Last night, as I left my bee club meeting and driving through the dark, winding countryside, I was thinking about how much I knew about beeswax before the meeting and how much more I knew now. Being a beekeeper means being devoted to a life of learning. We are no longer Newbees, but every year there something different and new, and our mentor tells us that the answer when something goes wrong is always.... "stupid bees!" because they never do what they are "supposed" to do. It's true - every year we think we have this down pat, and something happens that makes us feel like Newbees again. I guess it's like being a parent, where every kid is different. Life, human or bee, is a journey without a map! Just go for it!
Getting on to wax, there were some fascinating bits of information I learned that I wanted to share. For instance, did you know there is a difference between "pure beeswax" and "100% pure beeswax"? Apparently, the former means "at least 51% beeswax" and the latter means "just beeswax". Why does it matter? 100% beeswax is a beautiful product that as a candle, burns clean and bright, unlike paraffin. Burning a beeswax candle can purify the air around the candle. It smells lovely when burning too. Candles are a time consuming process that cannot be hurried, and I now understand why 100% pure beeswax candles are expensive. The wax purification process is labor-intensive, and then candlemaking supplies (molds, etc.) are expensive too. A single tapered candle must sit overnight in the mold before removal to ensure that the wax solidifies properly. Stick it in the fridge and CRACK! you're ruined it. In a hurry and think you'll just yank it out after an hour? You'll likely pull out the wick and leave the candle behind, now stuck in the mold. Beeswax holds heat for a long time, and a tapered candle, thin as it is, takes HOURS to cool down. This is why all candles are expensive, especially pillar style candles, and why you must look for that 100% pure beeswax label if you care about your candles.
One dirty secret about commercial beeswax: pesticide residue in the wax. Nobody talks about it, but truly no one can assure you that their wax is pesticide free. Not even us, though we try our best with our organic farming. We just can't keep the bees in our yard, and we can't stop others from using pesticides. It's not all bad; most of the beeswax that is sold, when tested, has chemicals that beekeepers themselves have used to treat their bees, and that is why it's doubly important to only purchase supplies from beekeepers who practice organic beekeeping. Organic methods are expensive and that is why large commercial beekeepers don't use them. The age of the wax counts too: the older the wax the more likely it will contain pesticides. The least contaminated wax is cappings' wax, which the bees use to cap the honeycomb when the honey has finished curing. This wax is collected when honey is harvested, and there isn't much of it; for our 3 hives, we collected maybe a pound and a half of cappings' wax. Brood comb wax is more plentiful, but that older wax is never as beautiful as cappings' wax. If you purchase commercial wax and it's white and cheap - beware! That wax is probably chemically bleached. New wax can be white, but most often it's bright yellow. Honeycomb squares are also relatively pesticide free, as that is brand new wax produced this season. It's also expensive because the bees have to eat 8 pounds of honey to produce just 1 pound of wax. So for all of you complaining that a 2x2 inch square of honeycomb is retailing around $20, that is why. It takes a long time for the bees to make the wax then fill it with honey, and the bees cannot reuse the wax. The price reflects the labor involved. In nature, bees reuse their old honeycomb. Can you imagine the price of a dinner if the restaurant had to purchase new plates and cutlery for every single patron? It's the same thing.
There are ways to remove pesticides from beeswax, but they require a fairly intensive chemical process that creates new problems, such as how to dispose of the chemicals used to clean the wax, plus the risk of exposing myself to pesticides AND the cleaning solvents. Reading up on this method made me think about Walter White in Breaking Bad, and I am not sure there is a market for 99% pure beeswax at the price that this process likely will require, Given what I know now, I look at my commercially procured lip balm a little more suspiciously: what sort of unknown pesticide residue am I swiping onto my lips along with my favorite shea butter? It makes you think, especially when we know farmers who spray pesticides weekly on their crops and have commercial spraying licenses to boot. And yes - some of these same farmers have beehives or use honeybee pollination services.
It's a bit radical, but all this knowledge has inspired us to make our own beeswax products. With winter coming, we'll be in the kitchen, experimenting with our own organic and preservative free recipes for lip balms face masks, and body butters. It's been fun using ourselves as test subjects and the results have been amazing. Biggest problem? Honey is sticky and without preservatives, it sure is hard to make the honey based products less sticky! We're still in the test kitchen.
Disclaimers: Blog posts are opinions, not advice. One thing all beekeepers will agree on, is that if you ask 10 beekeepers what to do, you'll get 13 different answers. Beekeeping is alchemy, nature, and a bit of magic.
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