What Is Beeswax? • Armatage Candle Company

Beeswax is created and used by bees for building their homes and protecting their honey, but also has a lot of other uses worth knowing about.

Unlike paraffin or soy wax, beeswax comes directly from nature without any need for chemical interference.  Bees create hives to support their colony.

In this article we’ll cover:

1. How beeswax is created
2. The difference between yellow and white beeswax
3. Which countries produce the most beeswax
4. How beeswax is used
5. Brief overview of how beeswax is used for candle making

Let’s dive in!

How Is Beeswax Made?

Bees run a highly organized society where everyone has a different role.

Some bees build, while others travel to gather pollen.  A few even weaponize to defend the hive and the queen when needed.

All the stinging is merely the bees looking out for their culture – nothing personal!

Ultimately, everyone has a job to do and they do it well.

Beeswax plays a central role in the bee economy, and it’s literally created from worker bees that eat nectar (and even honey) which they digest to secrete “scales” – tiny waxy components that eventually get combined and made into beeswax.

Scales are chewed on by a few bees and formed into the shape of a hexagon which forms the “cells” for storing nectar and honey.

When they’re finished filling up a cell, they place a layer of wax over the top to seal in the moisture.

This is the “cap”.

Beekeepers harvest the comb when the time is right and typically cut off the caps and drain the honey using a variety of different mechanical methods.

No chemicals are required to harvest honey OR wax from a bee colony.

Yellow vs White Beeswax

Since the bees are constantly flying in, out, and around the comb, they tend to track a fair amount of pollen which stains the beeswax.

Worker bees who create new cells and move around the surface of the comb mix pollen and propolis into their wax, which adds a yellowish or brownish color to the wax and actually alters its physical properties.

Combs produce two different forms of wax:

• Yellow beeswax, which comes from the main comb, and is yellow or brown from pollen mixed into it.
• White beeswax, which typically comes from the caps placed over the top of the cells.

Beekeepers cut the caps off and store them in a separate area to wait for final processing while they’re collecting honey.  The main comb is sometimes reused so the colony doesn’t have to rebuild their home again, but is occasionally harvested as well.

To actually create usable wax from the caps or comb, beekeepers render the wax over hot water which separates dirt and debris from the main wax while it melts down into a block.

This process typically needs to be repeated a few times to separate as much from the wax as possible (heavier materials float the bottom while wax floats to the top).  Watch Darbin Orvar render wax in this video.

There are chemical methods for separating wax, but they’re very expensive and more practical in small laboratory settings instead of a farm where boiling water is much easier to use, though it can definitely take a few afternoons to finish!

Bee farms, or “apiaries”, then sell their honey and wax to distributors or locals where it may be processed further for resale.

How much beeswax is created every year?

Global Beekeeping

Beekeeping is a hobby and a commercial business around the world.

According to Statista, these are the top 10 countries in the world for how many beehives they have (2019):

Interestingly enough, the world’s largest beeswax producers (according to Tridge) from 2018 to 2019 are not the same list.

Most beekeeping operations (called apiculture) succeed in temperate climates, though it’s possible to beekeep in other climates too (like Ethiopia).

If you want to buy beeswax for candle making, consider the following suppliers:

How Is Beeswax Used?

Beeswax is actually super good at a lot of things.

Outside of being a fantastic wax for making candles, beeswax is really good at controlling moisture.

Bees seal their combs up with it to ensure the moisture content of honey reaches the right level.  In the United States, honey isn’t even legally considered “honey” unless the moisture content is at a specific level in accordance with the United States Department of Agriculture Grade Standards for Extracted Honey.

The point is that beeswax is so good at controlling moisture that bees use it for that purpose too.  It’s also structurally strong with a high melt point so it functions as good building material for honeycombs!

Other uses for beeswax include:

And of course beeswax has a rich history with candle makers too.

Beeswax Candles

When it comes to making candles, beeswax works best in pillar and taper candles because of its higher melt point, structural integrity, and burn behaviors.

Unfortunately, beeswax is more difficult to tame due to inconsistencies in the wax quality.

This is to be expected because the nature of beeswax depends on the location of the comb where the wax came from, the health of the bees, and the quality of harvesting the wax.

Some higher-profit commercial wax suppliers have a matured supply chain system with more transparency into beeswax sources and lots, but many don’t.  Strahl & Pitsch Inc has a good system in place for identifying the grade and quality of beeswax, but no system is perfect.

If you buy from a local apiary, maintaining consistent behavior between every new shipment of wax is occasionally very difficult, but not impossible to overcome with a good candle making system.

Physical Properties

The melting point ranges widely from 141°F to 151°F (61°C – 66°C) due to differences in wax.  White beeswax typically lands on the lower end of that range whereas yellow ends up being higher.

Some suppliers will bleach wax white or mix it with paraffin, which can drastically alter the burn properties.  Always check with your supplier to know what’s in your wax if you aren’t sure.

Beeswax has a distinct smell, but can still hold fragrance oil.

Some candle makers actually prefer NOT to add fragrance to beeswax candles because the natural smell can be very alluring.

A common starting point for adding scent to beeswax candles is a 6% fragrance load, or approximately 1 ounce of fragrance per pound of wax.  You’ll know you added too much oil if the wax sweats once it hardens up.

Beeswax, like soy, is very dense and viscous.

Unlike soy, beeswax melts differently and at higher temperatures, often requiring a lot of heat before it becomes a clear fluid.  Melting beeswax can take a lot more time due to its behavior and higher melting point.

Apiaries, manufacturers, and suppliers sell beeswax in sheets, pellets, and blocks (like cheese).  Sheets are typically used for candle making by wrapping them around a wick and affixing them to a tapered apparatus.

Pellets and blocks are common to candle makers since that’s how paraffin and soy wax is supplied too.

Shrinkage

A frustrating component of working with beeswax is the significant amount of shrinkage it undergoes while cooling.

Some studies estimate beeswax can shrink by up to 10% during the initial cooling stage.  Candle makers deal with this through experimenting with different max and pour temperatures for their candles, but shrinkage is ultimately unavoidable.

Shrinking also causes cracks in the candle profile, especially for candles that are wider than they are tall (like container candles).

Wick Selection

Beeswax has a higher melt point and high viscosity which requires wicking that can generate enough heat while also drawing enough melted wax to maintain combustion.

Beeswax candles wick hotter than other wax, and result in taller flames.  Taller flames create more lumens, which is why beeswax is often called a “brighter burn” than other candles.

The most common wick types for beeswax candles are cotton square braid, ECO, and in some cases, HTP.

Ultimately you have to burn test them to ensure they’re operating at safe temperatures for their environment (especially container candles).

Market Price

Beeswax in North America ranges from $4.89 to $5.05 per pound when purchased in 40-55 lb quantities.

Local apiary pricing varies wildly, depending on how rendered the wax is at purchase on the market rate they’re willing to sell it for.

Conclusion

Out of every wax on the market, beeswax is what most people consider to be the most natural.

The word “natural” has a lot of different meanings depending on who you ask, but there aren’t many steps between the comb and candle.

Beeswax is historically used in candle making, but has properties that make it an excellent self care ingredient.

The other fun part of beeswax is that it’s edible!