Honey Skincare | Bee Inspired

Honey Skincare is one of the best ways to heal dry, damaged skin. You already know that honey has a special place in our honey beauty products, but did you know that, with all skin types, you can use our raw honey directly on the skin?

close up honey pouring into bowl overflowing from a spoon with honey pots in background on white countertop

The Magic of Honey for your Skin

If you're like the rest of us, your skin might have its rough moments now and then. You may use your fair share of products to no avail. Even with these products, you can still get:

Pimples
Dry skin
Fine lines
Oil patches

The bottom line is, it's all part of being human. Nobody has utterly flawless skin. Even if you take great care of your skin, you still might find yourself with problem areas. Don't worry though - we are here to help by introducing honey skincare!

Honey Skincare Throughout History

A great honey skincare product truly makes a difference in your skin. Throughout history, beauties like Cleopatra and the Duchess of Cornwall have used honey based skincare. They used raw honey and bee venom for their healing properties to achieve that youthful glow.

Thousands of years ago, honey skin products made their way into the world. Cleopatra knew that when you combine milk and honey, soaking in it will leave your skin looking and feeling better. Nature has been giving us cues to the benefits of honey based skincare products since the beginning of time.

Girls using Harvest, Sea and Tea, and Bee Inspired face masks.

Honey Skincare Benefits

There are several benefits of using honey skincare. Honey naturally repairs your skin and you can use it for all sorts of complexion issues, including:

Discoloration
Redness
Acne
Dryness

Honey contains trace amounts of enzymes, vitamins, amino acids, minerals, and antioxidants. These can combat free radicals on the skin, making it a powerful beauty tool. Honey also has a lower pH than most bacteria can stand. As a natural humectant, honey is a moisturizer that attracts and seals moisture on dry and patched skin - without making it oily.

When you combine honey with other ingredients, such as plant oils, botanicals, and butter, you can create natural skin repair remedies, such as:

Honey skin cream
Honey skin scrub
Honey soap

The possibilities are endless! Even on its own, honey is a simple, effective solution to what ails your skin. If you want to learn more about the scientific power of honey, read about other ways you can use honey and products from the hive for treating the skin.

Putting Honey Skincare to Use

Used in many commercial moisturizing products to provide a calming effect, honey is an ingredient commonly found in:

Cleansers
Exfoliators
Creams
Shampoos
Shower gels
Conditioners

If you are not able to make it to your favorite spa, no need to worry! Honey skincare can be done in the comfort of your own home, with your own home remedies. Licensed massage therapist Karen Lee Miller touts the benefits of DIY honey body scrub-making (and even includes us in her recipe!). She points out, "There are all sorts of salt and sugar scrubs on the market averaging $20-30, or you can save money (about 2/3 the cost) and make your own honey body scrub."

Raw ingredients for the bee well DIY face mask including clay oats and salts on pink table with palm leaf and paint brush

Natural Honey Skincare at Home

It’s likely that you have all the necessary ingredients in your pantry. Mixing honey with other natural products can create even more beneficial results! Here are some of our favorite products to mix with honey:

Sugar
Seaweed
Milk
Coffee grounds

It is important to note that honey contains at least 18% water. Because of this, it is very important, especially if you are mixing it with other ingredients for treatments, that you only make enough to use for one treatment. On more than one occasion I have had deep and meaningful conversations with green beauty experts who revel in honey being its own preservative system. It is NOT. While it can slightly contribute to a preservative system, other plant-derived and synthetic components are necessary to stabilize the formula to be safe for more than a day or two.

Mixing honey with sugar will create a natural scrub that you can use to exfoliate and soften the skin. Check out our Honey Oat Scrub recipe that is gentle enough to use on your face and will leave your skin feeling lifted.

DIY Honey Oat Scrub in honor of National Oat Month, in glass with spoon with side-dish of honey

Another beauty secret that will delight and please is mixing seaweed with honey. The results are dramatic. Try this DIY Spirulina Face Mask and revel at the results.

