Dr. Christopher's Specialty
Beeswax 1 ct.
Retail: 29.99
Description: Beeswax is a lipoid granular substance made by worker honey bees. The largest amount of beeswax is produced by young bees that are 12 18 days old, while they eat plenty of fresh honey and pollen.
To produce 1 kg of wax, bees need to eat 3.6 kg of honey and 4.7 kg of sugar and some pollen. Beeswax production is an organic necessity for bees, because it is the result of the absorbed nutrients processing. Bees wax is then used to seal the honey cell; wax lamella are the building blocks used for the bees cells construction. Light freshly built honeycomb contains 86 - 100% of wax. Older cells become darker and include less than 60% of beeswax.
Beeswax Properties
Color. Natural beeswax is white (obtained from yellow wax through discoloring), yellow with different shades, or gray. If the wax contains rosin or paraffin, it is shiny and smooth on edges when cut.
Smell. Yellow beeswax smells like honey-propolis, while white beeswax has almost no smell.
Taste. The taste of beeswax is specific and reminds one of honey or propolis. Natural wax does not stick to teeth.
Consistency. When hammered, the wax bar can easily be split. When kneaded by hands, the wax becomes elastic and soft.
Structure. At a cut or fracture, beeswax has a fine-grained structure.
Solubility. Beeswax is insoluble in water and glycerin. It is easy soluble in fatty and essential oils, turpentine, chloroform, toluene. The wax mixes well with fat and paraffin. The substance is partially soluble in alcohol.
Ingredients of Beeswax
Beeswax is a mixture of many chemical compounds
Essential ingredients (monoesters, diesters, triethers and oxi-ethers) - 70 -75%
Free fatty acids (carotene, montanin and oleic) - 13 - 15%
Saturated hydrocarbons - 12 - 17%
Water - 0,4%
Carbohydrates (heptacosane and pentacosane)
Aromatic substances
Coloring agents
Organic and mineral substances
Vitamins (are not destroyed after melting). 100 g of beeswax contains about 4 g of provitamin A, while 100 g of carrots has only 0.01. Yellow wax contains the largest amount of this vitamin.
Beeswax Application
Wax is a biologically active product with strong bactericidal properties that remain unaffected even after a technical processing. About 80% of wax is returned back to bees in the form of artificial honeycombs. This significantly increases the profitability of beekeeping.
Industrial Use
When the wax solidifies, it gives the same "shrink" as iron. Therefore, bees wax is used in steel metallurgy to check forms that are then used for machine parts, including cannons.
Optical factories use the wax for engraving the glass and for the manufacture of glue and polishing mastics.
The aircraft industry uses beeswax for making various impregnating and covering emulsions.
In railway transport, the wax is used for impregnating leather seals in the brakes.
The wax is also used in the radio and telephone equipment to isolate wires as well as manufacture condensers.
A very large amount of beeswax is used in the leather industry to finish, impregnate, polish and paint the leather. The wax adds the leather water-repellent properties.
The wax is widely used in the electrical industry for electroplating and the preparation of such substances as zinc ointment, adhesive bandages, etc..
It has also found its application in the confectionery industry. Today, many sweets contain wax; for example jelly beans, gummy worms and bears.
Beeswax is also used in wood processing, printing, automotive, glass, paper, textile, painting and other industries.
Many church candles are made out of beeswax.
Medicinal Use
Anti-inflammatory and wound healing properties of beeswax makes it a great natural remedy for skin conditions and mucous membrane diseases. When chewing the wax, the saliva and gastric juice generation is increased and, thereby, the wax promotes a better digestion, strengthens gums and teeth. When beeswax is added to pharmaceutical emulsions and creams, they become more stable and can be prepared in different consistency--from liquid to solid.
Used in dermatology. Beeswax is used as the basis for candles, balms, emulsions for the treatment of burns, sunburn creams and other remedies.
Chewing beeswax can help quit the habit of smoking.
The use of beeswax in cosmetics. The properties of the wax as a preservative and a component that enhances the viscosity allow its wide application in cosmetics: it is used in elite lipsticks, eye shadows, creams and other beauty products. White wax is generally used in cosmetics. For perfumes and soap manufacturing, absolute-wax (obtained with the help of alcohol) is used as an aromatic additive.
Beeswax is a unique natural product, and only bees know the secret of its production.
Historical Facts
The first mention of the beeswax application can be found in the Egyptian "Ebers Papyrus" that dates back to 1700 BC. Many antique healers, including Hippocrates, recommended warm wax compresses on the neck to treat angina. In the Middle Ages, beeswax along with honey was used for the preparation of various medical substances, including ointments and poultices. Avicenna advised to apply wax as an expectorant and cough-relieving remedy.
History tells another unusual application of wax. About 5 thousand years ago, people discovered the secret of making encaustic paint that used beeswax.
One of the modern wax applications is styling hair into dreadlocks using beeswax. It is also widely used in general carpentry for lubrication of the woodworks edges and to naturally seal furnishings. In addition, beeswax was a very popular substance for crayons, although it is substituted with paraffin now. But you can easily make crayons with a combination of beeswax, talc and coloring.
Ingredients: Beeswax.
Directions: Varies according to use.