Many of you may wonder why you would even consider raw honey in the first place. Raw honey is a universal beauty tonic for all skin types because of its potent yet gentle healing benefits for skin. Raw honey does wonders for acne, rosacea, eczema, hyperpigmentation, enlarged pores, sensitive, mature, and dull lifeless skin.
With so many beauty products on the market, we sometimes think that every product that we use must be extremely complicated and/or full of ingredients. That notion however is not always necessary and in some cases completely wrong (as many of you already may know). Although what we wash our face with doesn’t stay on our skin that long, soap based products quickly strip the skin of its natural oils and create an imbalanced in the skin’s pH which causes many skin problems and forces the skin to produce excess oil.
When you find people who have beautiful skin that claim to wash their face with only water, yes they do have good genetics, but they are also not creating any imbalance in the pH of their skin with harsh cleansers and toners. Maintaining a consistently balanced pH in the skin will allow your skin to do its job much better and with less obstacles then so many of us already have. For teens this could be not washing your sheets often enough to simply touching your face too much throughout the day. Products that dry, strip, then replenish the skin continue the cycle of skin distress. Less really is more.
Maintaining a healthy pH in your skin is an important anti-aging secret. The less the stress your skin endures from drying cleansers and toners, the more elastic it will remain over time. Any thing with a pH of 4.5-7 is usually considered pH balanced. Distilled water is a neutral pH of 7, but most tap water ranges from 7-8, which to some may not seem like a big deal, but if your having issues with your skin then it may be. The skin is rated at 5.5 on the pH scale, so naturally it thrives when using products with a pH 4.5-5.5.Â
Raw honey has a natural pH ranging from 3.4-6.1 with an average of 4.1. If you want to get a little expensive you can buy Manuka Honey with an Active Level of 20+ which can be found in whole foods stores. Manuka honey has such a concentration of these antiseptic and antimicrobial properties that it makes good for healing cuts and burns by killing bacteria and fungus. Raw honey also contains gluconic acid, a mild alpha hydroxy acid that is amazing at brightening the complexion, evening out the skin tone, and lightening scars and age spots.
Most honey contains iron, silica, copper, vitamin B, manganese, chlorine, potassium, calcium, sodium, phosphorous, aluminum and magnesium depending on where the honey is collected from. This rich mineral content makes it excellent for skin. Raw honey’s intense moisturizing abilities with gentle cleansing agents makes it perfect for even very sensitive skin. When honey is mixed with water it released peroxide properties which helps heal fades and also prevent bacteria causing more acne.
Not all honey is created equal. Most of the honey found in grocery stores is “adulterated honey" meaning it literally has no nutrients. When honey is processed and refined with heat the live healing enzymes are killed. You are instead left with liquid sugar. Raw honey will give your skin the healing benefits that it needs and you will also experience the best results.
To use raw honey as a face wash simply add a quarter size amount of honey or more to wet hands and massage into your skin. Rinse your face, then tone and moisturize as usual. You can also leave honey on your skin for as long as you like as a honey mask, or combine it with other ingredients for more cleansing and brightening. My favorite ways to use raw honey is with rhassoul clay or as anexfoliating treatment with sugar and lemon juice. I’ve also used raw honey in place of vegetable glycerin in my DIY hair recipes. Raw honey has been used for centuries for medicinal and cosmetic purposes. There truly is such beauty in simplicity.
How have you used honey in skin or hair care?
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