1. Beeswax Products

2. Quick & Interesting Beeswax Facts For those who are not familiar with it, here are a few facts. Beeswax is produced by bees (secreted from abdominal glands) to build combs. Beeswax taken straight from the hive contains all sorts of dirt and debris. This is normal and is filtered out during the rendering process. In storage, beeswax may develop a powdery-white coating called bloom. It is harmless and is not mildew and can be easily removed. Beeswax never goes bad. Beeswax works nicely for candles because it is flammable. The melting point is around 64°C (147°F) and the Flashpoint is approximately 204°C (400°F). For home use, this means you need to monitor the temperature when melting beeswax to ensure you stay within safe temperature ranges.

3. So what can you make with Beeswax?
With one pound of beeswax you can make:
37 tea light candles
3 pairs of taper candles for your dining room table
16 beeswax Christmas ornaments
20 different moisturizer or body butter recipes
20 different herbal remedy salves, balms, or ointments
4 solid blocks of fabric waterproofing
Deodorant, perfume, hand moisturizer, lipstick, shampoo, and soap for you for a year
3 pounds of hard lotion bars for gifts
An encaustic painting
6 blocks of solid beeswax for the workshop, to lubricate drawers, screws, or preserve tools
A dozen tubs of wood polish to polish wooden floors, furniture, and cupboard doors
20 tins of food safe cutting board conditioner
16 tins of hair pomade or beard wax for your grooming needs
16 tins of Musher Paw Wax to protect your dog’s paws
280 tubes of lip balm
AND THE LIST GOES ON……,BUT FIRST WE NEED TO RENDER AND CLEAN THE WAX

4. Rendering Wax from Comb & Cappings
There are many methods to render and clean beeswax, but all of them include melting and filtering the wax until all the debris is removed.
Short Video:

5. Rendering Wax Continued
There are many ways to filter wax like in the video. You can use cheese cloth, or mesh strainers, but a great idea from John is to use women’s panty hose. They are inexpensive, have very fine mesh and capture all the debris (Slumgum). Slumgum can then be used to make fire starters.

6. The Final result of rendering is nice clean golden wax that can be molded or cut into usable size bars.
So lets get creative!

7. Candle Making
There are a several ways to make beeswax candles from hand rolled sheets, dipped and molded.

8. Making Candles cont.
Using a crock pot or other temperature controlled vessel or double boiler are the most ideal for melting wax for candle making.
Recommendations:
Buy waxed wicks they work better
Silicone molds are easier than solid molds when removing the candles.
If using a solid mold you can coat it with a thin layer of dish soap to act as a mold release.
Spray products are commercially available that achieve the same results.
Please go to: for great videos on candle making

9. Balms, Salves & Lotions
These products combine liquid and solid oils with beeswax to create a smooth spreadable consistency.

10. Solid Oils
Solid oils are simply oils that are solid at room temperature and liquid at higher temperatures
Coconut,
Shea
and Cocoa Butter are a few of the most commonly used.

11. Liquid Oils and Additives
Popular Oils for Cosmetics are:
Olive oil
Sunflower oil
Safflower oil
Almond oil
Grape Seed oil
Other additives and oils used include:
Food or Cosmetic grade Essential Oils
Lanolin
Aloe
Castor oil
Infused oils

12. (Lotion Bars typically 1:1:1 wax : solid oil : oil)
Using Oils
Ratio is Wax : Oil
1:1 and 1:2 are pretty much useless for skincare, so avoid recipes that use more than 33% beeswax, and don’t try to reduce costs by adding boatloads of beeswax.
Use 1:3–1:5 for most salves and balms.
After about 1:6 you’re just thickening to varying degrees.
(Lotion Bars typically 1:1:1 wax : solid oil : oil)

13. Follow a Recipe
Like cooking there are lots of great recipes out there for making Balms, Salves and Lotions
My favorite books are
Also go to:

14. Soaps
Making soap with beeswax and oils can be a fun project as long as proper safety precautions are followed.
WORKING WITH LYE CAN BE DANGEROUS PLEASE WEAR PROPER SAFETY GEAR AND FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS ON WORKING WITH LYE
Saponification is a process that produces soap, usually from fats and lye.

15. Soap cont. Four Methods of Making Soap:
There are four basic methods for making soap at home:
Melt and Pour - melt pre-made blocks of soap and add your own fragrance
Cold Process - the most common - making soap from scratch with oils and lye
Hot Process - a variation of cold process where the soap is actually cooked in a crock pot or oven
Rebatching - grinding up bars of soap, adding milk or water and re-blending them

16. Cold Process Soap Making
Typically, when making soap, the cold process method is used. This Process uses Lye a caustic alkali.
Safety Equipment For Making Soap
Always make Lye solution in a well ventilated area.
Use a non reactive container that can be heated above boiling temperature of 212 degrees (Plastic, Glass or Ceramic ).
Wear Gloves and Eye Protection ( long sleeves and pants ).
If you get lye on your skin, flush immediately with plenty of water, then rinse with vinegar.
The number one reason to NEVER just douse your Lye spill with vinegar is; because, of the massive exothermic heat that is discharged. This can cause extreme damage to skin! 
ALWAYS - ADD LYE TO WATER, NEVER WATER TO LYE. THE REACTION CAN BLOW UP IN YOUR FACE IF DONE IN THE WRONG ORDER

17. Soap Making References
There are great Books, Videos and Recipes online that detail the soap making process. For more information - Go to our website or Google soap making

18. Other Beeswax Products
Beeswax food wraps have become a popular replacement for plastic wrap
(like many eco friendly things our grandparents used - they have come back around)

19. Wax & Polishes Furniture polish Surfboard wax Beard Wax
Hoof and Paw wax/lotions for animals
Hair removal wax
Archers wax
Wood Sealer

20. Beeswax Art

21. Crayons, Pastels and Encaustic paints are all made with beeswax, pigments and sometimes resins.
Wax Flowers are made with thin sheets of wax and molded together.
There are also preservation projects like flower and leaf preservation.
Batik Fabrics, Psansky eggs and so much more

22. QUESTIONS?
Please come up during the break and look at the wax products on the table. To Learn More, Please Go To: