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Learn | 06.25.2024

What Is Wax Weed? How To Make, Smell & Info

Everything you need to know about wax THC, including how is cannabis wax made.

Gone are the days where dried cannabis flower was the only way to consume the green.

These days, tons of extraction methods exist to create products from tinctures to weed wax so that consumers can play with cannabis as they please.

But exactly what is marijuana wax? And how do they make wax?

Let’s dive in.

What Is Weed Wax?

Simply put, weed wax, or marijuana wax, is an incredibly concentrated form of cannabis used for dabbing and vaporization, loaded with THC.

While some cannabis extracts have a honey- or glass-like consistency, wax has a texture almost akin to flakey clay. Opaque and easy to manipulate, high-quality wax is soft and amber-colored.

Wax is also among the most potent cannabis extracts and features superior flavor when compared to many other essential oil preparations, including glass-like shatter. Though, shatter may feature a greater cannabinoid potency overall.

Wax is potent, with THC levels ranging from 60 to 80 percent THC. Compared to the amount of THC in a single joint, this percentage is colossal. As you might expect, the high from cannabis wax is also much stronger.

The Difference Between Weed Wax And Weed

Photo by Keti (Immigrant Stoner)

As you might have guessed, weed wax is an entirely different way to consume cannabis than dried flower.

Since it’s made from dried flower, cannabis wax is simply the concentrated version of weed where all those precious cannabinoids and terpenes are extracted to create an even more potent product.

There are several different kinds of concentrates, but not all concentrates are “weed waxes.”

There are:

  • Oils
  • Sugars
  • Budders
  • Crystalline
  • Crumbles
  • Shatters

And you can add waxes to the list. These many different concentrates differ from each other in their consistency, cannabinoid makeup, potency, and how they’re made.

Best Dispo Wax

If you are interested in trying cannabis wax, you can’t miss Binoid’s golden line of live resin wax dabs.

We are talking about the first live resin wax on the market. When consuming it, you can expect an incredible buzz and a high that lasts quite a while, while enjoying all the flavors of the plant full of terpenes.

These Live Resin Wax Dabs are available in 4 amazing flavors: Animal Cookies, Mandarin Dreams, Gelato Sorbet, and Tropical Runtz. In any of these delicious flavors, you can get the best of body and mind experiences.

Binoid’s Live Resin Wax Dabs are produced using fresh flowers instead of dried and cured buds. This preserves all the terpenes of the plant, giving it more flavor and enhancing the entourage effect of all the product elements.

When consuming this premium Binoid wax, you will feel a strong buzz, a strong mental and physical experience with great relaxation and calmness.

How Is Weed Wax Made?

How is THC wax made?

Wax is one subtype of butane hash oil (BHO). BHO is a cannabis extraction that was made using butane as a solvent.

Before fancy extraction equipment was introduced to the cannabis industry, crude waxes were made by passing butane through a pipe filled with plant material. This is a terrible idea.

Butane is highly flammable and needs to be handled in a stable, well-ventilated environment that follows correct chemical handling and disposal procedures.

Without these safety measures, butane gas can explode in your home or wherever you happen to be using the dangerous gas. Indeed, butane explosions have been the downfall of many DIY extractors.

Nowadays, cannabis industry professionals use pricey closed-loop extraction equipment to safely extract large quantities of concentrated cannabis essential oils.

To make weed wax, buds are packed into tubes and then blasted with butane. Exposure to butane separates cannabis resin from unwanted plant materials.

After the initial extraction, excess butane must then be evaporated out of the concentrate. So, the concentrate is spread onto a baking sheet and “purged” in a vacuum oven at low temperatures.

The end result is a sticky cannabis concentrate left to cool, harden, and be scraped into storage containers.

Does Weed Wax Smell?

The short answer is yes. Wax, one of the types of cannabis concentrates, has an odor. Most of the smell comes from the terpenes in the wax.

Terpenes are natural compounds made by plants that create their characteristic odors. When the wax is made, it is normal for the terpenes of the strain from which it was made to remain present. Some of the main types of herbal terpene odors you can detect when using cannabis wax are:

  • Linalool: a lavender and slightly spicy smell.

  • Humulene: a woody, earthy odor

  • Alpha-Pinene: a pine and sage odor

  • Limonene: a citrus scent

  • Myrcene: a fruity, musky, spicy odor

  • Beta-Caryophyllene: an earthy, spicy odor

Benefits Of Using Weed Wax

One of the main benefits of using weed wax is the potency it provides.

