Hi folks! Just a quick update on our homemade beeswax lip balm which we have been making for about 3 years now. At our last free give away trade show we debuted our new lip balm formula which contains some new essential oils namely peppermint and lemongrass as opposed to our original scent which contained rosemary and peppermint.
Everyone who tried our lip balms were truly delighted and we have decided to make our beeswax lip balms with this exciting new scent beginning next year. We encourage you to try one of our lip balms and compare with any other beeswax lip balm and let us know what you think.
If you make a purchase at our store or online at www.FloridaHerbHouse.com or www.SharpWebLabs.com then simply say you read our blog online and would like to sample one of our beeswax lip balms and we will gladly include one with your order! Our lip balms are eco-friendly using pure filtered premium beeswax and coconut oil. The balm outlasts all paraffin (petroleum based) lip balms and protects your lips extraordinarily.
For those of you who wish to learn briefly how bees actually make the wax read on. To make beeswax bees first collect nectar from flowers and bring it to the hive. There it becomes wax or honey. A bee's diet consists primarily of honey, and any honey not consumed by the bees or in the raising of brood is stored as surplus and is ultimately consumed in the winter months when no flowers are available.
The worker bees, which live only around 35 days in the summer, develop special wax-producing glands on their abdomens and are most efficient at wax production during the 10th through the 16th days of their lives. From about day 18 until the end of its life, a bee's wax glands steadily decline. Bees consume honey (6-8 pound of honey are need to produce a pound of wax) causing the special wax-producing glands to covert the sugar into wax which is extruded through small pores. The wax appears as small flakes on the bees' abdomen. At this point the flakes are essentially transparent and only become white after being chewed. It is in the mastication process that salivary secretions are added to the wax to help soften it. This also accounts for its change in color.
The exact process of how a bee transfers the wax scales from its abdomen to its mandibles was a mystery for years. It's now understood to be processed in either of two ways. Most of the activities in the hive are cooperative so it should be no surprise that other worker bees are willing to remove the wax scales from their neighbors and then chew them. The other method is for the same bee extruding the wax to process her own wax scales. This is done using one hind leg to move a wax scale to the first pair of legs (forelegs). A foreleg then makes the final transfer to the mandibles where it is masticated, and then applied to the comb being constructed or repaired.
Sincerely,
Stephen C. Sharp
Florida Herb House
