I cant decide what I love about beeswax the most. The rich, yellow colour, the delicious honey scent, or how great it is for my skin. Beeswax is my go-to wax for all things body and otherwise. I like to buy it by the block from local, Canadian producers, and shave it down using a big, sharp knife. Great stuff.
1. Lip balm
Combined with some soft, liquid, and brittle oils, beeswax makes a brilliant lip balm. Learn how here.
A one to one mixture of melted beeswax and olive oil (pomace) (USA / Canada) makes a great polish for wooden furniture or cutting boards. Rub it on, let it soak in overnight, and then buff it off.
3. Lotion
Beeswax is what makes lotion thick. Learn to make it here.
4. Body Butter
Beeswax does a great job of thickening body butter so you don’t accidentally apply too much. Learn how here.
5. Drawer & window lubrication
A thin coating of beeswax will keep old wooden drawers and windows sliding nicely.
7. Candles
I’ve never made candles, but I know beeswax makes great ones.
8. Bookbinding Thread
Coating a length of thick thread with beeswax strengthens it and adds enough glide to make great bookbinding twine. You can also coat sewing thread with beeswax.
9. Moustache Wax
It is Movember, so there’s no way I’m not mentioning this one! Melt some beeswax at about a three to one ratio with a liquid oil to make yourself some stylin’ goo for your ‘stache.
These great bars melt right at body temperature and smell divine. Melt together equal parts cocoa butter (USA / Canada), beeswax, and liquid oil of some variety. Pour into a mold. I like measuring cups.
I love all this great info about beeswax, I’m going to try a few ideas.
do you have / recommend a good source to purchase beeswax?
draperbee.com family owned business on a small farm in Millerton, PA
Wilma—I always recommend buying beeswax locally, as honey is something that is produced pretty much everywhere! Visit your local farmer’s market, where there is likely to be someone selling locally produced honey and/or beeswax candles. Chances are, they’ll either be able to sell you some of their beeswax, or they will be able to direct you to their local supplier.
I buy mine on eBay
Thanks, Debby! How much do you usually pay per kilo?
mountainroseherbs.com is also a good source for beeswax. You can also check local craft stores for 100% beeswax where they have candle making supplies.
Thanks, Trish! I always prefer to get my beeswax as locally as possible—it’s one of the few ingredients that you can source locally almost anywhere in the world, so why not?
I ordered beeswax from New Directions and when it came it was labeled Made in China. I was sorry I ordered it from them, had I known it was from China I would not have, I would rather have a local supplier.
Yeah, it’s kind of a bummer—they do carry a variety of beeswaxes, but their Canadian one comes in massive blocks (2.3kg+) and generally starts around $80 (yipes!). It’s odd that they don’t make it clear where the pellet beeswaxes come from—they are very transparent about the country of origin for most of their products, listing it right on the product page, but here it is only listed in the MSDS sheet. Anyhow, I’ve never bought beeswax from them because I prefer to buy it locally. We don’t produce many local oils and whatnot here in Alberta, but that is one thing I can get here!
I bought mine from a local farmers market. If there is a honey dealer, ask them if they would sell you some.
Yes! There is nothing quite as lovely as local beeswax, fresh from the beekeeper 🙂
First off you have a great blog that is my go to for so much information about ingredients and creative recipes. The downside is I’ve spent way too much at NDA but there are worse things to spend money on! Anyway, question (after much gnashing of teeth): how the heck to keep beeswax blended with other ingredients before the salve or concoction sets? It always seems to settle out or sit in a glob (lipbalm). Today I made a balm with tallow, coconut oil, olive oil, beeswax & essential oils, poured it into little jars and put into the fridge. Shaking the jars every 10 minutes helps a bit but not much. I’m ready to abandon beeswax as an ingredient grrrr!
Hi Leslie! Thanks so much for reading & DIYing with me 🙂 Your beeswax problem is a really odd one, and not one I have. What kind of beeswax are you using? What recipes are you using? Can you give me something that I could attempt to replicate?
Heya.. can massage bars be substituted for soap? Thanks
Hi Sri! So… no. They really have pretty much nothing in common, other than perhaps shape.
Ohhhh…. I am going to make beeswax cNdles when the hot and humid weather is gone!!! I read your post and started the remember the scent of melted beeswax and I am hooked!!!! I read an arcticle from mammahippo (or something like that) and decided to give it a go!!!
I shall be making them if I ever find wicks in China!!!!!
Mmmm, there’s just nothing like beeswax candles 🙂 Have fun with them!
I’m not sure where to drop this question, so I figured here was as good as any… 🙂
I got some lovely beeswax local and am wonder how on earth you manage to get such nice flakes off the block? What is the technique (if there is one)? Or is it simply a matter of manhandling it into submission?