High-quality wax will have little to no butane and an immense amount of THC. Also, since it is consumed with the dab vaporization method, it is a little less harmful to the lungs. Not to mention that the effects are experienced within minutes, being able to feel almost immediate relief for different ailments such as chronic pain, insomnia, appetite problems, anxiety, depression, etc.

What Is The Difference Between Shatter And Wax?

Photo by Keti (Immigrant Stoner)

Wax and shatter are two of the most common types of BHO. One features an opaque waxy consistency, while the other is translucent and features a hard texture.

Apart from basic appearance, you’ll need to dive into a little chemistry if you want to understand the difference between shatter and wax. For all intents and purposes, shatter and wax is the same thing.

They are both made via butane extraction, and both products are “purged” using a low-temperature vacuum oven to remove residual solvent.

Yet, during handling and processing, something happens to shatters and waxes that alter the chemical composition of each product. The end result is one product that looks like a translucent sheet of rock candy. The other is a softer, opaque wax. So, what gives?

Shatter is sometimes processed and heated differently than wax. For example, extractors who set out to make a shatter may “winterize” their initial extract in order to hedge against an accidental wax consistency.

This winterization process runs the original concentrate through an ethanol solvent for the second round of extraction.

Winterization should remove excess lipids, waxes, and many of the terpenes that are found in the initial product. As a result, shatters that have undergone winterization will be less flavorful than BHO and other concentrations that have not undergone this second round of processing.

Even with winterization, however, some shatters still “sugar up” and lead to the creation of wax.

Sometimes, after a shatter product is left to sit, crystals begin to develop on top of the concentrate. These crystals are terpene aroma molecules that have started to separate from cannabinoids and other resinous materials.

Terpenes are the compounds responsible for the unique fragrances of different cannabis strains. There’s a technical name for this separation process—nucleation.

Nucleation occurs when different volatile chemicals in a mixture begin to separate from one another. In this case, beneficial terpenes are separated from cannabinoids.

Nucleation is a common occurrence with many household goods. For example, if you let a hard candy sit on your countertop for too long, you may notice that it starts to become sticky and some whitish crystal dust may begin to form on top.

Chocolate does the same thing. If chocolate isn’t properly tempered while cooking, fatty acid crystals begin to separate and form a whitish powder coating on the surface.

With cannabis, wax can be created by extractors intentionally or accidentally. When intentionally creating wax, extraction professionals will agitate the product during processing.

Agitation mixes up the crystal structures of the concentrate. Shatter that has begun to sugar can be scraped and manipulated to form a soft and malleable wax. This manipulation is agitating the wax.

With accidental wax, terpene “sugars” may be more likely to form when processing specific cannabis strains or when the product has been accidentally agitated at some point in the extraction and handling process.

In addition, the temperature and humidity of the extraction environment may also contribute to the development of wax versus shatter. Wax products can be further whipped to create a budder.

How Do You Smoke Weed Wax?

Photo by Georgia Love for Herb

Wax is smoked using a specialized water pipe called a dab rig or an oil rig.

To smoke cannabis wax, a dollop of wax is loaded into a metal wand-like tool, which is aptly referred to as a “dab tool” or “dab wand”.

This small glob of wax is placed onto a heated hot plate, which is referred to as a nail. Of course, this nail is quite different from one that you would use when building a house.

Instead, a dab nail is often made out of heat-safe titanium, quartz, or ceramic and used in place of a traditional flower bowl when smoking extracts.

Concentrated extracts like wax require substantially higher temperatures to combust than plain ol’ flower. So, this nail is typically heated with a torch similar to what you’d use in the kitchen when making a creme brulee.

Once the nail is hot, the wax is “dabbed” onto its surface while the consumer simultaneously inhales through the water pipe.

If vaporizing wax, the cannabis concentrate should not be heated to higher than 446℉ (230℃). 446℉ is the point of combustion for cannabis products (learn here how to clean a pipe, believe us, you’ll need it).

How To Smoke Weed Wax In A Dab Rig

Photo by Georgia Love for Herb

A dab oil rig makes the high almost instantaneous.

While taking a puff or two of a joint is akin to skipping on a beer, a dab is the cannabis equivalent of taking a shot. The effects are immediate and potent.

Thanks to the high levels of THC in cannabis wax, there is also a greater likelihood of experiencing anxiety, paranoia, and racing heart from these products. Of course, many veteran consumers love the mellow yet heavy-handed experience that wax dabs provide.

How To Smoke Weed Wax In A Bong

Bongs are one of the easiest ways to smoke concentrates as long as you follow these three recommendations:

  1. Use a torch to light it up (you need lots of heat)
  2. Use a screen to prevent it from getting inside the bong
  3. Mix it with dry flower to preserve its flavors and prevent it from sticking to the glass

Once you have done the three, you’re good to go. Light it up and inhale as the wax starts burning, and get ready to get high.

