Beeswax contains natural oils that are superior lubricants and make opening and closing your drysuit zipper easy and it protects the zipper in ways other lubricants simply can't. Beeswax is made up of three main components. The first one is palmitate, an ester of palmitic acid, which is a common fatty acid, basically an oil which is a great lubricant. The second one is palmitoleate, another ester of palmitoleic acid which is again, another fatty acid much related to the first one, again a naturally occuring oil. The third component is oleate esters, which are esters (salts) of oleic acid, which is again, a fatty acid. A good example of oleic acid is olive oil. All of these components help to lubricate and protect your zipper.