What is the Difference Between Carnauba Wax and Beeswax

The key difference between carnauba wax and beeswax is that carnauba wax is extracted from a plant, whereas beeswax is obtained from beehives.

Generally, carnauba wax is brittle when used alone. Therefore, we need to use another wax in combination with carnauba wax in order to make it less brittle. The most common combination is beeswax with carnauba wax.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Carnauba Wax
3. What is Beeswax
4. Carnauba Wax vs Beeswax in Tabular Form
5. Summary – Carnauba Wax vs Beeswax

What is Carnauba Wax?

Carnauba wax is a type of natural wax that consists of fatty acid esters, fatty alcohols, acids, and hydrocarbons. This wax is obtained from the palm plant known as Copernicia prunifera, which is grown mainly in Brazil. We can get the wax by beating the wax off the dried palm fronds, followed by the refining of this extract. Typically, pure carnauba wax is yellow in color.

Usually, carnauba wax consists of about 80-85% fatty acid esters. Around 20% of the wax is esterified fatty diols. 10% of the wax is methoxylated or hydroxylated cinnamic acid. Moreover, about 6% of the wax contains hydroxylated fatty acids.

More importantly, this wax is harder than concrete and insoluble in water and ethanol. Moreover, it has a very high melting point. However, carnauba wax is non-toxic and hypoallergenic. We can polish this wax to a high gloss.

The applications of carnauba wax include use in food, cosmetics, automobile, and furniture wax, as molds for semiconductor devices, as coatings for dental flosses, etc. In other words, hypoallergenic properties and high gloss make it important as a thickener in cosmetics, including lipstick, eyeliner, mascara, eye shadow, foundation, deodorant, etc.

However, carnauba wax itself is brittle; therefore, it is often used in combination with other waxes such as beeswax. Therefore, we can use carnauba wax to treat and waterproof leather products. In addition, it gives these products a high gloss finish and increases the hardness of leather and durability.

What is Beeswax?

Beeswax is a naturally occurring wax that is produced by honeybees that belong to the group “Apis.” The worker bees in this group form the wax into scales through eight wax-producing glands in the abdominal segments of the bee. This extract is then discarded at the hive. Thereafter, the hive workers collect and use this wax to make cells that are required for honey storage and larval protection inside the beehive. When considering the chemical composition, beeswax mostly contains esters of fatty acids and many different long-chain alcohols.

Typically, beeswax is edible; we can eat it as it is. It shows negligible toxicity that is similar to many plant waxes, so we can use it in preparing food. Historically, beeswax was used as the first plastic material. It is also used as a lubricating agent, as a waterproofing agent, as a polish for wood, to make candles, as an ingredient in cosmetics, etc.

What is the Difference Between Carnauba Wax and Beeswax?

Carnauba wax is a type of natural wax that consists of fatty acid esters, fatty alcohols, acids, and hydrocarbons. Beeswax is a naturally occurring wax that is produced by honeybees that belong to the group “Apis.” The key difference between carnauba wax and beeswax is that carnauba wax is extracted from a plant, whereas beeswax is obtained from beehives.

The below infographic presents the differences between carnauba wax and beeswax in tabular form for side by side comparison.

Summary – Carnauba Wax vs Beeswax

We commonly use carnauba wax in combination with beeswax since carnauba wax is brittle when used alone. The key difference between carnauba wax and beeswax is that carnauba wax is extracted from a plant, whereas beeswax is obtained from beehives.

Reference:

1. Helmenstine, Anne Marie. “What Is Carnauba Wax?” ThoughtCo, Aug. 27, 2020.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Carnauba wax” By Simon A. Eugster – Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Beeswax foundation” By Plantsurfer at English Wikipedia – Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons., Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia