5 Top Beeswax Benefits For Hair 2022 | How To Use On Natural Hair, DIY And Best Products
Learn more about the beeswax benefits for hair and how to use beeswax for hair in this article below.
Beeswax has been trending recently for being the go-to solution for several skin and hair problems. And it’s also among the top ingredients for several hair care products.
This ingredient has also been a boon to the natural hair care industry. As it has fantastic moisture-locking properties, it’s a favourite ingredient in African American hair products.
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There are several benefits of using beeswax. You can use it in its natural form, mix it with carrier oils or ingredients like shea butter to create your DIY recipes.
Or you can simply buy the best beeswax products for hair that are available in the market today.
Whatever you choose, you cannot deny that there are several beeswax benefits for hair. In this article, I’ve tried to outline a few.
I have also listed out several ways you how you can use beeswax too!
What Is Beeswax?
Beeswax is a natural substance made by worker honeybees in the comb. It’s the naturally-occurring wax that makes up the structure of the honeycomb.
It’s rich in vitamin A and has several anti-inflammatory properties. The use of beeswax as a medicinal treatment goes as far back as ancient Egypt and China.
As it’s non-comedogenic and hypoallergenic it’s used in several hair and skincare products.
Beeswax Benefits For Hair 2021
Before we get to how you can use beeswax for your tresses, it’s best to know WHY you should beeswax. Or rather, what are the benefits of using this substance on your hair. Here are a few.
Locks Moisture In Hair
One of the biggest reasons why beeswax is so popular for natural hair care is because it helps retain moisture in your hair.
African American hair is prone to dryness, and if you have high porosity hair, you can lose what little moisture you have very easily.
Beeswax helps seal the hair cuticle and acts as an emollient, keeping moisture in the tresses.
It’s also rich in Vitamin A, which helps add hydration to your tresses.
Smoothens Frizzy Hair
The loss of moisture from hair is one of the biggest contributors to frizzy hair, and as I’ve discussed before, beeswax prevents this from happening.
Beeswax also smoothens hair cuticles, preventing hair from looking rough and tangled.
Promotes Hair Growth
As beeswax reduces dryness and frizz, it can reduce tangles, split ends, and breakage by a considerable amount.
So your hair doesn’t get damaged as much as it would and hair fall is also reduced.
Therefore in a way beeswax can promote hair growth. It also helps keep your protective hairstyles in place which help natural hair grow and prevent shrinkage.
Heals Scalp Irritation and Inflammation
There are studies that show that the topical application of beeswax can help soothe certain dermatological issues like eczema, psoriasis, dandruff, and scalp inflammation.
However, it should be noted that the study was conducted where a mix of honey, olive oil, and beeswax was used on the scalp and not beeswax in particular.
Helps Maintain Protective Hairstyles
Beeswax is an excellent hair sealant. So if you have split ends, you can use beeswax to hide them by sealing the strands.
Please note that nothing can repair split ends permanently, beeswax can just prevent further damage and hide the split, that’s all.
This makes beeswax great when you are doing protective hairstyles like braids or dreadlocks.
When mixed with carrier oil like coconut oil or butters like shea or mango butter, beeswax adds the slip necessary when braiding hair and keeps hair in place.
How To Use Beeswax For Hair
Make a DIY Beeswax Pomade
As I’ve mentioned before, beeswax is a great ingredient for maintaining the shine and hold of your hairstyles.
So you can create a pomade of your own using some organic beeswax, a carrier oil like coconut oil, some corn starch or rice starch, and essential oils. Here are the instructions on how to create a beeswax pomade at home.
How to do it:
- Take a few beeswax pellets and melt them gently on a low flame or by placing the bowl containing them over boiling water
- Mix in a carrier oil (coconut oil if you want some extra nourishment or jojoba oil if you want to keep the pomade lightweight)
- Add in a bit of shea butter (this is optional but I recommend it for natural hair)
- Mix in corn starch (rice starch will do if you’re allergic to gluten) as this is what will give the pomade its hair-holding properties.
