none of your beeswax!

I started a new piece a few days ago, and over the past few months I have been somewhat unsatisfied with the beeswax I am using. My dissatisfaction didn't really have a cause at the time, until I went home over Christmas and started using the wax supply I typically use for soap. As I melted it, I realized that the beeswax I was using (Jacquard 100% beeswax for batik) wasn't REALLY beeswax. It doesn't turn golden brown as you melted it, the sugars and other debris popping away in the wax as it got hotter and hotter. It also doesn't smell like carmelized sugar. It smells like chemicals, and that was when I decided I should just do away with the pot and start a new block.


left: new beeswax; right: jacquard beeswax

So today I experimented with some new beeswax that I purchased in Toronto over the holidays. The appearance is not very nice - there's all kinds of debris stuck in the block.. including a thistle! The wax itself is a dark yellow - not the brilliant yellow of the Jacquard, and it had a fine dusting on the surface. As I melted it, all the debris started coming away and fizzing and popping and sizzling in the melted wax! And as the wax got hotter and hotter still, it turned from a dark yellow into a beautiful golden brown. And the smell was fantastic! I heard flies and bees at the window. Seriously.

My thoughts are that the Jacquard beeswax is probably processed to remove sugars and other debris. Jacquard also sells white beeswax pellets, so I am sure they are capable of refining the hell out of beeswax so it doesn't quite resemble what it's supposed to be. Also I noticed that the jacquard wax is a bit stickier to touch than the natural beeswax I purchased in Toronto.