Animal waxes

How are animal waxes produced and harvested?

Beeswax in detail

Beeswax is produced from wax glands on the ventral side of the abdomen of worker bees (the queen and males do not produce wax), in the form of fine, transparent white scales. This wax, mixed with bee saliva, is then kneaded by the mandibles, heated to a temperature of around 35°C and used to build the hexagonal cells. This perfectly hexagonal honeycomb shape is not the work of bees; bees actually build cylinders, and the physical laws that govern the behavior of grouped cylinders, formed from a solid substance that softens at a certain temperature (viscosity, surface tension...) do the rest. It is into these cells that the honey is deposited, with another layer of wax then filling the cells.

The bee synthesizes wax from honey and sugars, not from pollen.

Beeswax is an initially white solid, which gradually turns brown under the effect of pigments from several substances, including pollen; it melts at around 65°C and has a specific gravity of 0.96; it is insoluble in water, and soluble in hot ethanol, chloroform and benzene.

Its acid number ranges from 15 to 23, its iodine number from 6 to 12, its saponification number from 85 to 105 and its ester number from 70 to 82.

It is used in cosmetics, where its film-forming power is put to good use in lipsticks and deodorant sticks, its texturizing power in lip glosses and its hardening power in soaps.

Beeswax is also used in the pharmaceutical industry; it is also used to make candles; in the food industry it is used as a coating agent and is a food additive classified under code E 901 (texture and glazing agent). Finally, so-called “natural” polishes contain it, often mixed with carnauba wax.

Whiting (or spermaceti)

Spermaceti is a white, odorless, oily compound that melts at temperatures above 30°C, insoluble in water but soluble in hot ethanol, chloroform and xylene.

Up to 4 tons of this mixture can be found in the head of a sperm whale. The role of this substance is not perfectly established; hypotheses include echolocation and buoyancy, the former seeming the most likely.

It's a mixture of wax and triglycerides, with wax as the main constituent.

It has an acid value of less than 2, an iodine value of less than 3 and a saponification value of between 105 and 120.

Once used in cosmetic creams, its use is now strictly regulated to prevent the slaughter of cetaceans. It has been replaced by jojoba wax.