ICS 71.100.70  
  
 
Reference number  
DRS 452:2021  
© RSB 2021  
  
 RWANDA 
STANDARD  DRS 
452 
 
First  edition  
 Approved by RSB 2021-mm-dd 
 
Beeswax, bleached for cosmetic industry 
— Specification  
 
   
DRS 452:2021 
ii        ©RSB 2021 - All rights reserved  
 In order to match with technological development and to keep continuous progress in industries, 
standards are subject to periodic review. Users shall ascertain that they are in possession of the latest 
edition  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
© RSB 2021 
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized 
in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and microfilm, without 
prior written permission from R SB. 
Requests for permission to reproduce this document should be addressed to : 
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Toll Free: 3250  
E-mail: info@rsb.gov.rw  
Website: www.rsb.gov.rw  
ePortal: www.portal.rsb.gov.rw   DRS 452:2021 
iii        ©RSB 2021 - All rights reserved  
  Page 
Contents  
1 Scope  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .............  1 
2 Normative references  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................  1 
3 Terms and definitions  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..................  1 
4 Requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................  2 
4.1 General requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..................  2 
4.2 Specific requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..................  2 
5 Packaging and labelling ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  2 
5.1 Pack aging  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 2 
5.2 Labelling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........  3 
6 Sampling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 2 
Annex  A (normative)  Determination of fats, fatty acids, ceresin, paraffin and other waxes  ............  4 
A.1 Test for fats, fatty acids and resin  ................................ ................................ ..............................  4 
A.2 Test for ceresin, paraffin and other waxes  ................................ ................................ ................  4 
Annex  B ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ......................  6 
B.1 Procedure  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 6 
B.1.1  Calculation  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .... 6 
 
 DRS 452:2021 
iv        ©RSB 2021 - All rights reserved  
 Foreword   
Rwanda Standard s are prepared by Technical Committees and approved by Rwanda Standards Board (RSB) 
Board of Directors in  accordance with the procedures of RSB,  in compliance with Annex 3 of the WTO/TBT 
agreement on the preparation, adoption and application of standards.  
The main task of technical committees is to prepare national standards. Final Draft Rwanda Standards adop ted 
by Technical committees are ratified  by members of RSB Board of Directors for publication and gazettment as 
Rwanda Standards.  
DRS xxx was prepared by Technical Committee RSB/TC 011, Cosmetics and related products.  
In the preparation of this standard, r eference was made to the following standard  : 
1) IS 4018: Beeswax, bleached for cosmetic industry —Specification  
The assistance de rived from the above source is hereby acknowledged with thanks.  
Committee membership  
The following organizations were represented on the Technical Committee on Cosmetics and related products 
of RSB/TC 011 in the preparation of this standard.  
Paragraph of participants  
University of Rwanda/ College of Sciences and Technology ( UR/CST)  
Rwanda  Forensic Laboratory ( RFL)  
SULFO industries Ltd  
Rwanda I nspectorate,  Competition  and Consumer Protection  Authority ( RICA)  
MORI JA Cosmetics Ltd  
Better Home Ltd  
UBURANGA Products Ltd  
BARANYUZWE Cosmetics Ltd  
Better Home Ltd  
ORIBUT Company Ltd  DRS 452:2021 
v        ©RSB 2021 - All rights reserved  
 Rwanda Standa rds Board (RSB) – Secretariat  DRS 452:2021 
vi        ©RSB 2021 - All rights reserved  
 Introduction   
Beeswax is a natural wax produced by honeybees of the genus  Apis. The wax is formed into scales by eight 
wax-producing glands in the abdominal segments of  worker bees , which discard it in or at the hive. The hive 
workers collect and use it to form cells for honey storage and larval and pupal protection within the  beehive . 
Chemically, beeswax consists mainly of  esters  of fatty acids  and various  long-chain alcohols . 
Beeswax     is  uses as t he first plastic , as a lubricant and waterproofing agent, in  lost wax casting of metals 
and glass, as a polish foe wood and leather and for making candles, as an ingredient in cosmetics and as artistic 
medium in encausti c painting .DRS 452: 202 1 
1        ©RSB 2021 - All rights reserved  
 Beeswax, bleached for cosmetic industry — Specification  
1 Scope  
This Draft Rwanda Standard describes the requirements and the methods of sampling and test for beeswax, 
bleached for cosmetic industry.  
2 Normative references  
The following documents are  referred to in the text in suc h a way that some or all of  their content constitutes 
requirements of this document.  For dated references, only the edition  cited applies. For undated references, the 
latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.  
RS EAS 346,  Labelling of cosmetics  — General requirements  
RS 278, Cosmetics — methods of sampling  
RS EAS 846, Glossary of terms relating to the cosmetic industry  
RS ISO 660, Animal and vegetable fats and oils — Determination of Acid value and acidity  
RS ISO 3961, Animal and vegetable fats and oils — Determination of iodine value  
RS ISO 3657, Animal and vegetable fats and oils — Determination of saponification value  
RS EAS 847 -6, Cosmetics — Analytical method — Part 6: Determination of melting point  
RS EAS 847 -15, Cosmetics — Analytical method — Part 15: Determination of ash content  
3 Terms and definitions  
For the purposes of this standard, the terms and definitions given in RS EAS 846 and the following apply.  
3.1 
beeswax  
product made from the honeycomb of the honeybee  and other bees.  
 DRS 452: 202 1 
2        ©RSB 2021 - All rights reserved  
 4 Requirements  
4.1 General  requirements  
4.1.1  The product  shall be white to light yellow in colour and shall have a faint and characteristic odour.  
4.1.2  The product shall be in a form as agreed to between the purchaser and the supplier. In the absence o f 
such an agreement, it shall be in the form of slabs.  
4.2 Specific requirements  
The  product shall also comply with the requirements given in  table when tested in accordance with the methods 
indicated therein.  
Table 1: Specific requirements for beeswax, bleached for cosmetic industry  
S/N Characteristics  Requirements  Test method  
i) Melting point  61.0-65.0 RS EAS 847 -6 
ii) Acid value, max  10 RS ISO 660  
iii) Saponification value  85 to 95  RS ISO 3657  
iv) Fats, fatty acids  To pass test  Annex A.1 
v) Ceresin, paraffin and other waxes  To pass test  Annex A.2  
vi) Iodine value  10 RS ISO 3961  
vii) Ash, % by mass, max  0.1 RS EAS 847 - 15 
viii) Total volatile matter at 105 °C, percent by 
mass, max  1.0 Annex B  
 
