What Is Beeswax and Why Do We Love Using It?

When people think about what bees make, honey usually comes to mind first. But honey bees make something else that's just as remarkable, and it's one of our favorite ingredients to work with.

Beeswax.

Where Does Beeswax Come From?

Beeswax is made by the bees themselves, from their own bodies.

Young worker bees have special wax glands on the underside of their abdomens. After eating honey, they produce tiny, thin flakes of wax, almost like little translucent scales. The bees chew those flakes to soften them, then shape them into the six-sided cells of the honeycomb.

That comb is everything to a colony. It's where they store honey and pollen, and where the queen lays eggs and baby bees grow up. It's their pantry, nursery and home all in one.

It Takes a Lot of Honey to Make Wax

Making wax is hard work. Bees have to eat a lot of honey to produce it, with common estimates of several pounds of honey for every pound of wax. That's one of the reasons we treat it as something precious, not a byproduct.

How We Collect It

When the bees finish filling a cell with honey, they seal it with a thin wax cap. When we harvest honey from our hives, we slice off those caps, and that's where our beeswax comes from.

This "cappings" wax is gently melted and strained to remove honey and bits of the hive, leaving clean, golden wax behind. (It's also where those tiny wax flecks you sometimes see in raw honey come from. More on that in What Are Those Tiny Specks in My Raw Honey?) Want to see the whole process? Follow along in From Hive to Home: How We Use Beeswax After the Honey Harvest.

Why Isn't It All the Same Color?

Fresh beeswax starts out almost white. It picks up its warm yellow and golden tones from pollen and propolis in the hive. Comb that's been used for raising baby bees gets darker over time, too.

So if you notice beeswax products that vary slightly in color, that's the natural variation of the hive showing through, just like with our honey.

Why We Love Using It

Beeswax from our own hives is a key ingredient in our lip balms, cuticle balms and salves, and there are a few reasons we keep coming back to it.

It protects. Beeswax forms a light, breathable layer on the skin that helps hold in moisture. That's exactly what you want for dry lips, rough cuticles and hardworking hands.

It gives balms their body. Beeswax is what turns soft oils and butters into a balm that holds its shape in the tin or tube, then melts smoothly when it touches your skin.

It smells lovely on its own. Natural beeswax has a soft, subtle honey scent. We think it's one of the nicest smells there is.

It comes from our bees. The same bees that make our honey make the wax in our balms. We know exactly where it came from, because we were there when it was harvested.

Other Ways People Use Beeswax

Beeswax has been used for thousands of years, and it still shows up all over the home:

• Candles with a warm, golden glow
• Wood polish for cutting boards, furniture and wooden spoons
• Reusable food wraps as an alternative to plastic wrap
• Waterproofing for leather, canvas and even thread

For a few more ideas, see 5 Household Fixes With a Bar of Beeswax.

Want to try a few of these at home? Our Natural Beeswax Bar is pure wax from our hives, ready to rub onto wood and thread or melt into your own DIY projects. 🐝

A Few Beeswax Care Tips

• Keep it cool. Beeswax melts at around 145°F, and balms made with oils soften even sooner. Don't leave your lip balm on the dashboard in the summer.
• A white film is normal. Over time, beeswax products can develop a light white haze called "bloom." It's natural and harmless. Just rub it away with your finger or warm it briefly in your hand.
• Clean hands, happy tins. Using clean, dry fingers keeps your balms fresh longer.

A Little Bit of the Hive, Every Day

Every tin and tube of our balm carries a little of our bees' hard work with it. It's one more reminder of just how much these tiny creatures give us.

If you'd like to try it for yourself, start with our Peppermint Beeswax Lip Balm, made in small batches with wax from our own hives. Free local pickup is available, and we offer free local delivery to the 94536 zip code on orders of $35 or more. 🐝