Beeswax: The Skincare Ingredient Your Skin Will Love

By Cathie Arpino

You're probably familiar with Beeswax in lip balms. But using Beeswax goes well beyond the care for your lips, although it is a great lip moisturizer. Beeswax is a versatile ingredient used for health, skin, and home products, and it's the ultimate multipurpose ingredient. 

Honey is well known for its anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties, and Beeswax has been proven to be just as beneficial for skin care. But what are the benefits of using Beeswax? 


What is Beeswax?

Beeswax is a material that worker bees secrete to build the hive's structure. It's used to form the hexagon shapes that store honey for the bees. Wax is hard when it's cold, but it becomes softer and pliable when it's warm. These are two common types of Beeswax:

  • Yellow Beeswax is the unrefined raw wax straight from the comb.
  • White Beeswax has undergone either a chemical bleaching or a non-chemical process through carbon filters. White Beeswax is what is used in most skincare products.

Beeswax contains hundreds of compounds, fatty acids, hydrocarbons, fatty alcohols, and esters. The use of Beeswax can be traced back to ancient Egypt, where they would use Beeswax to help heal wounds, burns, aches and pains. Beeswax is beneficial in promoting the natural oil barrier on your skin and keeping your skin hydrated.


Uses of Beeswax

Using Beeswax in skincare help create a breathable barrier that seals in oils and moisture, leaving healthy, nourished skin. Let's look at how you can use Beeswax in your skincare routine.

It helps fight acne – Beeswax has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties, which can help calm and soothe the skin and aid in healing acne and eczema. Beeswax is also non-comedogenic, which means it won't clog pores and make acne worse.

It's great to treat dry skin - Beeswax is effective at moisturizing your skin and creating a protective occlusive layer that seals in moisture. The antibacterial, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory properties protect the skin from harmful toxins and environmental stressors. 

It can help reduce fine lines and wrinkles – Beeswax contains Vitamin A, which stimulates collagen production and helps speed up the process of cell turnover. Vitamin A helps slow the effects of aging. 

Calms inflamed and sensitive skin – Beeswax's natural anti-inflammatory helps treat skin ailments such as psoriasis, dermatitis, and eczema. It calms redness and irritation and soothes itchy skin.

Beeswax is an entirely natural way to treat and heal skin, and the use of Beeswax in skincare is growing. Of course, you can find it in lotions, moisturizers, and lip balms.