I love candles. I love that they’re a way to have pretty decorations around the home that aren’t ornaments. I love that they provide soft lighting, that they smell good, that they’re comforting. I love candles!
I know I have the winning team of honey bees and beekeepers to thank, but how do they do it?
First, let’s take a moment to appreciate beeswax because honey tends to get most of the attention. Honey is a delicious superfood treat and has been adored all throughout human history. (See the ‘Bees in history‘ series for more details.) It deserves the admiration it gets. However, beeswax is a nature-friendly supersubstance that humans use for all manner of purposes, including candles!
It’s a precious resource not only because of how much we can do with it but also because of the sheer effort it takes the bees to produce. Over her lifetime, a worker bee has many jobs and her body adjusts to accommodate each role. Read ‘Types of honey bee: the devoted worker‘ to learn about this. One of these jobs is construction worker when she develops active wax glands. Not every bee is able to make wax; it is only bees in this phase of life who are capable, or older workers if they have recently swarmed. The process involves feasting on nectar which fuels her ability to secrete wax. It takes around 8kg of nectar to produce 1kg of wax, so bees can only construct wax comb when they have the nectar to spare.
Bees are intelligent; they don’t perform tasks mindlessly. They do only what will benefit the colony. So, workers only construct their hexagonal comb as it is required to store resources, such as pollen, or to house the queen’s eggs.
Given that only a small percentage of the population is capable of producing beeswax, that it is highly resource intensive to make, and that the bees’ are sensible enough to construct only what they need, beeswax is a precious resource.
It’s important that beekeepers do not let any of it go to waste. Beekeepers, reclaim the wax! What that means is:
- Collect brace comb. Brace comb is the wax comb found on the top or bottom of wooden frames because the construction worker bees got carried away when building.
- Collect dirty honeycomb. Approximately once every 3 years, the comb in a hive will need replacing to keep the home hygienic. Over time, comb turns a darker colour which is a sign that it’s dirty. A beekeeper can take away that grimy comb and let the bees start fresh with sparkling clean wax comb.
Enough preamble. Here’s the section the title promised:
How To Refine Wax
Step 1:
If you have frames of mucky comb, liberate the wax from the frame using your trusty hive tool or a knife. Get every last morsel!
Step 2:
Soak all the brace comb and dirty honeycomb in cold water for 12-24 hours. Anywhere within that range is fine, but don’t stray above or below those hours. Under 12 hours won’t be effective but over 24 hours will turn the wax mouldy. The aim is to dissolve any residual honey and nectar to begin the cleaning process.
Step 3:
Drain the water and transfer the wax into some kind of fabric bag that will allow fluid wax to seep through but will capture any solids like lumps of pollen and pupal casings. For example, try a straining bag, muslin cloth or an old pillow case.
Interlude for Faye’s rant:
Does it annoy you when instructions expect you to have a stock of old sheets, towels, t-shirts and pillow cases? It annoys me! Who keeps all these old fabrics? If something isn’t fit for purpose anymore, I take it to a fabric recycling point. Do other people actually keep all this old stuff? Where?! My home certainly isn’t big enough to stash things I’m not using.
Step 4:
Grab your largest cooking pot and fill it with water. Put your wax-filled bag into the pot and heat it to 65-70°C for roughly 10-30 minutes. This will melt the wax and allow it to gradually seep out of the bag, leaving behind any impurities. DO NOT let the water boil. If you do, the wax will bubble, spit and fly out of the pot all over your kitchen. It’ll be a mess.
Caution is imperative if you’re using a gas hob. An electric hob is recommended if at all possible. NEVER leave wax unattended on a gas hob, even for a second, because wax is extremely flammable. (That’s why it’s perfect for candles!) Let’s not set your home on fire.
Step 5:
Did you survive all the hazards of step 4?
Once all the wax has oozed out of the bag, get the debris-filled bag out of the way. Carefully move it into some kind of container without dripping wax over your floor or surfaces. Turn off the heat and let the pot of waxy water cool. This step takes quite a while. Lead by example and take some time to chill.
Step 6:
You’ve reached the exciting milestone of having a solid disc of wax floating on the water!
On the bottom, there’ll be a layer of ick, so indulge your instinct to scrape that off. Now you have a lovely chunky circle of beeswax! Doesn’t it look satisfying?
But it’s still not good enough. Sorry.
Plonk the disc into a bain-marie (a.k.a. a double boiler) and heat up the wax until it melts yet again. Pour it into a mould through some kind of superfine filter, such as coffee filter paper or an all-purpose cleaning cloth. This will remove the last of the dirt. You finally completed the last phase of cleaning the wax!
Step 7:
Once it’s cool – and be sure it is before you start prodding it – you will have blocks of beeswax ready for crafting. Congratulations!
What will you make? Tealights, food wraps, moisturiser, lip balm, crayons, furniture polish, leather polish, CANDLES? Beeswax is waterproof, hydrating and flammable so it’s a multitalented marvel. A world of possibilities awaits you and your blocks of beeswax!