NIB Spotlight Salve and Beeswax

December 1, 2018

Nature’s Ingredient Benefit (NIB) Spotlight this month is focused on Salve and Beeswax.

What is Salve?

I get this question a lot, so for this month’s NIB I want to share what a Salve is and how it differs from a lotion.

Salve- A salve is simply a combination of oil(s) and beeswax. Beeswax is melted with the oil and then when it cools it will harden into your desired consistency.  It can also have other things added to it (herbs, essential oils, vitamin E, etc.) but it does not contain water. This gives it a long, stable shelf life (without added preservatives. The beeswax acts as a preservative in this case).

Salves are the most efficient medium and are intensely emollient (aka moisturizes, soothes, and softens our skin). Most of you have heard me say “…a little goes a long way…” and that’s what I mean by efficient. When applying to your skin, you don’t need very much at all.

Upon contact with your skin, our Salves melt and are easily massaged into the skin. The skin slowly absorbs the Salve and typically the “oily” feeling is gone within 2 minutes, leaving the skin soft, supple and moisturized.

The base of all our Salves is Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO). I prefer this oil over all others as it’s loaded with skin nutrients as well as Omega 3’s and 6’s plus it is easily and eagerly absorbed by the skin. Your skin consumes whatever we put on it, so the more nutritious the better!

Lotion – A lotion is created when you take oil and water then blend it together using an emulsifying agent, typically emulsifying wax or beeswax.  Lotion usually has a higher concentration of water to oil (typically around 70% water, 20% oil, 10% emulsifying agent).

Depending on whether or not you use preservatives, lotions will have a shorter shelf life due to the high concentration of water. (Lotions like creams are made with water and thus in order to have a stable shelf life, they either need to have preservatives added, or if you don’t want to use a preservative, you need to store this at cool temperatures such as in the refrigerator in order to prevent the growth of yeast and bacteria. In which case they will last approx. 3-4 months.)

When applying to the skin, you will need much much more lotion to get anywhere near the same emollient results as a Salve, typically at least 5x-10x more lotion. Salves are much more efficient so you use less.

Also, with a lotion you will have a preservative of some sort. Most preservatives are synthetic or have a synthetic ingredient added to it even if it’s plant-based. So if 100% natural body care is important to you, then our Salves are what you want.

Here is a list of our Salve products: Beautiful Skin Facial Salve, Eczema Soothing Salve, Muscle Joint Relief Salve, Skin Refresher Herbal Salve, Nice Lips! Lip Balm, Beard Balm and coming soon Skin Quencher Body Salve.

Beeswax

DESCRIPTION
Beeswax is a natural wax produced by honey bees of the genus Apis. It is considered the miracle of the hive. Beeswax is secreted from eight wax-producing glands on the worker bee’s abdomen. The wax is secreted in thin sheets called scales. The scales, when first secreted, look a bit like mica flakes. They are clear, colorless, tasteless, and very brittle.

Beeswax is typically produced by the younger house bees when they are between twelve and twenty days old. As the bee grows older and begins to collect pollen and nectar, these glands start to atrophy, but their ability to produce beeswax doesn’t disappear completely. When bees swarm they will rapidly produce wax comb, since they need to quickly create a place for the queen to lay eggs and somewhere to store food. Pretty cool, huh??

BENEFITS

The possibilities for using beeswax are nearly endless, including skin care, candles, ornaments and even waxed fabric.

For skin care, Beeswax acts as a fantastic humectant, meaning it attracts moisture to your skin. It also creates a barrier on the skin, sealing moisture in (making it particularly beneficial in our Salves and Lip Balm). Unlike petroleum jelly though, it does not suffocate the skin, but rather allows it to breath.

In our Salves, Beeswax solidifies the oils into a creamy consistency while also naturally preserving our Salves. It is great for many skin and body conditions, such as:

Eczema, Psoriasis (chronic Eczema) and Dermatitis (Diaper-rash too)

Heals dry, cracked skin

Clears Acne

Relieves Pain and is Anti-inflammatory

Reduces Stretch Marks

And more…

OUR PRODUCTS CONTAINING BEESWAX

Beautiful Skin Facial Salve, Eczema Soothing Salve, Muscle Joint Relief Salve, Skin Refresher Herbal Salve, Nice Lips! Lip Balm, Beard Balm and coming soon Skin Quencher Body Salve.

Written by Lisa Scheerer, CEO and Creative Alchemist of Not The Same dba Alise Body Care
December 1, 2018