Beeswax Skincare Products

As fairly new beekeepers, my husband George and I knew that raw honey had amazing healing properties. Realizing the need for local honey, we started Creek House Honey Farm in 2011 with just 2 hives. 

George, a pharmacist by trade, and me an art teacher for almost 20 years, soon grew our business and added a beeswax skincare products line to compliment our honey. 

Beeswax is one of the world’s most fascinating natural products! When used in a skincare product, beeswax encourages the healing of wounds and can also be used to clean and purify the air when burned as a candle. Its vast variety of uses makes it super important to humans. 

Our beeswax research began in the summer of 2012. We learned about various skin care products that could be made using it

The next step was the hardest; how do we get that bright yellow block of hard wax added to the products? Unfortunately, the only beeswax we had accumulated up to that point looked more like Grandma’s oatmeal. 

George and I researched several online videos and through blood, sweat and a lot of “clean up on aisle 4,” we mastered the perfect wax rendering process. 

Now having beautiful wax, we were able to begin our new skincare line starting with a lip balm (now a chapstick).

It felt so good on our lips compared to anything else that we had ever used! The hardest part of creating a skincare line of products was figuring out how much beeswax to add to each one. Almost every recipe that we found online did not have beeswax as an ingredient.. 

Beeswax Rendering Items Needed Wax Cappings

• Cheesecloth 
• Old pot for wax (non-stick material work best)
• Old spatula or spoon for stirring 
• Rubber ice cube tray
• Rubber band Sharp knife
• Candle wax pitcher Large Pot
• Glass measuring cup
• Filter bucket
• Filter 
• Water 

Directions: 

1.Scrape or use a hot knife to remove cappings from the honeycomb.

 2.Separate as much honey from the cappings as possible using the filtering bucket, or if you are using the cut comb and strain method, squeeze as much honey from the comb as possible.

3.Add about an inch of water to your pot and add cappings. 

4.Heat the pot to about 180 degrees or until the cappings start melting (watch and stir the entire time! (The wax will bubble up and overflow if not watched carefully.) 

5.Remove from heat and allow to cool. The wax will separate from the honey and water. 

6.Scrape the debris off of the bottom of the wax.

7.Add water and wax to the pot again and heat. 

8.Repeat this process at least 3-5 times until the wax looks filtered. 

9.Melt wax in a candle wax pitcher (I use the double boiler method). 

10.Pour wax through cheesecloth into the ice cube tray.

We refused to make anything that was not natural or a honeybee by-product. After-all, we are a honey farm, right? Beeswax is tricky – too much and your product is too hard, too little and the product doesn’t possess necessary healing properties. We finally found a balance with the chapstick and it was just right 

Beeswax Chapstick Recipe

 Yield: 20-25 .15 oz Chapstick tubes

 Ingredients needed: 

• 1 oz. Beeswax
• 1.5 oz. Sweet Almond Oil
• 5 drops Vitamin E Oil
• 1.5 oz Cocoa Butter

Items needed:

• Glass measuring cup
• Pot
• 8 oz or 16 oz canning jar with lid      
• Water 25 Chapstick tubes or lip balm containers

Our new skincare line began selling quickly. We then added healing products that contained not only beeswax, but propolis too! Testimonies came pouring in how people’s lives had changed through using our bee product skincare line. Wounds and burns were being healed, eczema was disappearing and rosacea was alleviated. A school teacher friend told us she put our beeswax lotion on her scar from a recent neck surgery and unlike the “over-the-counter” stuff, the results were AMAZING! It was an awesome feeling to know that we were helping so many people!

Soon, we started selling our honey and beeswax skincare line at the local Farmer's Markets as well as from the shop behind our house. I quit my job in the spring of 2018 to devote all of my time to the business and in October of 2018 we opened our new retail farm store! George also opened Honey Buzz Winery where he sells honey wine (mead) and charcuterie boards.

Creek House has quickly become a destination location for travelers from all over! We are currently expanding the building and now have twenty employees including our children Carley, Blake and Caiden. Our beeswax skincare line is sold in retail stores across Texas including Texas Bee Supply! We invite you to visit our farm store at 5005 4th Ave in Canyon, TX or shop online at www.creekhousehoneyfarm.com

Presently, our beeswax skin care line outsells our honey. It has changed so many people’s lives and we thank God for that daily. It is a true blessing for us and them!

George & Paige Nester