Where Can You Buy Wax?

Photo by Georgia Love for Herb

Since making your own wax is a no-go, where can you get it?

That’s easy—a dispensary! Or, for some lucky folk, a mail-order or delivery service might bring high-quality cannabis wax right to your door. Those in regions without legalized medical or recreational cannabis, however, are in for some tough luck.

While some would-be extractors may sell wax on the black market, BHO sold on the street can be a little sketchy. Concentrates sold in dispensaries are often required to undergo third-party laboratory testing to ensure that residual butane or other solvents have been successfully purged from the concentrate.

Without proper purging, you might be inhaling a mouthful of excess butane. Yuck! Wax and other concentrates are the most potent cannabis products available.

As such, you can expect them to cost a pretty penny. Fortunately for those in regions with legalized recreational and medical cannabis, a number of dispensaries have sales for wax on dedicated days of the week.

Hoping to save a buck or two? Do your research! Find local deals! More than anything, however, wherever you buy, always remember to be safe, purchase from reputable sources, consume in moderation, and enjoy some darn good wax.

Herb’s Wax Recommendation

Fruity Pebbles: Binoid

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For those looking for a truly transcendent cannabis experience, Binoid Delta 8 Wax Dabs are the key to heaven’s gates. These dabs offer the convenience and potency of cannabis concentrates without the mess and hassle of traditional cannabis flowers. Plus, their 6 tantalizing flavors make the experience even more enjoyable. With each dab, you can expect to feel relaxed, uplifted, creative, energetic, and stress-free.

By using Binoid’s industry-leading delta 8 THC extract, you can be sure of a powerful and enjoyable experience every time. Not only is the extract potent, but it is also hemp-derived, making it legal in all 50 states. And, since it is not combusted during consumption, you don’t have to worry about any lingering smells.

Are you looking to experience the golden goddess of hemp extracts? Look no further than Binoid Delta 8 Wax Dabs. Easy to use in dab rigs and vape pens, you can enjoy a powerful and flavorful experience without having to worry about any mess or hassle. Relax, destress, and feel energized and creative with every use. Let Binoid Delta 8 Wax Dabs take your cannabis experience to the next level.

Top Shelf Shatter, Badder, And Sauce

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Top Shelf’s Shatter, Badder & Sauce, HHC, and Delta 8 strains are all high-quality strains that offer unique and potent effects. These strains are popular among recreational and medical marijuana users for their flavor profiles and powerful effects.

Lemon Skunk is a Sativa-dominant hybrid strain known for its energizing effects and zesty lemon flavor. This strain is fast-acting and can help users feel happy and uplifted. Medical marijuana patients often use Lemon Skunk to relieve symptoms of depression or stress.

Top Shelf’s shatter is the perfect shatter for users looking for potency that offers powerful effects and delicious flavors.

The ultimate hemp-derived dabbing experience.

The Best Devices For Smoking Wax & Dabs

MJ Arsenal Infinity Mini Rig

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To have a sesh like no other, you need a unique rig. The MJ Arsenal Infinity Mini Rig is a beautiful glass piece with neat functionality. You better believe it when reading its name. This rig is a miniature of 5.5 x 3.25 x 3.25 inches, which makes it portable, and appealing.

And hey, you shouldn’t believe when people say the bigger the rig, the better the high. It only means more work when cleaning the wax from it. Instead, the MJ Arsenal Infinity Mini Rig optimizes space, preserves the flavor of your wax, and looks stunning.

The design of the MJ Arsenal Infinity Mini Rig includes a double uptake recycler configuration and a fab egg-style percolation. The vapor goes through the disc and enters the egg-shaped chamber. Then, it flows through a pair of curved stems.

The result is a smooth and cool hit like no other.

Elevate Your Dabs By Using A Dynacoil By Dynavap

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Consume wax the cleanest way possible! The Dynacoil turns any Dynavap vaporizer into a powerful combustion-free dab vaporizer.

Eliminating combustion and making the vapor as smooth and cool as possible is one of the “cleanest” ways to smoke wax. The Dynavap vaporizers and Dynacoil will allow you to enjoy concentrates as cleanly as possible.

Dynavap is an incredible brand focused on bringing everyone devices that will make the smoking experience so much healthier. Their lineup boasts superior innovation and engineering that will wow your friends.

Dynavap is dedicated to providing cleaner and healthier user experiences. We can vape without a battery thanks to their innovative designs and engineering; no more fiddling with dead devices and long wait times.

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