Main Difference
The main difference between Wax and Lanolin is that the Wax is a class of chemical compounds that are plastic (malleable) near ambient temperatures and Lanolin is a yellow waxy substance secreted by the sebaceous glands of wool-bearing animals
Wax
Waxes are a diverse class of organic compounds that are lipophilic, malleable solids near ambient temperatures. They include higher alkanes and lipids, typically with melting points above about 40 °C (104 °F), melting to give low viscosity liquids. Waxes are insoluble in water but soluble in organic, nonpolar solvents. Natural waxes of different types are produced by plants and animals and occur in petroleum.
Lanolin
Lanolin (from Latin lāna ‘wool’, and oleum ‘oil’), also called wool yolk, wool wax, or wool grease, is a wax secreted by the sebaceous glands of wool-bearing animals. Lanolin used by humans comes from domestic sheep breeds that are raised specifically for their wool. Historically, many pharmacopoeias have referred to lanolin as wool fat (adeps lanae); however, as lanolin lacks glycerides (glycerol esters), it is not a true fat. Lanolin primarily consists of sterol esters instead. Lanolin’s waterproofing property aids sheep in shedding water from their coats. Certain breeds of sheep produce large amounts of lanolin.
Lanolin’s role in nature is to protect wool and skin from climate and the environment; it also plays a role in skin (integumental) hygiene. Lanolin and its derivatives are used in the protection, treatment and beautification of human skin.
Wax (noun)
Beeswax.
Wax (noun)
Earwax.
“What role does the wax in your earhole fulfill?”
Wax (noun)
Any oily, water-resistant substance; normally long-chain hydrocarbons, alcohols or esters.
Wax (noun)
Any preparation containing wax, used as a polish.
Wax (noun)
The phonograph record format for music.
Wax (noun)
A thick syrup made by boiling down the sap of the sugar maple and then cooling it.
Wax (noun)
A type of drugs with as main ingredients weed oil and butane; hash oil
Wax (noun)
The process of growing.
Wax (noun)
An outburst of anger.
Wax (adjective)
Made of wax.
Wax (verb)
To apply wax to (something, such as a shoe, a floor, a car, or an apple), usually to make it shiny.
Wax (verb)
To remove hair at the roots from (a part of the body) by coating the skin with a film of wax that is then pulled away sharply.
Wax (verb)
To defeat utterly.
Wax (verb)
To kill, especially to murder a person.
Wax (verb)
To record. from 1900
Wax (verb)
To increase (phase of the Moon or other planet). Example The Moon is waxing.
Wax (verb)
To increasingly assume the specified characteristic, become.
“to wax lyrical;”
“to wax eloquent;”
“to wax wode”
Wax (verb)
To grow.
Wax (verb)
To appear larger each night as a progression from a new moon to a full moon.
Wax (verb)
To move from low tide to high tide.
Lanolin (noun)
A greasy yellow substance chemically akin to wax that is secreted from wooly animals, with a variety of uses from rust prevention, lubrication and waterproofing to cosmetics and skin ointments.
Wax (noun)
a sticky yellowish mouldable substance secreted by honeybees as the material of a honeycomb; beeswax.
Wax (noun)
a white translucent material obtained by bleaching and purifying beeswax and used for such purposes as making candles, modelling, and as a basis of polishes.
Wax (noun)
any waxy substance, especially a lipid or hydrocarbon.
Wax (noun)
earwax.
Wax (noun)
used in reference to records
“he didn’t get on wax until 1959”
Wax (noun)
a fit of anger
“she is in a wax about the delay to the wedding”
Wax (verb)
cover or treat (something) with wax or a similar substance, typically to polish or protect it
“I washed and waxed the floor”
Wax (verb)
remove unwanted hair from (a part of the body) by applying wax and then peeling off the wax and hairs together
“she waxed her legs when necessary”
Wax (verb)
make a recording of
“he waxed a series of tracks that emphasized his lead guitar work”
Wax (verb)
(of the moon between new and full) have a progressively larger part of its visible surface illuminated, increasing its apparent size.
Wax (verb)
become larger or stronger
“his anger waxed”
Wax (verb)
begin to speak or write about something in the specified manner
“they waxed lyrical about the old days”