- Add a few drops of essential oils like rosemary essential oil or tea tree essential oil. This will add a natural fragrance to the pomade and keep some hair issues like dandruff and itchiness at bay.
Create a Finishing Oil For Natural Hair
If your hair gets really dry and frizzy, here’s an easy recipe for a DIY beeswax finishing product. To make this you will need beeswax pellets, oils (jojoba or olive oil works best but you can use argan oil as well), shea butter or mango butter, and vitamin E capsules.
How to do it:
- Melt the beeswax pellets and shea or mango butter together in a bowl over a double boiler
- After the mixture is properly liquid take it off the boiler and stir in the oils of your choice
- Puncture 3-4 of the vitamin E capsules and add the liquid to the mixture
- Add a few drops of essential oil if you want
- Mix this thoroughly until it has a jelly-like consistency
- Let it cool down and then apply it on your hair as a hair moisturizer
Use it For Edge Control
If you are not up for becoming Professor Snape and cooking up these potions, that’s okay too!
You can use beeswax as it is in many ways. If you get the pure, organic version of beeswax that’s available in the market or on amazon.com, you can use it in place of a holding gel or as edge control.
When you’re twisting your hair into locs or when your hairstylist is braiding your curls into protective styles, a little bit of beeswax can tame your coily hair and prevent it from getting tangled.
If you want to lay down your edges, you can use a tiny amount of beeswax and keep them in place.
But be careful, beeswax softens at 90-degree Fahrenheit, which is less than our body’s natural temperature.
So avoid using pure beeswax as edge control on a sunny afternoon.
Top Beeswax Hair Products
If you do not want to spend time creating DIY recipes for using beeswax on hair, here are some ready-to-use products you can buy instead.
Cantu Flaxseed Smoothing Hair Wax
Carol's Daughter Mimosa Hair Honey Shine Pomade
FAQs - Beeswax For Hair
Does beeswax build up hair?
Yes, beeswax can build up on your hair. But so can any other moisturizing ingredient like mango butter or shea butter. In fact, beeswax can be easily removed from your hair, unlike the silicones that are in most conditioners.
But if you have very fine thin hair, then you can limit your beeswax usage to 2-3 times a week only. This can considerably reduce buildup.
How often should I put beeswax in my hair?
As mentioned above, if you have fine, thin hair or are worried about beeswax product buildup on scalp, weighing your curls down, you can limit usage to 2-3 times per week.
Always use the smallest amount of beeswax possible and add more of it if necessary. This product is very moisturizing and it’s easy to overdo it.
If your hair is thick and needs more moisture you can use it more upto 4 times a week. But I strongly advise against using beeswax every day as it can really build up in your tresses.
Is beeswax good for natural hair?
Natural hair or African American hair is usually of the type 4a, 4c or 4c texture. These hair textures are prone to dryness as the scalp’s natural oils aren’t distributed well on the hair due to their coily pattern.
So natural hair requires a lot of emollients to keep the moisture locked in. And beeswax is just perfect for the job!
Natural hair is also more prone to frizz, so beeswax helps keep that in control as well.
Also, a lot of black people use beeswax to tame their curls while they are creating protective hairstyles like dreads or braids.
Does beeswax help your hair grow?
There are certain studies that indicate that beeswax is linked to faster hair growth. However the studies included beeswax in Eruca sativa seed oil base, so we cannot say for certain that beeswax was indeed the cause for hair growth.
However, in a more indirect way beeswax can reduce dryness and frizz, which in turn can reduce tangles, breakage and hair damage. So your hair can grow undisturbed.
The use of beeswax in beauty products is not a recent innovation. Greek, Egyptian, and several Asian cultures have been using beeswax in their traditional medicine for centuries now.
Beeswax is very mild and doesn’t irritate even the most sensitive of scalps. And it also doesn’t clog pores as other heavy, moisturizing ingredients do!
You can buy organic, 100 percent pure beeswax to use in your DIY hair care recipes or buy products with beeswax in them.
If you’re deciding on the latter, make sure you check the ingredients label to see if the beeswax products are free form harsh chemicals and other components that might suit your hair.
Also Read:
How to use vitamin E for hair growth
