Eating raw honey keeps us healthy on the inside but it can also help us look and feel good on the outside too.
Raw honey is one of the best natural sources of skin-boosting acids. Raw honey reduces breakouts, moisturizing the skin, aiding wound healing, fighting allergies or rashes, and helping to reduce scars. Source: Guardian Life
4 ways raw honey is good for the skin
- Raw honey is rich in natural glycolic acids, which is also added to expensive face creams. They are reputed to have a healing effect on scars and minimise damage caused by sun exposure.
- Raw honey acts as a humectant so attracts moisture from the air and it permeates into the layers of the epidermis to hydrate the skin. The healing and moisturising effects combine for a natural anti-aging treatment.
- Honey also has a slightly acidic pH, which helps it balance the skin, especially if you’ve been using commercial preparations which tend to be alkaline.
- There are anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties in raw honey which is proven to help heal wounds, burns and works well to clear up pimples and blemishes.
7 ways to use raw honey in your beauty regime
- Face Mask
Recommended by Riath's beekeeper friend Mr Abdul Abziz in Abu Dhabi, to keep skin extra smooth with raw honey and propolis. It’s a natural treatment that the women in his family have used for generations.
How to use raw honey in your beauty regime
Take some raw honey and a capsule of propolis. Pierce the capsule and mix the propolis into the raw honey, apply in a thick layer over your face and leave for 25 mins. Rinse well with warm water, then press a cold damp cloth dampened over the face. If you can’t get hold of propolis, raw honey on its own is very effective and helps boost collagen whilst healing problem skin.
- Honey Scrub
Put a small amount of raw honey (one or two teaspoons) into the palm of your hand, smooth it over your face with slightly damp hands, massaging it in to stimulate the circulation. Leave the raw honey on your skin for about 1 minute then simply rinse off with warm water. You can add baking powder to the raw honey and let it stand a few minutes. This is particularly good for skin prone to frequent breakouts or acne. If you find commercial scrubs dry the skin out and cause irritation, then raw honey is a natural replacement as it soothes and balances while the baking powder (the Egyptians called it ‘natron’) gently exfoliates. Spread over the face then rub gently with the fingertips paying particular attention to problem areas. Use a cloth dampened in warm water to remove the scrub.
For acne sufferers read about 17 year old Hilda Paz Robles who used raw honey and green tea to treat severe cystic acne with fantastic results, Why raw honey should be in your medicine cabinet
- Sweet Body Lotion
Mix honey with olive oil and a dash of lemon juice stir it well and apply as a lotion over the body to keep dry skin moisturised. This is something people in the Mediterranean have been doing for years. Remove after 10 minutes and your skin will feel nice and soft. You can also make a body scrub and cleanse the skin all over by mixing honey with ground almonds along with lemon juice. So good you could eat it but in this case it makes for a nice natural exfoliatior. Wash and towel dry after a few minutes.
- Raw Honey Bath
If it was good enough for the Egyptian Queen, Cleopatra, then it’s good enough for you and me. Known for her beauty Cleopatra bathed in milk and honey. You can create your own relaxing soak by adding raw honey to your bath. Pour the warm water and sink into the tub and enjoy the softness of the water leaving your skin feeling the same. You can add a drop of natural essential oil like lavender or rosemary to give add fragrance to your home spa experience.
- Hair Rinse
Rinse your hair with raw honey and water after shampooing. Pour the mixture into your hair, working through to the ends of the hair. Leave for a few minutes and dry as normal. The honey will leave your hair shiny and smooth.
- Natural Nail Treatment
Raw honey is anti-fungal so makes for a natural treatment rubbed onto inflicted toe nails. For the hands that suffer from chipped finger nails then mix raw honey with coconut oil for a perfect pre-manicure mask. To keep the nails healthy rub this combination into damaged cuticles and repeat once a week.
- Foot Spa
You can create your own treatment at home with raw honey. Mix honey, liquid soap, almond oil and vanilla extract in a bowl. Fill up your foot bath with warm water, add this mixture and soak your feet for 10 minutes. The honey will soften and moisturize your feet, leaving them feeling refreshed.
How to use raw honey in your beauty regime
Why only raw honey will do for beauty treatments
Only raw (untreated) honey contains all the enzymes, phytonutrients, anti-oxidants and healing compounds that provide so many natural benefits for the skin. Unless honey is described as ‘raw’ it will have been treated in a variety of ways which removes the amount of health-promoting properties that the raw honey straight from the hive contains.
Not only is raw honey a great treatment for the skin but bee by-products like bee pollen, royal jelly, beeswax and propolis have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory qualities that can help combat the effects of aging whilst healing and protecting the skin and body.
Let us know how you get on trying our raw honey make-over and if you have a home beauty treatment to share using raw honey get in touch. We would love to hear from you.
