Sumac Wax — Frequently Asked Questions

A true wax is an ester of a long-chain acid and a long-chain alcohol. Sumac wax is mostly triglyceride, chiefly tripalmitin, which makes it chemically a fat despite its traditional name of Japan wax. That is why it behaves so differently from beeswax or carnauba: it is soft, tacky and plastic where a true wax of similar hardness would be firm and crystalline.

Its tackiness is the point. It gives adhesion and cling that a crystalline wax cannot, which suits pomades, hair styling waxes, lipsticks and balms where a plastic, malleable texture is wanted rather than a firm set. It also has a low melting point of 48 to 53 degrees Celsius, so it softens readily against skin.

Because it is a triglyceride, it undergoes the same slow polymorphic transition that fats do, recrystallising into larger crystals over time and producing a gritty texture. Tempering, a controlled heating and cooling cycle, or rapid cooling with agitation will produce a finer, more stable crystal structure and delay the change.

It is pressed and steamed from the berries of Rhus succedanea, the Japanese wax tree, a practice with several centuries of history in Japan and China where the material was used for candles and hair dressing. It is supplied as a pale yellow soft wax.