Why Honey is Like Magic for Your Skin

honey skin benefits


Honey is delicious in tea and drizzled over warm bread, but the liquid gold does more than just please our taste buds. Honey offers many therapeutic properties that have the potential to nourish and heal our bodies from the inside and out. This includes the skin, and you might be surprised at all the different benefits honey offers for the body’s largest organ. 


Why Honey Is Like Magic For Your Skin

As more and more awareness is raised about the potentially toxic effects of some skin care ingredients, many of us are searching not only for gentler products but also turning toward natural ingredients and discovering the therapeutic value in things supplied by Mother Nature, including honey.


All honey has restorative properties. It’s antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory, and it moisturizes like nobody’s business. If we’re talking about Manuka honey, which is made when bees collect nectar from the Manuka tree that’s native to Australia and New Zealand, then the healing and beneficial properties are multiplied even further.


Manuka honey contains an omega-3 fatty acid called DHA (Docosahexaenoic acid), which serves several essential functions in the body, including being a primary structural component of the skin. In honey, the DHA converts to another compound called MGO (Methylglyoxal). MGO has strong antibacterial properties and plays a major role in how Manuka honey is rated. Another chemical, called Leptosperin, which may play a role in the mechanisms through which Manuka honey works as a therapeutic agent, is also a marker of pure Manuka honey.


If you purchase Manuka honey, please learn about the identifiers of pure honey so that you can make informed choices. There are companies out there that will take advantage of the Manuka honey trend and sell inferior products. Don’t take chances when it comes to your skin.


That said, you don’t necessarily need Manuka honey for your skin. Regular honey made from your hard-working local bees offers great benefits to your skin as well.


Nourishing your body through nutrition and supplementation can do incredible things for the health of your skin, and honey can be a beneficial part of your diet.


However, due to its composition, honey can be applied topically, penetrating the upper layers of skin and doing wonderful things. Whether you use plain honey, add it to your own skin care creations, or turn to skin care products that feature honey as one of the main ingredients, these are benefits that the liquid gold is known for.

  • One of Nature's Most Powerful Moisturizers

    Honey is a humectant that is well suited to all types of skin, but it works wonderfully to restore and retain moisture to dry skin. When honey touches your skin, it draws in moisture from the air and holds it tight against your skin. It’s a great natural moisturizer, especially for people with sensitive skin that may not react well to moisturizers with less gentle ingredients. 

  • Heals Wounds with Natural Hydrogen Peroxide

    Honey contains trace amounts of something you might not expect – hydrogen peroxide. While hydrogen peroxide can be great for treating wounds, especially for preventing infection, it can be harsh on its own. Honey, with its antibacterial properties, can speed wound healing and may also work to lighten the appearance of scars. 

  • Potent Sunburn Relief

    Think about how honey is often recommended to soothe a sore throat. It’s those same anti-inflammatory and soothing properties that provide relief when you’ve spent a little too much time out in the sun. Honey also moisturizes, so it provides a triple punch of anti-inflammation, soothing, and moisturizing to sunburned skin.

  • Gentle Natural Enzyme Exfoliation

    Honey gently cleanses the skin and exfoliates. It’s not a harsh type of exfoliation that causes micro-abrasions on the skin. Instead, the enzymes in honey work to loosen the “glue” that holds dead skin cells to the surface of the skin. Honey can not only remove impurities from the skin but also brighten your complexion once those dull, dead skin cells are out of the picture

  • No More Breakouts

    Can something sticky and sweet actually help and prevent acne? It seems counterintuitive, but the answer is yes. The anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties of honey help it to soothe acne and reduce redness, and it may play a role in preventing new breakouts from happening. While honey might not instantly make chronic acne disappear, it can be very beneficial in a long-term approach to controlling acne and healing acne scars.

  • Lost Collagen & Elasticity

    So far, we’ve mentioned the anti-inflammatory, moisturizing, and antimicrobial properties of honey several times, which both factor into how honey benefits mature skin. Honey also contains antioxidants, which are key for keeping skin looking healthy as it matures. The antioxidants in honey can help fight the free-radical damage that can result in a loss of collagen and elasticity in mature skin. 

How to Easily add honey to your skin care routine

There are a few different ways to benefit from the healing and nourishing properties of honey for your skin. You can always search for gentle, natural skin care products that include honey in their list of ingredients. You can also easily make honey skin care remedies on your own.


For instance, a simple mask of just honey applied to the skin is moisturizing and soothing, and it’s one of the easiest, purest ways to receive all those great benefits. Just spread a thin layer on and relax for 15 minutes or so while the honey does its magic. This is also suitable for most skin types.


You can also mix honey with other ingredients you have around your house to make an easy skin care treatment.

  • Honey mixed with lemon juice is a good mask for acne-prone skin
  • Honey mixed with mashed strawberries is an excellent exfoliating treatment
  • Honey mixed with sea salt or sugar makes a wonderful full-body scrub
  • Honey mixed with a skin-friendly oil, such as coconut oil, works well as a cleanser to remove oil, impurities, and cosmetics
  • Honey mixed with warm milk is a decadent bathtime treat
  • Honey mixed with aloe vera is double effective as a sunburn soother
  • Mix honey with melted beeswax to make a soothing salve for excessively dry skin




Sources:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5661189/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S168411821500033X


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