5 Sampling  
The method of preparing representative test samples of the material and the criteria for conformity shall be as 
described in RS 278.  
6 Packaging and labelling  
6.1 Packaging  
Unless otherwise agreed to between the purchase and the supplier, each slab shall be wrapped in grease -proof 
pape r or a suitable plastic material, like polyethylene film. A number of such slabs shall be packed together in 
a suitable container.  DRS 452: 202 1 
3        ©RSB 2021 - All rights reserved  
 6.2 Labelling  
The labelling shall be done as described in RS EAS 346 and e ach container shall be suitably labelled to give 
the fo llowing information:  
a) Name of the product  
b) Name of the manufacturer o r his registered trademark;  
c) Batch number in code or otherwise; and  
d) Net mass  
e) Storage conditions  
 
 DRS 452: 202 1 
4        ©RSB 2021 - All rights reserved  
 Annex  A 
(normative)  
 
Determination of fats, fatty acids, ceresin, paraffin and other waxes  
A.1 Test for  fats, fatty acids and resin  
A.1.1  Reagents  
A.1.1.1  Sodium hydroxide solution — ten percent  (m/v)  
A.1.1.2  Dilute hydrochloric acid — approximately 4 N.  
A.1.2  Procedure  
Boil 5.0g of the material for about 10 minutes with 80 ml of sodium hydroxide solution. Replace the water lost 
by eva poration. Cool and filter the solution through glass wool or asbestos pad. Make the filtrate acidic with 
dilute hydrochloric acid.  
A.1.2.1  The material shall be taken to have passed the test even if the solution may show some 
opalescence but no precipitate is prod uced.  
A.2 Test for ceresin, paraffin and other waxes  
A.2.1  Reagents  
A.2.1.1  Alcohol potassium hydroxide solution — approximately 0.5 N, prepared by dissolving potassium 
hydroxide in rectified spirit.  
A.2.1.2  Rectified spirit aldehyde free —  
Procedure for preparing aldehyde free spir it in laboratory.  
To 125ml alcohol contained in 1000 ml flask, add 375ml of dinitrophenylhydrazine solution, heat on a water bath 
under a reflux condenser for twenty -four hours, remove the alcohol by distillation, dilute to 1000ml with a 2 
percent v/v solu tion of sulphuric acid, and set aside for 24 hours, no crystals shall produce.  
A.2.2  Procedure  
Place 3.0g of the material in a round - bottom, 100 ml boiling flask fitted with a ground glass joint. Add 30ml of a 
solution prepared by dissolving 40g of potassium hy droxide in about 900ml of aldehyde -free alcohol maintained 
at a temperature not exceeding 15 °C and then when solution is complete, warming to room temperature and 
adding aldehyde -free alcohol to make 1000ml. Reflux the mixture gently for 2 hours. At the end of this period, DRS 452: 202 1 
5        ©RSB 2021 - All rights reserved  
 open the flask, insert a thermometer into the solution, and place the flask  in a container of water at a room 
temperature of 80 °C. Rotate the flask in the bath so that solution gets cool.  
A.2.2.1  The material shall be taken to have passed the test if the solution shows no cloudiness or globule 
formation before the temperature reaches 65 °C DRS 452: 202 1 
6        ©RSB 2021 - All rights reserved  
 Annex  B 
                                                     (normative)  
 
Determination of total volatile matter at 105 °C 
B.1 Procedure  
Weigh accurately about 10g of the material in a suitable disk, previously dried and weighed, and place it in an 
oven maintained at 105 ± 2°C for six hours. Cool the dish in a desiccator and weigh with the lid on. Heat the 
dish again in the oven for 30 minu tes. Repeat the process until the loss in mass between two successive 
weighings is less than one milligram. Record the constant mass obtained.  
B.1.1  Calculation  
Total volatile matter at 105 °C, % by mass= 100  ( M1−M2)
M1−M3             
Where  
M1 is mass in grams of the dish with the material before heating;  
M2 is mass in grams of the dish after heating; and  
M3 is mass in grams of the empty dish  
  DRS 452: 2021 
 
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