As you may already know, we are Natural Beekeepers, so beeswax is part of our harvest – when we crush our natural comb to extract the honey, there’s beeswax to spare.

It’s a good thing for our bees, because encouraging comb renewal is an important part of colony health.

Honeybees prefer to lay their eggs and rear their brood in fresh comb. So by harvesting the excess, you’re making space in the hive for this to occur.

In our eyes, beeswax is one of the coolest substances. It’s completely natural, being that it is actually formed by the worker bees (all females) which secret it through 8 wax-producing mirror glands on the inner sides of their abdomen. These mirror glands are the reason for the honeycomb shape.

Interestingly enough, the comb actually begins colorless but as more and more pollen is brought to the comb, it changes to a yellow and sometimes brown color which is what we are more familiar with.

Honeybees use these combs to raise their young in where they fill it with honey and pollen to feed the young.

Then these combs are capped for storage.

Benefits of Beeswax

Beeswax has anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, anti-allergenic, and germicidal antioxidant properties which makes it absolutely wonderful for wound feeling. Beeswax is also known for locking in moisture, protecting skin from environmental factors and fostering skin cells. Because of it’s moisture locking properties, it is naturally nourishing and effectively softens skin. It is even speculated that honeycomb has traces of Vitamin A which help restore and replenish skin.

It is no wonder that beeswax is used in numerous beauty and personal care products, along with other really neat things.

Uses for your home-grown Beeswax

Food Wraps

You’ve probably heard about, and are maybe even are using, beeswax wraps instead of plastic clingfilm in your home. You can also try making them yourself. Here’s a great how-to.

Non-toxic Crayons

Yes, you can make non-toxic crayons (what an awesome gift!) out of beeswax! A cool tutorial can be found HERE.

100% pure beeswax candles

Local light! What better way to light your life than with the beeswax from your hive. And so very simple to do – get some good moulds and wicks, and off you go. Here’s a great how-to.

Attaching your starter strips

First things first – let’s set up our future top bars, for future comb building, shall we?

With a nice starter strip, to remind the bees to build their comb off the bars, and not across them , secured with your very own beeswax. How excellent.

Prevent Rusting

Coat things like hand tools, cast iron pieces and shovels to prevent them from rusting out. You can even rub beeswax on the wooden handle of your shovel to help protect against wear and tear.

Clean Your Iron

If your iron is beginning to get gummy or scorched, try making a  homemade iron cleaner with beeswax. It’s chemical-free, economical and sustainable! Here’s a tutorial I found on how to make and use your iron cleaner.