting

Wood filler

Polishes

Nail/screw lubricant

Brick-floor sealer

Moisturizing cream

Soap making

Fruit coating

Dental procedures

Baking-sheet coating

Embalming procedures

Cosmetics and skin-care products

Leather waterproofing

Thread and fishing-line coating

Reconstructive surgery procedures

Sealing on jams and jelly jars

Coatings for military Weapons, shells, and tools

Lubricants for zippers, windows, and drawer slides

Wood sealers and finishes

CLEANING BEESWAX

It is quite gratifying to clean your own beeswax, and when you smell that warm, honey-tinged aroma, you will be glad you did. Melting and filtering your beeswax also further purifies it. To clean your wax, you’ll need a large used coffee can, an old pan you don’t use for cooking, a rubber band, a clean empty milk carton, and piece of cheesecloth to stretch over the top of the milk carton.

Fill up the coffee can with your wax. Place the can in the pan half full of water. Never melt wax over a direct flame or let it boil. Beeswax is highly flammable and can ignite in an instant.

Slowly bring the water to a boil till the wax melts. As the beeswax melts, it will emit that lovely aroma, the same one that you smell in the beeyard. Any debris will fall to the bottom of the can. While your wax is melting, stretch the cheesecloth over the top of the milk carton, securing it with the rubber band. When the beeswax has completely melted, carefully pour it through the cheesecloth into the milk carton. The cheesecloth will act as a filter, catching any debris that was in your beeswax. Let the freshly poured beeswax cool until you are ready to use it. Repeat with more beeswax, pouring it into another carton. The cardboard milk carton can be ripped away from the wax when it has completely cooled down and hardened. This whole process should not take more than a half hour.

MAKING BEESWAX CANDLES

Beeswax candles have always played a part in furnishing light. From early times, beeswax has played an important role in religious liturgy. The Catholic Church at one time required all religious candles to be 100 percent virgin beeswax; it regarded the wax as a symbol of purity and the Virgin Mary. It was also observed that beeswax candles burn cleanly, producing no smoke; paraffin candles emit black soot, which covered paintings and religious artifacts in the churches.

This versatile material was recognized and valued by ancient civilizations because of its excellent ability to make a slow-burning candle. Beeswax candles are sustainable, emitting negative ions that actually clean the air and invigorate the body. Beeswax candles emit light that has a light