Green Skincare: Is It Ethical To Use Beeswax In Beauty Products While The Bees Continue To Disappear?

Einstein is rumored to have predicted that if bees disappear from our planet, humanity will soon perish. Although it is not proven whether the great scientist said this or not, our scientists are concerned.

Wild bee populations are being wiped out by a parasitic mite and beekeepers are working hard to protect their farmed bees from the same fate.

As the bees disappear, we take a look at the bee and the topic of beeswax, ethics and skin care.

Beeswax (gold alba wax as listed on ingredient labels) is an ingredient used by both commercial skin care manufacturers and many producers of natural and organic skin care products.

Beeswax is obtained from the honeycomb in the hive and is used in skin care as an emulsifier and thickener, as well as for its recognized skin care benefits.

People who choose to buy natural and organic skin care products expect green, ecological and ethical credentials from the producers.

Cruelty-free ranks high on the list of green and ethical buyers, so it’s important to look at the issue of bees and beeswax.

Most vegans do not eat honey or use bee products, although vegetarians generally do.

The Vegan Society condemns the use of all bee products such as honey, beeswax, propolis, and royal jelly.

According to the Vegan Society, exploitation and cruelty towards bees consists of:

• Bee farming
• Cruel treatment of the queen bee
• Wing clipping
• Killing bees by harvesting honeycombs.
• Use of pesticides and artificial foods
• Vivisection
• Destruction of hives.

Pretty damning, don’t you think? Or is that it?

If you delve into the subject, it would seem that not all beekeepers use the above methods.

While it is true that most, if not all, commercial bee farms practice cruelty to bees, many small ‘local’ beekeepers are more ethical.

The independent beekeeper would say that the well-being of the bees is the most important thing to them, both as a moral obligation towards the bees and in favor of good sense for the small business.

In many small bee farms, the bees have extra space for their hives, the bees enjoy working and produce more honey than they need, and through the use of pesticides they are protected from deadly mites, parasites and fungi that are killing the colonies of wild bees. Beekeepers are also interested in pointing out that although it occurs on large commercial bee farms, they themselves do not kill the bees or destroy their hives.

Sadly, the number of small, caring, ethical beekeepers is outnumbered by huge commercial bee farms that meet the demand of even larger commercial companies that want large quantities of cheap products, regardless of the cost to the bees.

And the question of exploitation remains, as bees are still raised and cultivated for their monetary value.

Therefore, it is important to choose cruelty-free natural and organic beauty products. This is not as easy as it sounds. Beeswax is a predominant ingredient in commercial and natural skin care, but there are bee-friendly alternatives, so read the literature, website information, and product ingredients carefully.

It is not enough for manufacturers of skin care products to claim to be against animal testing. If you have doubts, ask!

A UK natural skincare company called Maia Skin Care (http://www.maiaskincare.co.uk) believes in using cruelty-free ingredients. They do not use any bee products in their natural beauty products and have excellent eco-ethics. All of their products are vegan-friendly and do not contain beeswax, honey, or any other ingredient derived from bees.