Carnauba wax ► What is it?

What exactly is carnauba wax?

As a carnauba wax supplier, we repeatedly encounter the following questions:

What is carnauba wax?

What exactly is carnauba wax?

What is carnauba wax?

These are essentially the same questions asked in slightly different ways, but we would still like to provide an answer here.

Carnauba wax is a natural wax. It is obtained from the leaves of the carnauba palm (Copernicia prunifera). The wax, which originates exclusively from Brazil, is considered one of the hardest natural waxes in the world and is used in the production of food products, cosmetics and car care products. Carnauba wax is also used in emulsions, varnishes, coatings and paints. It should not be confused with palm waxes, which are obtained from the oil palm. These are marketed as palm waxes, stearic acid or palmitic acid.

One of the key features of carnauba wax is the variety of different types available, which can vary significantly in colour.

Types available in flake or powder form:

These waxes are characterised by their very high hardness and a high melting point of over 80 to 87 °C. In addition, the wax is known for giving surfaces a higher gloss.

During the melting process, the hard wax develops a characteristic hay-like scent. Compared to the well-known beeswax, carnauba wax has a significantly higher melting point and is much harder.

Today, carnauba wax is primarily used due to its shine and high strength in cosmetic products, care products, natural cosmetics, mascara, as a release agent on food products or as an additive in polishes and coatings. Carnauba wax therefore continues to have its place today despite the many synthetically produced hard waxes available. The wax is used and sold in powder or flake form.

The trade of carnauba wax is not always straightforward, as the wax comes exclusively from South America and must be imported from there. We regularly import full sea containers of this product. The fluctuating price of the wax is due to the annual harvest season, which can shift depending on weather conditions or even fail completely. Rain during the harvest period is particularly problematic, as it can result in a large part of the harvest being lost. This can subsequently lead to significant price increases. The last major increase of this kind occurred in 2018. If you are a regular buyer and are interested in a price overview of recent years, we would be happy to provide this upon request.