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What is beeswax?
Like the name suggests, beeswax is a type of wax made by bees. Bees secrete the wax naturally to make their honeycombs. Humans can harvest the remaining beeswax and use it to make candles, lip balms, and much more. Beeswax is a wonderful natural substance that has a variety of uses – especially in skincare.
What is it best for?
Beeswax is often used to provide a textural element to cosmetics. When melted and mixed with oils in different proportions, cosmetics can be made into everything from a stick-like balm or lipstick to a creamy balm. The more beeswax, the more solid a product will be at room temperature.
Beeswax is also excellent at creating a protective moisture barrier on the skin. This makes it perfect for moisturizing anything from your lips to your face or body. Beeswax products can help you keep your skin soft and hydrated, but more so, it is rich in vitamins, too. Its vitamin A content is effective at reducing wrinkles, protecting the skin from UV damage, and stimulating skin cell rejuvenation. That’s why beeswax is a great ingredient for anti-aging skincare.
What is the drawback?
There are practically no physical side effects of using beeswax in skincare, but it can be a little expensive. Also, it should be noted that we recommend ensuring your beeswax has been harvested sustainably, otherwise over-harvesting can damage the bee population, which in turn can harm the environmental cycles. In addition, though an allergic reaction to beeswax is rare, it is possible.
Melasma is a specific example of hyperpigmentation. Melasma looks like whole patches of brown or darker skin across the parts of the face and neck. Melasma is common among women who are pregnant - it’s even referred to as “the mask of pregnancy.” But melasma can occur in both men and women who are not pregnant, too. Melasma can be caused by UV damage, but there are also genetic, hormonal, and medication-induced causes for melasma, too.
There are a variety of topical ingredients that can be used to lighten the skin from melasma or reduce its appearance. Each ingredient works in different ways, and each has their own benefits and drawbacks. hydroquinone, arbutin, vitamin C (ascorbic acid, and tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate, etc) are some of the most commonly used ingredients for melasma treatment.
Hydroquinone is a skin lightening cream that works by suppressing the production of melanin. There are drawbacks to using hydroquinone, however, including cancer risks demonstrated by recent scientific studies, as well as hydroquinone-induced ochronosis.
Arbutin is a synthesized derivative of hydroquinone. It acts as a powerful skin lightening ointment that works a bit differently than hydroquinone. It blocks the production of melanin instead of “bleaching” the skin.
Vitamin C can be used as a brightening agent to lighten the hyperpigmentation of your sunspots or melasma. It works by inhibiting the enzyme tyrosinase, preventing the formation of melatonin.
Ascorbic Acid is actually the formal scientific name for one form of Vitamin C. It can refer to either a naturally occurring Vitamin C found in foods such as citrus, or a synthetic form of ascorbic acid created to be more shelf-stable for skincare products like discoloration repair lotions and creams.
Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate is another form of Vitamin C. By synthesizing this compound from Vitamin C, dermatologists are able to give us all the benefits of Vitamin C in a more shelf-stable form that can also be soluble in oil to make more effective, deeper penetrating skin products. (Herndon 2016)
Ingredients in the vitamin A family (ie. Retinol, tretinoin, etc) and acids (glycolic acid, lactic acid, salicylic acid) help damaged pigmented skin cells shred faster, so they also help with melasma.
Beeswax may be effective for melasma, but there are many other factors that may affect whether this ingredient would work on your skin or if there are better ingredients that may work for you. Take this skin quiz to find the best ingredients for your skin and build your skincare routine.
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