Beeswax question

[MarkT]

You can buy white or yellow beeswax. The yellow is less filtered but more expensive. Why?

[Mr. Hick]

Good question! maybe BLachance75 could chime in.

[AnarchicArctic]

It may be market value due to desirability. If I remember correctly the yellow beeswax is your traditional candle making/hobby wax, while white is more prevalent in cosmetic use. With more folks buying yellow, it becomes less available and therefor more expensive.

[BLachance75]

You can buy white or yellow beeswax. The yellow is less filtered but more expensive. Why?

There are a couple factors to consider when it comes to bees wax.

The main thing is where the wax is from. The more expensive wax is generally from wax cappings on honey combs. This is a thin layer of wax that the bees use to cap honey in cells.



It looks whitish in the picture but when it is rendered down it ends up yellow. Wax gets a whitish coating as it ages but will turn back to its original color when melted.



I separate my wax and render the cappings separately. I keep a bucket of all the other wax I collect throughout the year and render it by itself. This is usually from older frames that I’m switching out or burr comb that the bees build inside the hive. This wax is dirtier and isn’t as yellow when rendered. The smaller darker pieces you see in the above picture are some of the other wax

Another thing to consider is what you are going to use the beeswax for. If you are making lotions, balms, or any other beauty type products I always recommend that you use cappings wax. It is cleaner and usually looks nicer. If you are making candles or doing anything else you can use any wax.

I guess I technically filter my wax because I pour it through a colander but that is really only to catch the dead bees and slum. When I render my wax I put it all in a big pot with a few inches of water in the bottom and gently melt the wax down. Then I dump that into a bucket through a regular kitchen colander and let it cool. All the wax will float on top of the water and cool. All the dirt and crud will settle between the water and wax and stick to the bottom of the wax. I scrape all that off to clean the wax and repeat the process. After doing that 2 or 3 times the wax is clean like you see in the picture above.

If you have any other questions let me know.

[MarkT]

Thank you. I primarily use beeswax as part of a product I protect my tools with. I have never understood the different grades or colors of beeswax offered, but for my uses it really doesn't matter much. As long as it is real beeswax and not some artificial product.

[BLachance75]

Thank you. I primarily use beeswax as part of a product I protect my tools with. I have never understood the different grades or colors of beeswax offered, but for my uses it really doesn't matter much. As long as it is real beeswax and not some artificial product.

I always have bees wax so when you need more let me know.