Wax
Wax is also the name of three bands: one American, one British, and one Korean.Wax has traditionally referred to a substance that is secreted by
bees (
beeswax) and used by them in constructing their
honeycombs.
is an imprecisely defined term generally understood to be a substance with properties similar to
beeswax, namely
*
plastic (
malleable) at normal ambient temperatures
*a
melting point above approximately 45 °C (113 °F) (which differentiates waxes from
fats and
oils)
*a relatively low
viscosity when melted (unlike many
plastics)
*
insoluble in water
*
hydrophobicWaxes may be natural or artificial. In addition to
beeswax,
carnauba (a vegetable wax) and
paraffin (a mineral wax) are commonly encountered waxes which occur naturally.
Earwax is an oily substance found in the human
ear. Some artificial materials that exhibit similar properties are also described as wax or waxy.
Chemically, a wax may be an
ester of
ethylene glycol (ethan-1,2-diol) and two
fatty acids, as opposed to a
fat which is an ester of
glycerin (propan-1,2,3-triol) and three fatty acids. It may also be a combination of other fatty alcohols with fatty acids. It is a type of
lipid.
Animal and insect waxes
*
Beeswax - produced by
honeybees
*
Chinese wax - produced by
scale insects
Coccus ceriferus*
Shellac wax - from the
lac insect
Coccus lacca*
Spermaceti - from the head cavities and blubber of the
Sperm Whale*
Lanolin (wool wax) - from the
sebaceous glands of
sheepVegetable waxes
*
Bayberry wax - from the surface of the berries of the
bayberry shrub
*
Candelilla wax - from the Mexican shrubs
Euphorbia cerifera and
E. antisyphilitica*
Carnauba wax - from the leaves of the
Carnauba Palm*
Castor wax - catalytically hydrogenated
castor oil*
Esparto wax - a byproduct of making paper from
esparto grass*
Japan wax - a vegetable
tallow (not a true wax), from the berries of
Rhus and
Toxicodendron species
*
Jojoba oil - pressed from the seeds of the
jojoba bush, a replacement for spermaceti
*
Ouricury wax - from the Brazilian Feather
Palm*
Rice bran wax - obtained from
rice branMineral waxes
*
Ceresin waxes
*
Montan wax - extracted from
lignite and
brown coal*
Ozocerite - found in lignite beds
*
Peat waxes
Petroleum waxes
*
Paraffin wax - made of long-chain
alkane hydrocarbons
*
Microcrystalline wax - with very fine crystalline structure
Synthetic waxes
*
Polyethylene waxes - based on
polyethylene*
Fischer-Tropsch waxes
*
Chemically modified waxes - usually
esterified or
saponified*
substituted amide waxes
*
polymerized α-olefins*
Adipocere (grave wax, mortuary wax)
*
Bayberry*
Bikini wax*
Candles
*
Earwax or cerumen
*
Hair wax*
Hot wax*
Ruby Wax*
SC Johnson Company*
Sealing wax*
Ski wax*
Surfwax*
Wax play*
Waxing for hair removal
*
Wax museum*
Wood finishing*
Waxes
