A unique natural product - beeswax - is still fraught with mysteries, revealing possible areas of its application. Scientists have not managed to synthesize this product artificially, forcing people to once again turn to their little noble helpers, bees.
The uniqueness of the beeswax composition
Both outwardly and in composition, beeswax resembles fat, however, unlike fat, this complex natural product, containing about three hundred components, is based on esters. Water, carotenoids, dyes, aromas, minerals, propolis, pollen - these are just some of the constituents that beeswax can contain.
The wax is stored for a long time and does not change its basic physical and chemical characteristics for many hundreds of years, and with the right attitude it even retains its original taste and aroma.
Carbohydrates, fatty alcohols and acids, esters - this is the main chemical composition of this amazing product. The variety of components that make up this natural product give it a special property of plasticity, the ability to melt at sufficiently low temperatures.
The wax has a pleasant subtle honey aroma, chews well and even tastes good if the wax is obtained from high-quality raw materials.
Wax production
This is not to say that bees make wax. Initially, wax is a product produced by special glands of bees that have stopped producing special royal jelly. The wax plates that form on the bee's abdomen are dissolved by the physiological secretions of the insect and are formed into seamless honeycomb cells.
Initially having a yellowish tint, determined directly by the type of bee pollen consumed, over time, the combs acquire a dark brown color, become smaller and are discarded by the bees themselves. It is this discarded wax that goes into industrial production for processing.
Depending on the way wax is processed in industry, it can be:
- apiary or rendered;
- press - obtained by squeezing by hydraulic presses;
- extraction - using gasoline;
- sun bleached or chemically bleached.
Neither rosin nor paraffin is able in any way to dilute natural beeswax, immediately making it feel like a fake due to a change in the basic properties given to the wax by nature itself.
Beeswax has found its application both in various types of modern industry and in medicine. Ointments, lipsticks, nourishing creams known to us are also often made from this unique natural product. Painting, cosmetology and even the food industry are all areas that cannot be done without the use of wax or its components.
