Beeswax Recipes From Super Formulas
by Elaine C. White, Valley Hills Press: Miss. 1993.

Beeswax Hand Lotion

• 4 tablespoons melted beeswax
• 2/3 cups glycerine
• 1/4 cup safflower oil
• 1/2 cup aloe gel
• You may have to stir while cooling to keep it from separating

Hand Cream

• 1/3 cup slivered beeswax
• 4 tablespoons walnut oil
• 2 tablespoons jojoba oil
• 1/2 cup rose water
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup coconut oil

In microwave or double boiler melt oil, lanolin and beeswax to 160 degrees F. Heat borax and water in a separate container to 160 deg. F. Make sure everything is dissolved or melted. Add the water mix to the oil mix, stirring all the time. When white cream forms, stir slowly until mixture cools to 100 deg. F. Pour into wide-mouth jars. You can use any oil (Olive, Almond) instead of the baby oil. Add essential oils last. Heat and mix the wax and oils until they are mixed uniformly. Turn off heat. Mix the rose water and water and then add it to the oil/wax mixture a drop at a time, stirring constantly until it thickens.

Skin Cream

Cold cream was the first skin cream. It dates back to prehistoric times and was used as a cleanser. Cold cream was mixed into dirt on the skin and both were wiped away. Today cold cream is seldom used. Beauty experts agree that cold cream does a poor job of removing dirty surface film. Cold cream is difficult to remove and a film of dirty cream is always left on the skin surface.
Cold cream does a good job of holding skin moisture. "Ultra-rich Skin Cream" is based on cold cream formulas. This cream is ultra-rich due to the addition of lanolin. Of all natural raw materials, lanolin is the most similar to human skin and hair fat, both in chemical composition and in physiological properties. It is a natural skin emollient. Lanolin relieves chapped lips, chapped and cracked hands, diaper rash, windburn and minor skin irritations. Only a small amount is applied to clean skin. It does not wash off easily.

Ultra-Rich Skin Cream (This is from Elaine White's book)

• 2 1/2 ounces (weight) beeswax
• 2-4 ounces (weight) anhydrous lanolin
• 2/3 cup baby oil
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 teaspoon borax (sodium borate, Chemically Pure, from pharmacy)
• Fragrant essential oil or your choice (optional)

Borax is sold with laundry detergents, but chemically pure borax, which is required for cosmetics, is sold by drug stores and "Chem lab" (see Appendix A). Lanolin is sold by drug stores. In a microwave or double boiler, melt the oil, lanolin and beeswax to 160 degrees F. Heat the borax and water in a separate container to 160 degrees F. Be sure the borax is dissolved and the wax is melted. Add the water mixture to the oil mixture while stirring briskly. When white cream forms, stir slowly until the mixture cools to 100 degrees F. Pour it into small, wide-mouth jars.
Oil Substitutions: Use a variety of oils as long as their combination equals 2/3 cup. Baby oil is simply mineral oil plus fragrance. "Haussmann's Pharmacy" sells herbs, beeswax, many oils and 1-pound units of lanolin at a reasonable price (see Appendix A). The cream can be colored pink by replacing a small amount of the mineral oil with "Alkanet Colored Oil" (see page 52).
Water Substitutions: Fragrance and other characteristics of herbs may be introduced to the cream (see page 39 for herbs and page 28 for essential oils). Boil 1 cup of water for 15 minutes. Introduce the herb or fragrant material. The amount varies according to the strength of the material selected. Cover this and allow it to cool. Filter through a coffee filter or a paper towel. Use 3/4 cup to replace the water requested in the basic formula. Fresh fruit or vegetable juices are not recommended as water substitutions due to spoilage factors.

Liquid Beeswax Furniture Polish

• 1/4 cup liquid soap
• 1/4 pound shaved beeswax
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup turpentine

Warm the water and dissolve the soap in it. Then put the shaved beeswax into the turpentine in another pan and warm gently until the wax is completely melted. Then pour the soap mixture into the -turpentine mix, stirring with a wooden stick until completely mixed. Then pour into storage jars. Furniture Cream Polish #1 1 pint linseed oil 4 oz. beeswax Melt together, mix thoroughly, and put into container. Beeswax Special Furniture Cream Polish 4 oz. beeswax 1/4 cup liquid soap 2 cups turpentine 1 cup very warm water 1/4 cup pine oil Dissolve. the soap well in the warm water, and let cool. Using the double boiler technique, melt the beeswax shavings in the turpentine, remove and cool. When both mixes are cool, mix gently and thoroughly with a wooden stick. If the wax happens too cool too quickly and it hardens again, reheat gently while stirring.

Furniture Paste Polish

Equal parts of beeswax, turpentine and linseed oil, gently melted to ether. The safest, all purpose polish/sealer for everything I have found is just equal parts beeswax and turpentine. It's good for waterproofing boots, putting screws into wood, zippers, furniture, wood finishing, etc.

Wood Polish

• 150 ml turpentine
• 150 ml water heated
• 12.5 grams shaved soap
• 56 grams melted beeswax

Melt wax, add turpentine. Melt soap in hot water. Cool all. Combine when lukewarm, drops at a time. Add 10 drops of lavender essential oil.

• Oil and Wax Finish for Bare Wood
• 1 ounce by wt beeswax (2 Tablsp liquid)
• 1 pint raw linseed oil
• 1 pint turpentine

Melt wax in microwave or in double boiler. Remove from heat and stir in oil and turpentine. Strain thru double cheesecloth or nylons. Let stand for 2 days, then store in covered container to keep turpentine from evaporating. Liquid Polish 4 oz. beeswax (1/2 cup liquid wax) 2 Tablespoons carnauba wax 2 1/2 cups mineral spirits Melt waxes, remove from heat and stir in mineral spirits. Paste Polish 4 oz beeswax 2 Tablsp carnauba wax 1/8 teaspoon lye (sodium hydroxide) 1/4 water (use rain water) 1/2 C mineral spirits Melt waxes on high in a microwave, watch it closely (in a double boiler). Add lye to water and stir until it dissolves (this will heat up). Remove wax from heat and add the lye water. Then immeditately add the mineral spirits while stirring briskly, or use and electric mixer until it has the consistency of hand cream. Can be used on floors, furniture, paneling and other woodwork. Also used to shine metla, chrome or glass. Buff with clean cloth. The shine should last a year.
Use on sticky doors and sticky drawers, just rub it in the wood where it sticks, and it will slide more easily. Especially good on hardwood screws, or for easing nails into hard oak wood. Just rub the nails/screws with wax and they will slide in easily.
On sewing threads, run the threads through the wax to make them slip. To rustproof tools, heat the metal, then rub with wax, letting it melt onto the warmed tool; good for shovels, saw blades and pruning shears. You can also use it on leather or make into a polish. Perfect for lubricating sewing threads or for many art project.

Furniture Cream

• 6 oz. Beeswax
• 1 oz. Soap flakes or soft soap
• 1 1/2 pints turpentine
• 1 pint boiling water

Put wax and turpentine into a double boiler and melt. Dissolve soap flakes in boiling water. When both mixtures are cool, mix together, adding only enough of the soap to make a thick cream.

---

 GEARS is maintained by USDA-ARS. This server reports the results of research only. See official endorsements disclaimer.