Beeswax

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Overview

What Is It?

Beeswax is a wax secreted by honey bees. Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax, also called Candelilla Wax, is obtained from the plant Euphorbia cerifera, which is a plant that grows in North Central Mexico and the Texas Big Bend area.

Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax, also called Carnauba Wax, is obtained from the leaves of the Brazilian tropical palm tree, Copernicia cerifera, and Rhus Succedanea Fruit Wax, also called Japan Wax, is obtained from the berries of the sumac Rhus succedanea, which grows in Japan and China.

In cosmetics and personal care products, Beeswax and the plant waxes are used in the formulation a wide range of products including baby products, bath products, lipstick, makeup, fragrances, coloring and noncoloring hair products, nail and skin care products, personal cleanliness products, shaving products as well as suncreen and suntan products.

Why is it used in cosmetics and personal care products?

Beeswax and the plant waxes help to keep an emulsion from separating into its oil and liquid components, especially in cosmetics and personal care products that require a creamy consistency. These waxes also increase the thickness of the lipid (oil) portion of solid and stick-like products such as lipstick, giving them structure, allowing for a smooth application, and keeping them solid. When used in eye makeup, the waxes stiffen but do not harden the product, and the flexibility and plasticity of the waxes facilitate application. These waxes may also function in depilatory products to remove unwanted hair mechanically.

Scientific Facts:

The bees of the genus Apis produce the greatest quantity of commercial Beeswax, referred to in Europe as Cera Alba. Fresh Beeswax is white, but pollens, resins and other natural impurities may give it a light yellow to deep brown color.

Candelilla Wax is a yellowish-brown hard, brittle lustrous solid, extracted from the surface of the plant Euphorbia cerifera. In Europe this wax is known as Candelilla Cera.

Carnauba Wax is the hardest of the commercial vegetable waxes. It is a tough, amorphous, lustrous wax that varies in color from dirty yellow to brown, green or white. This wax is sometimes called Brazil Wax.

Japan Wax, also called Rhus Succedanea Fruit Wax, is a tough malleable, sticky substance. When purified it is white, opaque and gloss-free.

Safety

Safety Information:

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) includes Beeswax, Candelilla Wax, Carnauba Wax and Japan Wax and on its list of substances considered Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) for direct addition to food.

The safety of Beeswax and plant waxes has been assessed by the Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) Expert Panel. The CIR Expert Panel evaluated the scientific data and concluded that Beeswax, Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax, Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax, and Rhus Succedanea Fruit Wax (Japan Wax) were safe for use in cosmetics and personal care products.

In 2003, the CIR Expert Panel considered available new data on these ingredients and reaffirmed the above conclusion.

More safety Information:

CIR Safety Review: The CIR Expert Panel reviewed the safety data on Beeswax, Candelilla Wax, Carnauba Wax and Japan Wax and noted that these ingredients produced no toxicity in acute or subchronic studies and were not mutagenic when tested with and without metabolic activation on microorganisms.

In skin irritation tests, these ingredients at high concentrations resulted in mild irritation while products containing these ingredients caused no irritation. When tested alone Beeswax and the plant waxes were not irritating to the eyes. In clinical studies, products containing Beeswax or the plant waxes were practically nonirritating in 21-day cumulative patch tests, and repeat insult patch tests. No phototoxicity of a product containing 10% Beeswax was seen. Additionally, a product containing 4% Beeswax was not sensitizing to the skin.

FDA: Link to Code of Federal Regulations for Beeswax, Candelilla Wax, Carnauba Wax and Japan Wax

Beeswax, Candelilla Wax, Carnauba Wax and Japan Wax may be used in cosmetics and personal care products marketed in Europe according to the general provisions of the Cosmetics Regulation of the European Union.

EU Cosmetic Regulation

The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives has not limited the daily intake of Beeswax or Candelilla Wax, and based on the long history of use and lack of toxicity observed with the major components of these ingredients concluded that there is no safety concern at the predicted dietary exposure (less than 650 mg/person/day).

The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives has set Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) of 7 mg/kg body weight for Carnauba Wax.

More scientific Information:

The word wax originally referred to relatively high melting animal or vegetable-derived lipids. In modern usage, the term wax is applied to a wide variety of chemically different lipids. Included are animal waxes, plant waxes, mineral waxes, and petroleum waxes.

Animal and plant waxes are primarily esters of high molecular weight fatty alcohols with high molecular weight fatty acids. For example, the hexadecanoic acid ester of triacontanol is commonly reported to be a major component of Beeswax. Waxes find uses in all types of cosmetics to impart high viscosity to emulsions and suspensions and to harden lipid-based materials, such as lipsticks and hair pomades.

In general, waxes become soft, pliable, and liquid when heated, and harden when cooled. Wax products have been used by humans since early recorded history.

Resources

Resources:

Find out more about the regulation

Food Additives by the Food and Drug Administration Food Ingredients and Packaging

Food Contact Substances

Substances Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS)

Search the Code of Federal Regulations

EU Cosmetics Inventory

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