How to Make a Beeswax Wrap that’s Extra Sticky
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I’ve been making and using beeswax wraps to store my food for over a year now, and they’re a great way to keep things fresh while reducing my single use plastic. After many months of fiddling, I’ve come up with an even better way to make a DIY beeswax wrap that makes it extra sticky and easier to use. Let me show you how!
Photos in this post by Tracey Jazmin.
What is beeswax wrap?
A beeswax wrap is a reusable alternative to plastic wrap. You can use them to wrap up cheese, cover bowls, wrap up sandwiches, wrap up fruit pieces and more.
What’s it made of?
Beeswax wraps are made primarily of cotton fabric and beeswax, and extras like jojoba oil and pine resin can be added to make them softer and stickier.
How does it work?
You can wrap it around food and bowls using the warmth of your hands to activate the wax and seal the wrap together. You can wash it after each use with luke warm water & a gentle soap, and hang it to dry.
How long does a beeswax wrap last?
A wrap should last from about 6-12 months before it looses all it’s stickiness. You can either revive it at that point with more beeswax, or compost it.
How to Make One That’s Extra Sticky
Last year, I made some beeswax wraps that I’ve used for months and loved. You can find my original DIY beeswax tutorial right here. These one required warming them with your hands to activate the wax to stick. After some requests from readers and my own curiosity, I’ve come up with an even better DIY beeswax wrap method that’s extra sticky and simple to use!
Video Tutorial
Watch the video below to get step-by-step instructions on how to make these, or follow the written instructions beneath the video.
Amazon Ingredients Mentioned:
Beeswax Wrap Recipe (Extra Sticky!)
DIY Beeswax Wrap (Extra Sticky)
After many months of fiddling, I’ve come up with an even better way to make a DIY beeswax wrap that makes it extra sticky and easier to use.
Ingredients
- cotton fabric, pre-washed and cut into squares of desired size (or buy pre-cut cotton fabric here on Amazon)
- block of beeswax
- jojoba oil
- pine resin
- fabric scissors
- pinking shears
- parchment paper
Instructions
- Pre-wash your fabric and cut it into 2 squares with fabric scissors. I like 8″ or 11″ squares for beeswax wraps. Cut more squares to make more wraps, but increase the rest of the ingredients accordingly.
- In a double boiler (or mason jar/measuring cup lowered into a saucepan of boiling water), grate 1/2 cup of beeswax.
- Add 3 Tbsp pine resin and 1 Tbsp jojoba oil. The pine makes these wraps extra sticky, and the jojoba oil helps keep the wraps pliable.
- Melt the ingredients in the double boiler until they are all mixed and liquified.
- Meanwhile, lay the fabric squares on some parchment paper.
- When the wax mixture is ready, brush it onto the fabric squares with a brush from the center out.
- Put another sheet of parchment paper over the wraps.
- Use an iron on the “cotton” setting and press it over the wraps to ensure the wax mixture is spread evenly over the wraps. This will also help it seep to the other side of the fabric.
- Remove the wraps from the parchment paper, and hang them to dry.
- Once dry, trim the edges of the wraps with pinking shears.
- Use the wraps to wrap up fruit, sandwiches, cheese, or to cover bowls of food.
- Wash the wraps after each use in lukewarm water with a mild detergent and hang to dry.
- Compost wraps after 6-12 months of use.
Hi Christina,
Can you use any other oil other that jojoba?
Jojoba is the only one we’ve tried 🙂
Do you know the weight measurements of the beeswax, resin and jojoba oil used?
No, we don’t. Sorry!
105 / 5000
Translation results
How do you do so that the color of the fabric does not change, I already tried your recipe and my pictures are very yellow.
Hmmm, I’m not sure why yours would be yellow! We didn’t have that issue. Did you use 100% cotton fabric?
can i do this without fabric to use for diamond paint
What type/brand of jojoba oil do you use to make sure its safe to put on food, or is all jojoba oil safe to put on food. Sorry if this is a silly question but I’m new to all this and don’t want to accudentally Poison myself/family/friends/etc.
I Used a few drops of the jojoba oil linked in the post, it helps soften the wrap.
There isn’t a link in the post for jojoba oil. Only for the beeswax, the fabric, and the resin. I would like to know as well please
I’ll make sure to add it!
I made a bunch of wraps to give as gifts BEFORE I saw the jojoba and pine resin trick. Mine came out stiff and don’t want to stick. Can I add the extra ingredients after the fact?
I love your beeswax wraps. But the resin stays in the bottom of the glas. It goes melt and if I try to mix it, the fabric has dark brown spots from the resin. Do you have a trick? Maybe I need to turn the heat up on the stove?
For those asking about the weights – I just made this recipe and weighed each ingredient. 1/2 c beeswax was approximately 50g. 3Tbsp of resin was approximately 24g. 1 Tbsp of Jojoba oil was approximately 9g. Have fun everyone! I am trying these out and if I like them, it will be my homemade Christmas gift to family/friends.
All ingredients melted except for the pine resin. It ended up clumping together at the bottom of the glass bowl. I turned the heat up and that seemed to help but still a clump and the mixture was not sticky like the wraps I purchased with resin. Any tips to get the pine resin to incorporate better?
There are a lot of factors, heat, time, amount, etc. Try adding a little at a time.
I measured accurately, in a double boiler but the pine rosin just turned into a big lump in the bottom of the pan. I left it a long time, stirring occasionally and lump just got bigger. How to get it to incorporate?
There are a lot of factors, heat, time, amount, etc. You could try adding a little at a time.
I too tried your method with the amounts specified. The resin just clumped together at the bottom of the glass container. I will attempt this again adding small amounts at a time. I wasn’t very pleased with my first attempt, but am willing to try and try again. TY for helping me find a different way to reduce the need for plastic products in my everyday life.