UKC

I was reading the 5 Things You Can Do to Improve Your Bouldering by Neil Gresham Mar/2007, and in the tactics bit where he says "Use beeswax and vitamin E based creams such as Climb On bars between sessions."

Anyone tried beeswax, I've got a ton (not actually a ton, more like 300 grams, but still) and bad skin, I was wondering if there are any experienced beeswaxers out there, does it help, what do you use it for exactly? I'll give it a try anyway..

In reply to timo.t:
Beeswax is used as a filler in a lot of these moisturising 'bars', I've not heard of it having any particularly wonderful skin properties though. It is supposedly antimicrobial and presumably if you put it on thick enough it'll stop your skin drying out.

In reply to timo.t: Beeswax is a good moisturiser- but it isn't anti microbial- that's the job of propolis.

In reply to timo.t: I've never seen a bee with bad skin, so it must work!

In reply to Tree:
I've seen some beeswax sold as having anti-microbial properties, I didn't bother to read the sales lit. sufficiently to check if it had been adulterated though: Beeswax is an absolute pain in the backside if you need a carefully controlled cooling profile so I didn't do too much research into the samples

In reply to Reach>Talent: thanks. what do you mean by "cooling profile"? I don't really have samples, more like a block of 3 x 5 x 2 inches (plus some random bits), an old friend has a bee farm, and he gave me loads several years ago for some other purposes and it's just been laying around, but if I can use it for something then that's brilliant. I've been using some today and it does seem to moisturize my hands quite well, and doesn't feel as intrusive as most creams.

In reply to timo.t:
I was using it for thickening pastes for nutritional products, beeswax caused us lots of problems because it goes from runny to hard as concrete in a fairly small temperature range which can be interesting when you have a ton of it in a mixing vessel!

In reply to timo.t: I prefer using my girlfriends Coco butter she uses for cellulite :s (she'll kill me for tellin you that.). I find it a little greasy but it smell nice!! mmmm

In reply to timo.t:

Beeswax doesn't absorb very well into the skin.
Might I suggest looking at Sypeland Climbers Balm.

Lots of ingredients to help the climbers damaged skin.
http://www.climbersbalm.com/ingredients.php

In reply to A Nidderdale boulderer.: you wouldn't also happen to have the ingredient amounts and method on you?

In reply to timo.t: Hope this helps!
http://www.northantsbees.org.uk/handcream.html

In reply to timo.t:

No that's a secret.

In reply to A Nidderdale boulderer.: shame, sounds like a nice product. But, well, currently I'm trying a separate approach, of first applying the beeswax and then handcream on top of that, with maybe a hint of water after letting it set in for a while, and so far so good, but it's raining here, so I'll have to see how it actually turns out when I can start climbing on rock again.

In reply to timo.t: cocoa butter is very good.
the climb on bars are excellent, and are mainly beeswax based so it must do something...
If you have issues with it being too hard melt it down and mix it with something else good, but softer, i.e. olive oil, which is supposedly also very good for the skin.

In reply to timo.t:

It's a product that has had a lot of positive endorsement.

I doubt your process, applying bees wax first will only create a barrier to the absorption of the hand cream, it's probably water based. Counter productive.

Beeswax is very good for polishing wooden dinning tables but does not have any attributes for good skin care.

Take a look at this thread on UKB ; http://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php/topic,9396.0.html

I'm not saying (dissing) that your idea won't work, and clearly you have bees wax to use up. But my product has been formulated for climbers and
has more active ingredients with proven properties.

I'm not meaning to sound negative, or sell you my product. Happy climbing.

In reply to timo.t: http://www.dringa.co.uk/page2.htm
I use this stuff its great.

Berts Bees salve, check it

In reply to HATTSTER:

Possibly? but a Climb on rip off?
http://www.dringa.co.uk/page3.htm compared to http://www.climbersbalm.com/ingredients.php

neither can prove one really works and the other doesn't, but the ingredient list, cost of ingredients...
...you get what you pay for.

In reply to A Nidderdale boulderer.: Im a postie who handles paper all day and im out in all weathers and i also climb so my hands crack a lot, and as for split tips, the pains unbearable sometimes, but i just scrape some into the crack and plaster it up overnight and the next day or so it usually heals up pretty good, i haven't got a clue whats in it but it sure does do the job, ive used it two winters now and all climbing last year, and ide rather pay a fiver than 13 quid or more as some ive seen. it works for me so all i can do is go by that.

In reply to HATTSTER:
Fair enough, can't argue with that.

But I will!...60ml of Sypeland CB @ £13 compared to?...no quantities on their site.
For arguments sake contact me for a FREE pot, see what you think.
I'm not saying my product is better, but is a wax free alternative that performs.

In reply to A Nidderdale boulderer.: but clearly you are, sorry if I take your posts with a hint of salt, but you ARE trying to sell me something, and salt is unavoidable. Secondly, since I have no idea what I'm doing; I'm just trying simple stuff out for now, dissing is not really an issue (and I don't really care), and any advice, ideas, etc. will be taken into consideration, but yes, it does form a barrier, but on a rest day (as yesterday was) I don't really do much (the percs of being unemployed), and given time it will absorb (also, which is why I said a hint of water), but I'm more than willing to change my method.

I don't think I have enough to start melting and trying out through different mixtures and just applying it to find one, I'd guess I have a few, but I don't wanna get it wrong, I'm just hesitant, I might try, but I want to be sure before I start messing around and realise that whoops, I'm out, and for now, applying a layer is not really depriving me of this future event.

ps. my product will be formulated by a climber. sorry, I don't doubt your product, I just don't wanna buy it.

In reply to A Nidderdale boulderer.: why is it wax free?

In reply to timo.t:

I second burts bees hand salve. So much cheaper than climb-on.

In reply to A Nidderdale boulderer.: Hi, received from Nidderdale boulderer as offered, came two days later and smells great too, had a split finger tip last week, so thought ide try it. I rubbed some into the split and then put a blob on and topped with a plaster, I repeated this at night before sleeping on it and when I took the plaster off, it had virtually healed from the inside out, cant complain at that,and it hasn't re split either, although it does state as having emulsifying wax in it?? does that still make it wax free??