I had never ventured into beeswax polish, not until we bought a dining table that wasn’t sealed and with young children leaving cup rings and scratches on the expensive table top I realised I needed to up my game from the lacking shop bought wax polish that was filled with chemicals and didn’t leave a nice finish.
I wanted something free from chemical and easy to make.
That was a few years ago and since then I can’t believe I never thought I had a use for it.
Applications for beeswax polish
- Beeswax polish can be used on wood furniture, on raw, sealed, painted and stained finishes.
- It can be used on leather lounges or car seats.
- Apply it to your kitchen wood utensils and cutting boards.
- When paired with a good quality Olive oil or Jojoba it’s good for your skin as a balm or add an essential oil like blue tansy or frankincense and use as a face mask for problem skin.
How to apply to any surface
To apply to wood, leather or kitchen utensils, clean and dry thoroughly then apply the beeswax polish.
Allow it to absorb for 15 minutes, even on stained or vanished surfaces.
Once absorbed, buff the wax off with a cloth, until it’s streak free and shiny.
Beeswax polish is great to bring old furniture to life, adding a lustre to dated and scratched pieces.
Healthy consumable oils for beeswax polish.
The best ratio for a good all rounder polish is 1 to 2, beeswax to oil. It’s sets in the tin, but is still soft enough to scoop out with a cloth.
I add essential oils to mine, one’s that are safe to consume since I use my polish on my cooking utensils and cutting boards.
Lavender and lemon are my go to.
Lavender smells divine on my leather couch and table and lemon is fresh in the kitchen, plus I often rub a little beeswax balm with lemon oil under my eyes as a natural brighter.
You can use Olive oil, coconut oil or Jojoba.
I prefer olive, it blends with the beeswax really well and it’s cost effective.
Coconut oil is natural and good for the budget but it melts on warmer days, making your wax polish very soupy, so if you do use it, I would add 10 % more beeswax to your mix and store it in the summer somewhere as cool as possible.
Some recipes call for mineral oil, which despite the name is not at all healthy, and in fact it is advised that you coat the surface you have used mineral oil on with beeswax so you don’t consume any of it (it contains traces of petroleum) so mixing it with beeswax, is not a good idea.
Storage of beeswax polish
You can store in any container you like.
The most important elements for storing beeswax polish is keeping it out of heat, air and light, not so much for the beeswax, but for the oil.
Avoid plastic, beeswax absorbs smells and chemical nasties and if you wanted to use it on your skin storing in plastic is not ideal. I use little tins with lids, they are nice and small and are great to have around the house as they have so many uses.
The beeswax itself, if you buy in bulk and you’re not meting it down to be used right away, store in a cool dark place, in an airtight container. Don’t store beeswax near chemicals, like paint thinners or aerosol cans, as it absorbs the chemical.
Bees wax when stored correctly will last for years.
Beeswax polish will store for as long as the oil lasts.
Olive oil, 12-18 months.
coconut oil, 24 months
Jojoba oil up to 5 years.
Recipe for beeswax polish.
My ratio is one to two.
For this particular batch I used 60 grams of beeswax blocks to 220 mls of olive oil.
Melt them together in a double boiler.
Transfer into a measuring cup that is heated slightly so the wax mixture doesn’t hit the cold surface and set hard, it saves a lot of time cleaning! I heat my glass measuring cup by placing it in the water the double boiler was on.
pour
Mix in 5 drops of essential oil if you are using, in this batch I used lemon, lavender and pink grapefruit. 5 drops leaves you with a slight scent, if you want a stronger smell use 8 drops.
The tins I use hold 125 ml of wax polish and I get three and a half from 60 grams of beeswax and a cup of oil. you can get the same ones here.
Use as desired.
Create joyful motherhood
The Simple Mamma
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