HERB - beeswax question

Gaylin J. Walli gwalli at ptc.com
Mon Oct 23 09:50:41 PDT 2000


Melandra asked about substitutions in salve for an allergy:

>What would be suitable substitues for the beeswax?

Herbal skin salves may be a little tricky to deal with this
substitution. The beeswax is use a little bit to help with the
skin, but more of it is used to thicken and harden the oils
that you're mixing together for the salve.

When I've made balms in the past, I've used paraffin as a
substitute for people who were vegans. The qualities
didn't seem quite the same to me, but the substitution is
okay in terms of hardness. When I use paraffin, I like to
use a teeny bit of something to make it a little more
slippery to get the same kind of texture I get with beeswax.
The little something extra is usually a dab of petroleum
jelly and a teeny bit of mineral oil.  To be honest, though,
I doubt most people would recognize the difference.

I only make the version for people who insist on no animal
products. My preferred base is vegetable or nut oil with
beeswax as a thickener, and sometimes with a little honey
added.

Has anyone tried some of the other kinds of thickening
agents? What about something like isinglass? How does that
behave? It would harden a balm like a wax would, but
I wonder how it would behave and what the properties
would be....

Iasmin
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