Ever wonder how bees make beeswax?

Posted by Lynn Power on

We rely on beeswax (as pure as possible) from Dominica for our luxury candles. We blend our Dominican beeswax with soy wax and coconut oil to create a luxury scent experience that burns cleaner then paraffin wax. Beeswax candles emit negative ions which are known to help purify the air.

But did you ever wonder how bees made beeswax? We did and we were surprised at what we learned.

Did you know that young worker bees have 8 wax glands in their abdomen that convert sugar from honey into beeswax in the format of liquid wax? Only young bees are able to do this, as they get older, their glands become inactive. Beeswax is an all natural substance -- and it takes about 8 pounds of honey to produce one pound of beeswax.

The role of the beeswax in a hive is to hold it together, provide storage area for the honey and give the bees space to live. A fact from Flow Hive: Honeycomb is created from perfect hexagons which, of all possible structures, use the least amount of wax to yield the maximum amount of space and strength. Interested? Watch this BBC One video on why bees make honeycombs that are hexagon shaped.

Beyond using beeswax for candles, it's also found in many skincare products, as it acts like a natural protective layer for the skin and provides natural humectants (moisture) and also has anti-oxidant properties.

Some of our favorite beeswax based beauty products:

Kari Gran Essential Serum Balm -- great to use all over your body, not just your face for extra dry spots. 

Savannah Bee Company Beeswax Heel Balm (no explanation needed!)

Farmacy Honey Butter Lip with honey and cocoa butter too!

We'd love to hear what your favorite beeswax products are. Leave us a comment.

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