Creating sustainable bone jewelry since 2010

Corpse wax
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Have you ever pulled bones out of maceration and seen this white chalky substance?
This is called adipocere/corpse wax or grave wax.
Adipo= fat
Cere= wax......pretty self explanatory as it really is, fat wax. .
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Why can you commonly find this substance on bones that have been processed through maceration?
Because maceration baths create the most ideal conditions for corpse wax to form... A basic recipe for corpse wax includes ▶warmth ▶moisture▶an anaerobic environment and the presence of putrifactive bacterial enzymes. .
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Though you want an anaerobic ( void of oxygen) enviroment for maceration to work and clean your bones.... You also want to be careful of leaving your maceration buckets sitting for too long without water exchange as it can provoke the formation of corpse wax, which can add an extra step in your bone processing. .
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How do you rid your bones of corpse wax?
I personally like to throw the bones in a degresing bath followed by a good scrub with a bristle brush.
People have various methods for removing adipocere, I tend to stick with the simple route and havent had any issues with it thus far.
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Did you know when the conditions are right, adipocere can even preserve and almost mummify a corpse?! Research soap mummies and saponification to learn more❤ ( it is incredibly interesting).
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