Beeswax products

Keeping bees is great in so many ways- one of which is using the beeswax to make so many great products. When we scrape the cappings of the frame to drain the honey, we keep the cappings, which are made of beeswax, then melt it and strain it to get a nice piece of pure beeswax. These pieces are stored until we need them to make things such as the Calendula Lotion Bars, Calendula Salve, Lip Balm mentioned in the recipe page. The Calendula Salve recipe is great, and very versatile- using the same basic proportions we have also made Peppermint Salve (replacing the calendula infused oil with mint infused oil) and Ginger Salve (using ginger infused oil). The former is great for muscular aches and pains, the the ginger salve for arthritic type joint pain.

It also makes a number of other great household products, which saves buying them but also means we know exactly what is in the products we use.

Furniture Polish

The one I like best has 1/3 beeswax and 2/3 oil- we like to infuse some light olive oil with the peel of a lemon for a few weeks first. The furniture polish then has a lovely lemon smell! You could add any essential oil though and just use plain olive oil. I like a firm polish, but if you prefer softer just increase the oil ratio.

Hair Wax

This recipe is a great, non-greasy product to help sculpt hair, and is suitable for beards as well!! We made a batch in little tins to give as Christmas gifts! Just work it into the fingers for a moment to soften, then apply to the hair.

Waxed wraps

Waxed Wraps such as these are a fabulous alternative to plastic wrap, which we very rarely need to use now. We basically follow the instructions, but find grating beeswax too time consuming so melt the wax and paint it on the cloth with a paintbrush. They last for quite a while, with a soapy water wash in between uses.