here. - I Am Natural

Vegan lipbalms!
candelilla wax instead of beeswax
Candelilla (euphorbia cerifera)
Native to North Mexico Candelilla is an evergreen
shrub with pencil-like stalks that grow to 1 metre.
High quality wax exudes from the plant pores and
forms a thin coating that is extracted by boiling
the leaves and stems.
It protects the skin from moisture loss and gives
lipbalms firmness and a smooth texture. It has a
natural shelf life of 2 years.
Supporting traditional skills
Candelilla wax is still harvested and
processed in traditional ways. The
most efficient harvesting and field
practices are handed down from
generation to generation and remain
largely unchanged since 1910.
Candelilla flourishes freely at
elevations between 1100 and 3800 ft
on well-drained, south-facing
limestone slopes. Over the years,
attempts to commercialize
production have failed. Cultivation
and irrigation reduces the plant's
waxy coating. Mechanical cutting
causes the milky sap to drain and
the plant to die, thus lengthening
propagation. The fastest recovery is
from rhizomes left in the soil when
the candelilla plant is pulled up by
hand.
Navidad Zubía on his mule. Burros
are cheaper and more nimble than
trucks for hauling candelilla from
remote mountain terrain.
Wax makers (candelilleros)—many of
them working alone in remote desert
areas—cut massive stacks of the
plant by hand, then boil it in metal
vats to extract the wax. The raw wax
(cerote) is then stuffed into huge
burlap bags and hauled down dusty
trails on the backs of small burros to
be refined.
A "tercio" (bundle) of candelilla,
bound by a "hondilla" & slip knot.
Raw wax is a dirty buff color
and contains obvious bubbles,
sand grains, and fragments of
plant stems and carbon. The
refined wax, as marketed, is of
a more uniform shape & size,
containing no obvious
contaminants. The chunks are
heavier and more dense than
cerote, and are a dark caramel
or amber colour.
A candelillero holds a piece of raw wax, or
"cerote," which has hardened in a barrel.
Candelilla management is left to the
candelilleros who are expected to
harvest prudently in order to
preserve future livelihoods.
A bag of refined wax ready for shipment to
distributors.