Ingredient: Carnauba Wax, What is it?

Copernicia Cerifera Wax, also called Carnauba Wax, is obtained from the leaves of the Brazilian tropical palm tree, Copernicia Cerifera. The wax is harvested by hand during the dry months of September through February when the leaves are sun-dried and beaten to release the wax. The process doesn't harm the tree. It is used in the formulation of a wide range of products including baby products, bath products, lipstick, makeup, fragrances, coloring and non-coloring hair products, nail and skin care products, personal cleanliness products, and shaving products.

Carnauba wax has a high melting point, which makes it ideal for improving the thermostability of your cosmetics. A high melting point allows products like lip balms, deodorants, makeup, and even candles to be heated to a high temperature while maintaining their composition. This improves their shelf life and shape.

Waxes help to keep an emulsion from separating into its oil and liquid components, especially in cosmetics and personal care products that require a creamy consistency. These waxes also increase the thickness of the lipid (oil) portion of solid and stick-like products such as lipstick, giving them structure, allowing for a smooth application, and keeping them solid. When used in eye makeup, the waxes stiffen but do not harden the product, and the flexibility and plasticity of the waxes facilitate application. These waxes may also function in depilatory products to remove unwanted hair mechanically.

Carnauba Wax is the hardest of the commercial vegetable waxes. It is a tough, amorphous, lustrous wax that varies in color from dirty yellow to brown, green, or white. This wax is sometimes called Brazil Wax.