As a beekeeper, I’ve learned firsthand how amazing beeswax can be. You’ll find this natural substance in many of my DIY recipes for everything from soap to lotion bars. Beeswax uses don’t stop at DIY skincare recipes though!
Why Bees Are Amazing
Ever seen the inside of a honeybee hive? It’s incredible. Imagine a scenario in which you were simultaneously:
- Caring for a newborn who needed constant care
- Building a house with your own hands
- Fighting off people trying to break into your home
- Still responsible for normal cooking and cleaning
Stressful… right? Yet this is what a honey bee colony does every single day. On top of that, everything they produce is beneficial in some way!
Everything is always completely ordered, clean, and functioning. At times I’ve had trouble taking care of one baby at a time, and honeybees take care of hundreds, all while building a house. As a former beekeeper and now watching my son take care of his bee hive, I’m in constant awe of how amazing bees are.
Honey, Honey
Honey may be the most popular product bees create, but it’s far from the only beneficial one. (But try using honey on your face if you haven’t already.)
The word apitherapy refers to using bee products like honey, bee pollen, royal jelly, propolis, and beeswax in beneficial ways. Even honeybee venom has been used therapeutically! Sound crazy? Check out this video from the Discovery Channel that explains it.
Now, before I ramble on for hours about how cool bees are (and I really could ramble for hours about it!), I want to focus on one specific product.
Beeswax: Bees Being Brilliant
We usually prize bees for their honey, royal jelly, and other beneficial (and tasty) by-products. But beeswax deserves to be high on the bee appreciation list as well. Bees make beeswax to form the structure of their hive. They secrete wax from special glands, then chew it up and use it to form a perfect hexagon-shaped honeycomb.
Honeybees have also apparently been on board with minimalism since the beginning. Their perfectly hexagon-shaped honeycombs offer the most storage space with the least amount of building material (in this case, beeswax).
When beekeepers harvest honey, they remove the cap off of each cell to extract the honey. These cappings are melted down and filtered to remove non-wax particles. This yields the beeswax we use in many beauty products and DIY recipes.
Pure beeswax is one of the 7 ingredients I buy in bulk. I always keep natural beeswax on hand for many of my DIY products and remedies. It has dozens of uses around the home.
Benefits of Beeswax
Beeswax is an excellent addition to cosmetics for many reasons.
- Beeswax creates a barrier in lotions and creams to help seal moisture into the skin. This is especially beneficial in homemade lip balm during the dry winter months.
- This barrier also helps to protect the skin from environmental toxins and irritants.
- Unlike petroleum jelly, which is used in a large variety of beauty products, beeswax won’t “suffocate” the skin. Instead, it allows it to breathe while still providing a protective barrier.
- Beeswax helps thicken homemade cosmetics and lotions because it’s solid at room temperature. Plus it has a relatively high melting point of 147 degrees Fahrenheit. This is especially helpful in recipes with lots of coconut oil, which has a low melting point, or other oils that are liquid at room temperature.
- Beeswax also has vitamin A, which improves skin hydration and promotes cell regeneration.
15+ Beeswax Uses Around the Home
Melted beeswax is an incredibly versatile natural ingredient for DIY beauty and natural home products. It’s a staple in my homemade natural products and around our house.
While beeswax uses are almost endless, there are a few easy ways I use it at home. If you haven’t already, try beeswax in these homemade recipes:
1. Homemade Deodorant
I’ve been making my own deodorant for years because it works so much better than store-bought. One of the ingredients I use is beeswax because it helps form a natural protective moisture barrier. This means it helps avoid sweat stains on clothes without the need for harmful and unnecessary chemicals.
2. Lotion Bars
I’m biased, but these are the best moisturizers in the world. A perfect combination of oils, shea butter, cocoa butter, and beeswax forms a solid soap-like bar that’s used on dry skin. It helps soothe skin, locks in moisture and even has natural anti-wrinkle properties. I use melted wax along with oils like olive oil or coconut oil.
