Three precious products from the hive, each one with different uses and properties. Beeswax, propolis and royal jelly have always been used in the pharmaceutical and food sector as well as in cosmetics.
Compositions, properties and features are different from one product to another, the starting point is however the tireless work of bees, which are essential insects for the whole ecosystem needing to be protected.
Royal jelly: composition, properties and benefits
In Carlo Sessa catalogue since 1973 (the first Italian company to import fresh and lyophilized royal jelly from Chinese producers), royal jelly is a protein substance secreted by glands of young attendant bees. It is a semi-fluid white/yellowish paste, with a sour-aromatic flavour. It is mainly made of nitrogen-based substances, sugar and lipids, it has been the subject of many studies about its composition, validating its interesting nutritional properties.
Royal jelly improves our physical and mental performance, enhancing our immune defences by means of the synergic action of its distinctive components, making it a unique nourishment.
Furthermore, royal jelly has cosmetic properties: it helps improving skin trophism as well as it counteracts signs of ageing. It can be used either a jelly-like substance or in the freeze-dried state, facilitating its storage and use in the different formulas.
Propolis: composition, properties and benefits
Propolis is a resinous plant substance, which is harvested and partly reprocessed by bees thanks to the action of enzymes existing in the saliva glands. The complexity of its composition is mainly influenced by the features of the environment where bees live.
The main ingredients are certainly flavonoids and polyphenols, in addition it shows a high content of mineral salts, i.e. iron, calcium, copper and manganesium and group B vitamins.
Propolis is a strong anti-inflammatory product, showing in addition, antiviral, healing, antifungal, immunostimulating, vasoprotective effects and is an excellent natural product for cold and flu prevention. It has softening, anti-oxidant, balancing and cleansing properties so that it is used in cosmetics in formulas of moisturizing and soothing creams.
Beeswax: composition, properties and benefits
Since the ancient times, beeswax is secreted by bees and used to build the honeycombs of their hive. Beeswax is an essential raw material in cosmetics, which is used in many formulas as it produces a protective, non-occlusive film on the skin surface, provided with a high stability.
For centuries, beeswax is known in the cosmetic/dermatological sector: just think of the”Galeno wax”. It is a very ancient formula of skin protective ointment based on beeswax and rosewater, still reported today in international pharmacopoeias.
Then, it has a number of household uses (floor, furniture polishing, etc.) and is the main ingredient of the traditional natural candles.