DIY Moustache Wax

by Bud Peppers

Ingredients / Apparatus

Gum Arabic, Powdered (available from www.naturalpigments.com or www.cakecraftshop.co.uk)

Murphy Oil Soap (available in most grocery stores)

Beeswax (available from local candle makers or honey producers)

Flat bottom stainless steel serving dish approx. 6" wide 10" long (oval)

Stainless steel spatula

Small glass jar (to melt wax in)

Small container with tight fitting cap for finished product

Procedure

Begin melting a quantity of beeswax in a small glass jar sitting in a container of water in the microwave or on the stove (microwave preferred).

Measure 1 teaspoon powdered gum-arabic, 1 teaspoon of Murphy's Oil Soap™, and 2 teaspoons water into the stainless steel dish. Mix thoroughly while gently heating by holding over stove or hotplate. If dish becomes too hot to hold, you are over-heating.

While still warm, add 2 teaspoons molten bees wax, stirring constantly while continuing to hold over heat. When of a uniform consistency let cool to room temperature.

Add several drops of your favorite scented oil (if desired) and shear the solidified mass against the bottom of the stainless steel dish with the stainless steel mixing spatula to create a smooth and thick cream. Slowly and in small quantities add water to this mix, continuing slowly while still shearing until the desired consistency is reached. It will create a light water-soluble paste.

Store tightly capped to avoid evaporation of water.

Application

Work into moustache with a stiff brush, shaping with the fingers.

Bud is a retired analytical chemist living in St. Louis, Missouri, USA who used Pinaud/Clubman for 32 years.  He was on a formulation test panel for them for a year, but has suddenly found their wax is no longer carried by his local retail stores. He came upon our "make your own wax" section and was intrigued. So he modified the Hungarian Pomade formula and incorporated several suggestions found on the site and it worked quite well.
He thought (correctly!) that we might want to share it.

Also, a little trivia for you: As an analytical chemist, Bud always reads labels and he discovered that the list of ingredients on the outside packaging of Clubman moustache wax is quite different from what is printed on the actual tube!  Do you think they are aware of that?