Callmaker Posted February 23, 2008 Share Posted February 23, 2008 I have a friend that distributes honey in our area, he asked if I wanted the beeswax for my candle making. I have always ordered this from companies.. If I accept his offer, is there a special process for making the beeswax more safe for use in cosmetics...And is there a process to which the beeswax goes through before it can be used to make candles? Any advice would be greatly appreciated...I have always thought that the beeswax encountered some type of process before being sold..Is there a difference between the pure or not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vicky_CO Posted February 23, 2008 Share Posted February 23, 2008 I have no idea for cosmetic but for candles it needs to be clean that means pretty much going through a filtering proccess. That is very time consuming depending on how much you are paying for it will depend whether it is worth it. Larger companies or Beekeepers take beeswax and put it through a big filtering machine. Which makes it economical for them but for us small guys it need to be pretty cheap to make it worth getting raw BW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wiscus Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 The filtering is the only difference. Some beeswax is filtered so much that it takes out all the particles and oils and leaves it white(ish). For cosmetics keep in mind that allergens may be in this raw wax. Are the bees 'free-forage' or do they have a specific planted crop for their use? Bees will wonder a bit but a beekeeper can provide them with a preferred source of pollen. With him being a honey producer he probably does have a crop of clover or such. I recycle beeswax for candles and use the following method. I have an old melting pot that I just throw in the raw materials (bee bits, dirt, etc.) and melt it down. I place a tee-shirt over an old dipping vat; make sure the cloth is limp and forms a bowl inside the vat. Slowly pour the melted beeswax into the cloth bowl (it will fill up and drain slowly). I sometimes use a spoon to scrape at the cloth to loosen any hardened wax build-up. When the vat is full I place it in a pot of hot water to make sure it's all molten. Then pour this into loaf pans to cool. This is as far as I go in filtering it; I like the raw color and smell of the honey. I've seen articles on making a solar powered beeswax filter. Basically a hot box with a glass lid and inside is a pan with cloth strapped on top as a lid. Place the raw wax on top of the cloth, close the lid and leave it in the sun. I've never tried it but sounds simple enough. If you can get this to work then you've taken out the time consuming part. I would not hesitate on accepting this offer. You in-turn could offer him beehive frame foundations. The bees will build comb on most any surface. Placing a sheet of beeswax into the hive frames gives the bees a good starting point and also helps keep them from building between the frames. Hope this helps... - Wiscus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess05 Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 Whoa this is a pretty neat topic!! Thanks for sharing even though it started as a question! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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