You can also add honey right into your bathtub for a moisturizing, balancing soak. Simply add a few tablespoons of raw honey to a warm bath and swirl. The honey will dissolve and help to pull moisture into the skin, while also delivering head-to-toe nutrients. If you want an even more nourishing treatment, take a look into our Oatmeal Bath with Milk and Honey recipe.

Treat yourself to a customizable, skin-softening milk and honey face mask that you can mix up in your kitchen. Your complexion will thank you.

For all of the above treatments, we recommend using darker honey. Sometimes dark honey, like Buckwheat, has a higher concentration of antioxidants than lighter honey, making it more powerful on the skin. Whatever you choose, make sure it is pure, raw, and straight from the hive for the maximum skin-boosting benefits.

If you need help reducing the appearance of stubborn cellulite, mixing honey with coffee grounds may be the answer. Coffee has been proven on some level to shrink cellulite, and the honey will keep your skin feeling soft and moisturized.

DIY Coffee Scrub

Ingredients:

1/2 c fresh coffee grounds
1/2 c sunflower oil
1 Tbsp honey
1/2 c brown sugar

Directions:

Place all the ingredients into a bowl and mix well
In the shower, apply the scrub in circular motions to problem areas
Rinse off after massaging the scrub into the skin

This scrub is coarse, so expect your skin to turn a little pink or red. Don't worry about this though - it is caused by increased circulation to your skin. I definitely notice softer skin, though you must do this rather consistently to get any kind of significant cellulite reduction.

Honey Skincare as a Cleanser

Crystallized honey makes a great treatment for skin that is prone to acne, discoloration, and dryness. To use plain honey on the skin, simply take a tablespoon right from the jar and apply it to a freshly cleansed face. Since it is a bit messy and sticky, this is best done before your morning shower. Here are some simple instructions to help you easily achieve the best results:

Cleanse the skin with your daily cleanser
Apply the raw honey mask (be sure to pull your hair away from your face)
Leave the mask on for 10-15 minutes while you shower
Rinse off with warm water while gently massaging the skin

When you rinse off your honey mask, you don't need to follow with a second cleanser - the honey will help to pull away impurities from the skin, leaving your face soft. Just make sure to follow with your favorite toner, serum, and moisturizer, and you'll be good to go!

This treatment can (and should!) be done daily as part of your facial routine in the morning or at night. This allows you to gently cleanse and exfoliate your skin every day, and fairly quickly, you can see acne marks, redness, and dryness fade away.

DIY Honey Body Scrub on marble table in package with part of a plant ready to use — Crystallized Honey is perfect for at-home facial treatments. One ingredient skin treatment.

Honey Skincare as a Scar Treatment

Honey can also be used on the skin to help gradually fade the appearance of light scars and marks. This is in part due to the chemical compounds in the honey, which deliver nutrients and moisture to areas of skin that need regeneration.

Gently massage a teaspoon or two of honey on cleansed, slightly damp skin for a few minutes and then rinse off with warm water. By delivering moisture to the affected area, along with increasing blood flow (via massage), your marks can gradually lighten. Do this process daily, morning or night, until your scar fades away.

Mature woman applying a honey under-eye mask wearing white robe

Honey Repairs Deeper than the Skin

There are many health benefits of honey beyond just skincare. Clearly You’s Kathleen McCoy, a professional beauty, education, and healthcare analyst, identified other scientifically verified health benefits of honey and bee products.

McCoy notes that:

Honey can help treat kids' nocturnal coughs more effectively than commonly used Dextromethorphan
Honey helps faster healing by decreasing inflammation, especially on head and neck wounds
One diluted bee venom injection temporarily improves chronic pain, and may help in chronic pain management
Royal jelly protects cells agains nicotine and smoking damage
Hippocrates used bee venom for medical treatments because it contained melatonin and anti-inflammatory agents hundreds of times stronger than cortisone

Honey really is nature’s medicine, and it has proven time and time again to expedite healing processes throughout the human body. If you try any of these honey beauty tips, let us know! Stop into our Honey House in Owings Mills, Maryland to try out any of our honey infused skincare products, or simply shop our selection online.