Hi KM! I just hack away at it with a big, sturdy knife, shaving bits off the end and rotating the block as I go. Sorry it’s not an easier solution 😛
So, after dropping my question, I proceeded to tackle my block of beeswax with a healthy dose of elbow grease. 🙂 The knife I’d picked up was a good heft, but slightly serrated. I had underestimated how sticky the beeswax would be when trying to cut it… :p The serrated blade got cloggy really quick, so I had to keep carefully cleaning all the wax-gunk off it. So I picked up a smooth blade chef knife and that made all the difference! No more buildup, and unlike the serrated blade, it didn’t matter what angle I cut the block at. Cut straight down and achieved wonderful, smooth flakes! 😀
(In short, you can ignore my previous post… But I hope this is helpful to someone else.)
KM
That’s exactly what I do, too 🙂
I rubbed a plain bar of beeswax onto my new bookcase. Now what do I do? Do I need to massage it in? Will it soften in hot weather and melt into my books if I don’t massage it in?
Desperate
ps who could read that captcha code …
Hmm. Because beeswax melts around 63°C/145°F I don’t really recommend rubbing straight beeswax onto furniture as a polish—that’s why I linked to/described a recipe for furniture/wood polish. Have you checked that out? It has instructions on making a polish that’s easier to apply, and then application instructions as well. If you buff it in well and wipe off any excess you should not have to worry about the polish damaging your books—the wood should absorb it. Also, I doubt your house gets warm enough for plain beeswax to melt 🙂
Hi Marie, I noticed there’s no number 6. Was that for soap making? I’ve done some research about adding beeswax to soap recipes and what I learned is that you can add it, just no more then 2% (as part of the oils and butters). I’ve made a batch with it and it turned out lovely.
I’m also wondering if your book will be available in the Netherlands.
Thank you for all your lovely recipes!
Hey Rose-Anne! I think that was just me being unable to count, haha 😛 Soap is a great way to round out this list, though! Soap made with beeswax isn’t a great beginners project since you have to soap fairly hot to keep the way liquid, but it is a lovely way to harden up bars and work in some bee goodness 🙂
I assume my book will be available in The Netherlands, but I’m not certain (I sure hope it will be! I LOVED my trip to Amsterdam recently and would be seriously bummed if all the awesome bookstores I found there couldn’t sell it!). I know it’ll be available in the UK, and there will be an eBook. Have you signed up for the pre-order mailing list? I’ll be sure to keep everyone on that list updated with all information as I get it.
Thanks so much for reading & DIYing with me!
I just found your make up recipe page and have been binge reading all morning!I subscribed right away! I love your personality and detail you put into your page instead of just listing recipes.I cannot wait for your book to come out!
Thank you so much, Kathryn! Happy making and be sure to get in touch if you ever have any questions 🙂
I am so glad to have found your site! And now YouTube! You are by far my favorite blogger/youtuber!! I am so happy to see you actually respond to your fans/viewers also. I am still fairly new at making my own cosmetics and homemade everythings, and your videos and blogs have helped me so much with my journey.I know this might be a weird question but, I do have a few things I wanted to ask your advice on and was wondering if posting the questions on here would be too much? Or if there was a way to message you or if you had like a fan page type email or something where we could ask you questions? I’m so sorry if you already have that info up, I must not have gotten to it just yet and still exploring.
Hey Kathryn! Thanks so much for reading and watching 🙂
If they are questions about particular recipes, please post them as comments with that recipe. There are no old posts! NONE! I get notifications for all comments regardless of what post they are on 🙂
I would highly recommend reading every article in my FAQ and reading through my encyclopedia, plus checking out all the basic articles in my Where to Start section as well 🙂 That will cover basic shopping lists, basic concepts, where you should start recipe-wise, what you should buy/have, preservatives, shelf life, substitutions, where to shop, and pretty much all the questions I hear most often. Also use the search function on the blog—I have over 850 posts up, so chances are I have written about something you’re wondering about 🙂 You should also sign up for my DIY Skin Care for Beginners course if you haven’t already!
After that you can email me, but it will probably take me a minimum of a month or two to get back to you because emails only help one person, so I prioritize public communications first… so I would recommend the above self-serve methods first 🙂
Annnnnd, last but not least, please don’t email me asking for medical advice. I’m not a doctor so I really can’t help there! (Some people send me pictures of awful wounds and rashes, hence me feeling like I have to say this haha.)
Hi Marie! Do you have any plans to begin making candles? If not, do you have a reliable DIYer you would recommend? I would love to make some fall and winter holiday candles, but I am a beginner and need some guidance. Thanks!
Hey Tinisha! I don’t, really—on either front. Sorry!
Hey!! Good evening!! Just wondering what else beezwax can be used in? I have a chapstick, lotion and beard balm business called The Yellow Dog Farm in Minnesota. Just wondering what other products will make my business grow?
SO many things! Check out this page for more info and links to more recipes 🙂