Cera Alba (Beeswax)
Also recorded as: Beeswax, Cera Alba, beeswax
Formula role needs a more specific current label or source. The ingredient appears on the recorded label. Presence alone cannot predict individual tolerance or the finished product’s performance.
- Ingredient family
- Structure / hold
- Research state
- Family / sourcing evidence
- Source labels checked
- July 21, 2026
- Found in
- 1 researched product
Read it through four separate lenses.
Formula job
Structure / holdFormula role needs a more specific current label or source.
How we classify formula rolesBeard hair + skin
UnclearThe formula function is not specific enough to judge its contribution.
See the skin + hair evidenceEnvironmental evidence
Apiary-source sensitiveBeeswax is animal-derived. Human cosmetic exposure is not the same as the colony and supply-chain questions raised by pesticide and veterinary-drug residues in wax.
See the environmental limitsSensitivity + confidence
Cosmetic grade still mattersNo product-specific purity or sensitization conclusion is established. The label does not disclose wax grade, residues, or fragrance-like hive contaminants.
Limited confidenceA useful formula role is not proof of beard growth, treatment of a skin condition, lower environmental impact, or suitability for every person. Finished-product behavior depends on concentration, processing, the rest of the formula, use pattern, and individual response.
Compare this formula job
Use the formula guide to place this ingredient inside the product's base, support system, exposure pattern, and complete label.
Open the comparisonHuman + environmental evidence
What deserves attention—and why.
Hazard is not the same as real-world risk. Exposure, dose, formula, wastewater treatment, farming location, and supplier controls can change the conclusion.
Beeswax is animal-derived. Human cosmetic exposure is not the same as the colony and supply-chain questions raised by pesticide and veterinary-drug residues in wax.
No product-specific purity or sensitization conclusion is established. The label does not disclose wax grade, residues, or fragrance-like hive contaminants.
A balm wax is not expected to be directly released in large amounts, but no exact ecotoxicity or disposal test is assigned.
Apiary management, surrounding pesticide use, and contaminated recycled comb can affect bees; this is not evidence that cosmetic beeswax itself harms plants.
A national survey found multiple pesticide and veterinary-drug residues in beeswax, with cappings wax substantially less contaminated than other wax types.
Country, apiary practice, comb age, residue testing, and whether the wax is cappings or recycled comb are not visible on the label.
Residue evidence is relevant to bee health and material quality; it does not prove that every beeswax cosmetic is unsafe for a user.
What to ask the supplier for.
Prefer traceable cappings wax or verified low-residue wax, with multi-residue laboratory testing, responsible Varroa treatment records, comb-renewal practices, and harvest that leaves adequate stores and comb for the colony.
Product occurrence ledger
Where we found it.
List position is a location clue only. It is not a concentration estimate, and formulas can change after our source check.
Human clinical results
What controlled tests add to this record.
An ingredient study is not a trial of every product containing that ingredient.
No qualifying clinical result is assigned.
The current record may still include regulatory, cosmetic-function, or safety-assessment evidence. Those sources are useful for their stated purpose but are not clinical proof of skin, hair, or finished-product performance.
What remains unknown.
Exact level is not disclosed on the product labels we recorded.
Grade, refining, solvents, and other processing details are usually absent.
Residuals and contaminants are not specified by an ordinary INCI list.
Synergy or antagonism with other ingredients is a finished-formula question.
Manufacturing, transport, packaging, dose, and disposal remain outside an ingredient-only profile.
Evidence ledger
Open the source behind the summary.
A source supports only the claim named beside it. Database inclusion is not a blanket approval, and an assessed ingredient does not rate every finished product.
- 01U.S. Food & Drug Administration
Cosmetic ingredients
The U.S. regulatory context: most cosmetic ingredients are not preapproved, and the marketer is responsible for product safety.
Last checked July 13, 2026 - 02European Commission
CosIng cosmetic ingredient database
Standard ingredient names and cosmetic functions. Database inclusion is not, by itself, a safety approval.
Last checked July 13, 2026 - 03Cosmetic Ingredient Review
How CIR safety assessments work
Why an assessment is tied to cosmetic uses and concentrations and why insufficient data is not a safe-or-unsafe verdict.
Last checked July 13, 2026 - 04Science of the Total Environment
Pesticide and veterinary-drug residues in beeswax
A 182-sample Belgian survey found 54 residues across wax types and substantially lower contamination in cappings wax. It supports traceability and residue testing; it does not show every beeswax is contaminated or harmful in a cosmetic.
Last checked July 14, 2026 - 05U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Safer Choice master criteria for safer chemical ingredients
The screening framework used here: human toxicity, aquatic toxicity, persistence, and bioaccumulation are separate endpoints and must be judged within a chemical's functional class.
Last checked July 14, 2026