Tutorial- How to make your own beeswax
It is much easier than you think! The trick is to find the raw honeycomb that the process begins with. I suggest contacting local beekeepers and asking if they do anything with their old honeycomb. The honeycomb I used came from a unique place—an entire cross section of an old fallen tree that was filled with an abandoned wild bee hive. When the giant tree fell the bees didn’t survive and I was able to harvest a lot of honeycomb. The shapes, colors, and smells of the honeycomb were so enticing have served as inspiration for some of my recent work visually. In addition to drawing and painting images of the comb I thought it would be a great experience to make my own beeswax from it! The process ended up being very simple.
1. Break all the honeycomb into smaller pieces and add them to a large pot that you don’t mind getting dirty. Don’t worry if the comb is old or infested with moths, it is still usable.
2. Fill the pot 3/4 of the way with water and slowly heat. Don’t bring it to a boil, keep it to a nice simmer. I use a camp stove, but this can be done easily in a well-venitlated kitchen. Just be careful—it can be messy.
3. Let it simmer until all the honeycomb has melted into a soupy mess.
4. Take a strainer you are able to dedicate to this purpose and strain out the messy stuff, letting the liquid gold pour into another container or pot.
5. Now it is time to purify it again. Repour the liquid into the pot and bring it to a simmer again. Let it go until any leftover gunk is floating on the top then strain it out again into a plastic bucket.
6. Next let it sit. As the liquid cools the water and pure beeswax will separate leaving you with a disk of golden beauty! Wait until it cools completely before loosening the disk and removing it from the bucket.
Now you have beeswax!
It can be used for many different things. So far I have made a polish out of it for my spinning wheel, a salve, and begun experimening with beeswax in encaustics. If you have any other ideas for interested uses of beeswax I welcome all comments and suggestions.
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Now I’m going to look at all the fallen trees in our neighborhood for feral hives! I love beekeeping, but the prospect of free comb is tempting…
Definitely! The tree this comb came from fell during a storm— unfortunately the bees didn’t make it, but I am glad to have been able to put the material to good use. It is amazing what resources are out there once you start looking!
Thanks for the info. I did it today, but I was disappointed in the amount of wax that I got. It was so think, it fell to pieces when I took it out and it was grainy. I thought I had alot of comb, but maybe not.
Sandy, I’m sorry to hear that it didn’t turn out as you expected! It does take a lot of comb to make the wax, but I’m not sure why it ended up being grainy like you described. I will let you know if I come across any explanations or tips in the future.
Thanks for the tip on how to make a beeswax.
From Pam Mlaba
South Africa in KZN in Durban in Ntuzuma
I will be using the beeswax to condition the thread I use for beading! Your instructions are easy to understand..ty!
I am always amazned at how versatile beeswax is! It never crossed my mind to use homemade wax to coat beading thread. I hope it works out well for you! I’d love to see some photos of your work when it is finished.
Can I use this bees wax make my home made beauty products with?
Definitely! I use it to make salves and it turns out wonderfully.
About it turning grainy, you may have gotten it too hot. I think it should be heated to about 70-75 degrees Celsius.
The story is so cute and also the lady in the picture looks good..nice place wish i can visit you there.Thanks for sharing your method ..
can you make surf wax with it and also what temperature do you simmer it at?
I have never tried making surf wax with it, but it might be worth a try. As for the temperature, I’m not sure exactly, but as long as it stays below boiling it should be fine
Try using it for candles that’s what I use it for and the smell is amazing and they barly put of any smoke so there really good for people that can’t usually be around candles
Thanks Ashley! I havnt done that yet, but it is on the agenda. That and wax crayons are two things id love to experiment with. : )
hi..u can also use beeswax for leather accessories and leather couches 🙂
Can you make lip balm out of this?
Yes! I don’t have a recipe, but it would be a great base for lip balm.
I love working with beeswax! One of my specialties that my wife and I do are beeswax candles. Check out our website on Etsy.com/AsheCreekBees and get inspired this holiday to make so amazing scented, healthy beeswax candles!
Can you soften beeswax with pure turpentine,to make furniture polish?
I usually mix it with olive oil over the stove to make a salve and have been using that to polish some of my furniture! I’m not sure how well turpentine will mix in.
Hi! Thank you for your tutorial, I will experiment with it tomorrow, I aim to make Beard Balm with it … it is one of the essentials together with Shea Butter … it’s fabulous
If I purchased honeycomb from a local beekeeper and there is still honey how would I go about processing to get the beeswax? Would I use this same process and what happens to any residual honey that may be attached to the comb? Thank you for your great information.
That’s easy. Just soak the wax in a sink of plain ol water. Not to hot and not to cold. The honey dissolves in the water. Do it twice for cleaner wax. Scoop the wax from water with a strainer and allow it to dry.
I plan to make candles with it because it is not harmful to the air
That is so true!
I am going to ask local beekeepers for comb so i can make it.. i just started making candles. You think you can add color and fragrance to it? is beeswax too dark to add color too?
That is quite possibly to add fragrance, but I can’t say about color… let me know if you do any experiments!
I got some honeycomb last night. I went through the rendering process. Now I have so much honey 5 quarts to be exact. I was wondering what to use the honey for since it has a burnt taste. I really don’t want to waste it.
I’m not sure! I’ve never ended up with something like that, but good luck and feel free to share your results!
If it doesn’t taste good you cAn put it out and let the bees reprocess it.
thank you. I couldn’t find any tutorials on how to make my own bee wax. there is a company near my town that sells natural honey, I think I am going to visit them and ask what they do with the raw honeycombs.
Greetings from Brazil
Im working with a friend to make beeswax gum and with your instructions i can make the beeswax. Thanks so much!
Greetings from Germany
My friend and i are trying to make beeswax gum and we are using your instructions to make the beeswax
Always use Pure and natural beeswax products. I use beeswax lip balm.