3. DIY Lip Balms
You can make dozens of homemade beauty products with the same set of simple ingredients. This lip balm recipe uses the same ingredients as the lotion bars but with a few added ingredients for scent or color. Once you have these basic ingredients on hand, you can make lip balm for way less than store-bought ones!
4. Beeswax Candles
I ditched the scented candles and air fresheners years ago. Most candles use soy or paraffin wax and pollute the air. We only use beeswax candles in our home now. Plus they’re easy and fun to make yourself. They also make great homemade Christmas or birthday gifts.
Try this tutorial to make your own! Or you can buy pure beeswax candles here.
5. Homemade Soaps
Beeswax is often added to soap recipes to make the finished soap harder and last longer. It should only account for up to 2% of your soap recipe. Any more than that and your soap will begin to lose lather.
Try this spiced essential oil soap.
6. Baby Products
Most babies will have a diaper rash at some point. I try to only use natural skin care products, but with sensitive baby skin, I’m extra careful.
I use beeswax in diaper rash cream as a thickener. The wax provides a protective skin barrier while helping the other beneficial ingredients stay on the skin. This way they can have a greater effect on clearing up the rash.
7. Soothe Cracked Heels
A simple salve of beeswax, coconut oil, and magnesium makes a great remedy for cracked heels. Here’s how to make this homemade ointment.
8. On Cracked Hands
I really believe that almost everything we need to remedy minor ailments can be found in nature. Beeswax is a great remedy for cracked hands from gardening or outdoor work. It also creates a protective barrier to help avoid future damage.
I like to add beneficial herbs from the garden to speed relief even more. Plantain grows in most yards and is a natural remedy for bites, stings, and even sunburn. Grab the recipe for DIY gardeners’ hand salve here.
9. Natural Healing Salve
I keep this “boo-boo lotion” on hand to treat scrapes, stings, poison ivy, bruises, and any other mild injury my kids manage to get. It works almost as well as kisses for relief of minor scrapes and boo-boos. The herbs I use are anti-inflammatory and skin-soothing.
10. Cold and Flu Relief
When illness strikes, I turn to beeswax-based natural remedies. Homemade natural vapor rub helps when coughing and congestion hit. It provides relief without slathering petroleum jelly all over your skin.
Frequent nose blowing during illness can wreak havoc on the tender skin around your nose. This sore nose soothing balm recipe combines herb-infused oil with beeswax and shea butter for a nourishing balm.
11. Beeswax Wraps
I try to avoid single-use plastic products in the home, and that includes plastic wrap. Aluminum foil is also a no-go for food storage since I don’t want heavy metals leaching into my food! You can make your own reusable food wraps though with some yellow beeswax. These have a “cling” that makes them a wonderful alternative to plastic wrap.
Not everyone has the time and interest to make their own food wraps. If that’s you, there are wonderful beeswax food wrap options online as well.
12. Creams and Lotions
I’ve already mentioned my love for lotion bars, but there are other ways to moisturize with beeswax. I’ve experimented with several lotion recipes over the years and created different ones. This homemade lotion recipe is thicker and more like a body butter. Or try one of these popular recipes:
Other Ways to Use Beeswax
- Make your own beeswax crayons. My crayon recipe uses a different kind of wax though that I think works even better!
- Melt beeswax with olive oil to use as homemade furniture polish. You can also use it to protect wooden spoons and cutting boards.
- Style short hair with homemade beeswax pomade.
Where to Buy Beeswax
Although I like things natural, I won’t ask you to go digging in a bee hive! I like to buy beeswax pastilles or pellets because they’re easy to work with. It’s what I reach for when I need a smaller amount for lip balm and salves.
Having pastilles isn’t necessary for larger projects like candles because you can measure by weight, rather than by the tablespoon. You can also buy beeswax in block form, which is slightly less expensive than the pastilles.
Some beeswax is bleached so I prefer yellow beeswax. It should have a slight honey scent to it, otherwise, it’s highly refined (or fake!).
Another option is to buy it locally if you’re able to get in touch with beekeepers in your area. This helps support local beekeepers (which is important!) and you can often find it relatively inexpensively.
How do you use beeswax? Share some of your favorite uses below!
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