Beeswax (yellow / white)
INCI Cera Alba. CAS 8012-89-3; EC 232-383-7, as CosIng gives them. Also: Cera flava (yellow beeswax), Cera alba (white beeswax), Yellow wax, White wax, INS 901, White beeswax.
Published values
| Saponification value | 87–104 mg KOH/g |
| Used by the calculator | 95.5 mg KOH/g (midpoint) |
| SAP for NaOH | 0.0681 g/g |
| Iodine value | — |
| INS (SAP − IV) | — |
| Melting point | 62–65 °C |
| Unsaponifiable matter | — |
Soapmaking books print about 0.068 g NaOH per g (median of 6 books), which agrees with ours to within 2 %.
A bar made of 100 % Beeswax
The soap qualities are derived from the fatty-acid profile, which is below. They are shown here only for records the calculator can use.
How much lye
| Oil | NaOH | KOH |
|---|---|---|
| 500 g | 32.3 g(29.5–35.2) | 45.4 g(41.3–49.4) |
| 1 kg | 64.7 g(58.9–70.4) | 90.7 g(82.7–98.8) |
| 1 lb (454 g) | 29.3 g(26.7–31.9) | 41.2 g(37.5–44.8) |
| 2 lb (907 g) | 58.7 g(53.5–63.9) | 82.3 g(75.0–89.6) |
For this oil alone at 5 % superfat, with pure sodium hydroxide (NaOH) or pure potassium hydroxide (KOH); in brackets, across the published range of its saponification value. KOH is usually sold at 90 %: divide by 0.9. For a whole recipe, open the calculator.
Fatty-acid profile
| Fatty acid | Published range, % | Used | |
|---|---|---|---|
| This is a true wax — esters of long-chain acids and alcohols rather than a triglyceride — so a fatty-acid profile in the soapmaking sense does not describe it. | |||
Recipes that use it
- Honey and beeswax bar 2 % of the oils
- Nettle and yarrow split bar 2 % of the oils
Guides that discuss it
Where these numbers come from
Melting range 62-65 C; acid value 17-24; peroxide value NMT 5; saponification value 87-104; glycerol and other polyols NMT 0.5%; lead NMT 2 mg/kg.
Composition: free fatty acids 12-14% (C24-C32), free primary alcohols ~1% (C28-C35), linear wax mono-/hydroxy-monoesters 35-45% (C40-C48), complex wax esters 15-27%, odd-numbered hydrocarbons 12-16% (C27-C33). Ester value 72-79 (cited from FCC 5th ed.).
Mirror site hosting the USP 29-NF 24 text; values transcribed from that page. Newer USP editions may differ.
Mirror site hosting the USP 29-NF 24 text; values transcribed from that page. Newer USP editions may differ.
JP XVIII 'Yellow Beeswax' (Cera Flava) and 'White Beeswax' (Cera Alba): acid value 5-9 or 17-22; saponification value 80-100; melting point 60-67 C.
Beeswax is a WAX (esters of C24-C34 alcohols with palmitic/15-hydroxypalmitic/oleic acids, ~12-16 % hydrocarbons, ~12-14 % free C24-C32 fatty acids), not a triglyceride: only the free acids react readily with lye at soap-making temperatures, the wax esters saponify slowly, so it contributes little soap and is used mainly as a hardener/thickener. SAP 87-104 mg KOH/g, melting range 62-65 C, acid value 17-24 and peroxide NMT 5 from the JECFA specification (65th JECFA, 2005). USP 29-NF 24 'White Wax'/'Yellow Wax': melting range 62-65 C, acid value 17-24, ester value 72-79 (SAP = acid + ester value = 89-103). JP XVIII 'Yellow Beeswax'/'White Beeswax': acid value 5-9 or 17-22 (covers Apis cerana wax), saponification value 80-100, melting point 60-67 C. Heess 'Beeswax white Ph. Eur. 12': drop point 61-66 C, acid value 17.0-24.0, ester value 70-80. INCI: Cera Alba (white) / Cera Flava (yellow). No iodine value or fatty-acid profile is published in these documents.
This record is part of the open ingredient database (ODbL), which you can download as CSV or JSON. Found an error or a better primary source? Corrections with a link to the document are welcome at support@soapformulator.com.