As a beekeeper, I have experienced the wonders of beeswax firsthand. This natural substance is used in many of my DIY recipes, from soaps to lotion bars. Beeswax’s uses don’t end with DIY skincare recipes.
Why Bees Are Amazing
Have you ever seen the inside of a beehive? It’s incredible. Imagine the following simultaneously:
- Caring for a newborn baby who needs constant care
- Building a house with your own hands
- Fight against people trying to break into your house
- Regular cooking and cleaning duties will continue.
Stressful, right? But that’s what a colony of bees does every day. Not only that, but everything they produce is beneficial in some way.
Everything is always perfectly tidy, clean and functional. Sometimes it can be a struggle to care for just one larva at a time. Meanwhile the bees are building their homes while caring for hundreds of bees. As a former beekeeper, now watching my son care for the beehive, I am always amazed at how amazing the bees are.
Honey, honey
Honey may be the most popular product produced by bees, but it’s not the only beneficial one (though if you haven’t tried using honey on your face yet, it’s time to give it a try).
words Apitherapy It refers to using bee products such as honey, bee pollen, royal jelly, propolis, and beeswax in a beneficial way. Even bee venom is used therapeutically! Crazy? Watch this video Explained by the Discovery Channel.
Now, before I go on for hours about how amazing bees are (and I really could), I want to focus on one particular product.
Beeswax: the amazing work of bees
We usually appreciate honey, royal jelly, and other beneficial (and delicious) by-products, but we also have bees to thank for beeswax. Bees make the wax to form the structure of their comb. They secrete the wax from special glands, chew it up, and create the perfect hexagonal honeycomb.
Bees, it seems, have been an early supporter of minimalism: their perfect, hexagonal honeycombs provide maximum storage space with minimal building materials (in this case, beeswax).
When beekeepers harvest honey, they remove the caps from each hive to extract the honey, which is then melted and filtered to remove non-wax particles, resulting in beeswax, which is used in many beauty products and DIY recipes.
Pure beeswax is one of the seven ingredients I buy in bulk. I keep natural beeswax on hand for many of my DIY products and remedies. It can be used for a variety of purposes around the home.
Benefits of beeswax
Beeswax is a great additive to cosmetics for a variety of reasons.
- Beeswax creates a barrier in lotions and creams that helps lock in moisture for your skin, which is especially helpful when making homemade lip balm during the dry winter months.
- This barrier also helps protect the skin from environmental toxins and irritants.
- Unlike petrolatum, which is used in a variety of beauty products, beeswax does not “suffocate” the skin, instead it allows the skin to breathe while providing a protective barrier.
- Beeswax is a solid at room temperature, which makes it useful for thickening homemade cosmetics and lotions, and it also has a relatively high melting point of 147 degrees F. This is especially useful in recipes that call for a lot of coconut oil, which has a low melting point, or other oils that are liquid at room temperature.
- Beeswax also contains Vitamin A, which improves skin hydration and promotes cell regeneration.
15+ ways to use beeswax at home
Melted beeswax is a highly versatile natural ingredient that can be used in DIY beauty products and natural household products. It’s a must-have for homemade natural products and around the home.
The uses for beeswax are nearly endless, but there are some easy ways to use it at home. If you haven’t tried it yet, try some of these homemade recipes with beeswax:
1. Homemade deodorant
I’ve been making my own deodorant for years because I find it works so much better than store-bought. One of the ingredients I use is beeswax, which helps form a natural moisture barrier, meaning it helps prevent sweat stains from forming on your clothes without the use of harmful, unnecessary chemicals.
2. Lotion Bar
I may be biased, but these are the best moisturizers in the world. The perfect combination of oils, shea butter, cocoa butter, and beeswax form a soap-like bar that you can use on dry skin. It soothes the skin, locks in moisture, and also has natural anti-wrinkle properties. I use the melted wax along with oils like olive oil or coconut oil.
3. Make your own lip balm
You can make dozens of homemade beauty products with the same simple ingredients. This lip balm recipe uses the same ingredients as the lotion bars, but adds a few extra ingredients for scent and color. With these basic ingredients on hand, you can make your own lip balm for much less than you would buy at the store.
4. Beeswax Candles
I gave up on scented candles and air fresheners years ago. Most candles use soy or paraffin wax, which pollutes the air. Now, we only use beeswax candles in our home. Plus, they’re easy and fun to make yourself. They make the perfect DIY Christmas or birthday gift.
Try this tutorial to make it yourself, or buy it now Pure beeswax candles available here.
5. Handmade soap
Beeswax is often added to soap recipes to make the finished soap harder and longer lasting. Beeswax should only make up 2% of your soap recipe, anything more than that will cause the soap to foam poorly.
Try our spiced essential oil soap.
6. Baby Products
Most babies will get diaper rash at some point, and I try to only use natural skin care products, especially when it comes to my baby’s sensitive skin.
I use beeswax in my diaper rash cream as a thickening agent, as it acts as a protective barrier against the skin while also helping other beneficial ingredients stay on the skin, making it more effective at treating the diaper rash.
7. Heals cracked heels
A simple salve made from beeswax, coconut oil, and magnesium can help with cracked heels. Learn how to make your own homemade salve.
8. Cracked Hands
I truly believe that nature has almost everything we need to heal minor ailments, and beeswax is the perfect remedy for cracked hands from gardening or working outdoors, and it also creates a protective barrier to prevent future damage.
I like to add some beneficial herbs from the garden to further speed up pain relief. Plantain grows in most gardens and is a natural remedy for bug bites, stings, and even sunburn. You can get a recipe for DIY Gardener’s Hand Salve here.
9. Natural Healing Ointments
I keep this “wound lotion” on hand for my kids to use on scratches, puncture wounds, poison ivy, bruises and other minor injuries. It is as effective as a kiss at soothing minor scratches and wounds. The herbs I use are anti-inflammatory and soothing to the skin.
10. Relief from colds and flu
When I get sick, I turn to natural beeswax-based remedies. A homemade natural steam salve helps with coughs and stuffy noses, and it soothes pain without having to smear Vaseline all over my skin.
Blowing your nose frequently when you’re sick can take its toll on the sensitive skin around your nose. This sinus soothing balm recipe combines herb-infused oils with beeswax and shea butter for a nourishing balm.
11. Beeswax wraps
I try to avoid using single-use plastic products in my household, and this includes plastic wrap. I also don’t use aluminum foil to store food because I want to avoid heavy metals leaching into the food. However, you can make your own reusable food wrap using yellow beeswax, which has “sticky” properties that make it a great alternative to plastic wrap.
Not everyone has the time or interest to make their own wraps, if you do, here are some great wraps. Beeswax Food Wrap Options are also available online.
12. Creams and lotions
I’ve already mentioned that I love lotion bars, but there are other ways to moisturize with beeswax. I’ve experimented with many different lotion recipes over the years and have come up with a variety of different recipes. This homemade lotion recipe is thicker and tastes more like body butter. Or try these popular recipes:
Other Uses for Beeswax
- Make your own beeswax crayons. My crayon recipe uses a different type of wax, but I think these are even better.
- Melt the beeswax in olive oil Homemade furniture polish. It can also be used to protect wooden spoons and cutting boards.
- Homemade short hairstyles Beeswax pomade.
Where to buy beeswax
I like natural things, but I don’t tell them to dig up beehives! I like to buy Beeswax tablets Or, since it comes in pellet form, it is easy to handle. Use it when you need a small amount in lip balm or ointment.
For larger projects like candles, you can measure by weight instead of tablespoons, so you don’t need lozenges. Block format, It is slightly cheaper than pastilles.
Some beeswax is bleached, so I prefer yellow beeswax. It should have a slight honey scent, but if it doesn’t, it’s highly refined (or fake).
Another option is to buy locally if you have contact with a beekeeper in your area – this supports local beekeepers (which is important!) and is often relatively cheap to source.
How do you use beeswax? Share some of your favorite uses below!
