Products From the Hive

Meet George and Paige Nester! As fairly new beekeepers, they started Creek House Honey Farm in 2011 with just 2 hives. After expanding in 2020, they have over twenty employees including children Carley, Blake and Caiden and can be found in numerous retail locations such as Texas Bee Supply! They offer a full line of skin care products and honey, host bee tours and have an event rental facility at their farm. Here are some recipes they kindly shared in an article they wrote for us in August 2020. Most beekeepers have wax left from recent extractions, and with these simple recipes, you too can enjoy some wonderful skin care products from our own bees!

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:

Scrape or use a hot knife to remove cappings from honeycomb.
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.
Add about an inch of water to your pot and add cappings.
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.)
Remove from heat and allow to cool. The wax will separate from the honey and water.
Scrape the debris off of the bottom of the wax.
Add water and wax to the pot again and heat.
Repeat this process 3-5 times or until the wax looks filtered.
Melt wax in a candle wax pitcher (I use the double boiler method).
Pour wax through cheesecloth into the ice cube tray.

Beeswax Lip Balm Recipe

Yield: 20-25 .15 oz Lip Balm 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 lip balm containers

Instructions

Measure all ingredients and add to the canning jar. Place in a pot full of water at 180 degrees and melt down. While you are waiting for it to melt, prepare your lip balm containers. Once melted, pour into a glass measuring cup with spout. Pour immediately into tubes.