Everyone has experienced a beauty disaster or two, but that shouldn’t stop you from continuing to experiment! Sometimes the most unconventional ingredients are the secret to giving you healthy skin and hair, and raw honey is no exception.
This sticky substance is flush with antibiotic properties and skin-benefiting antioxidants that make it an ideal natural ingredient for skin and hair care. Best of all, honey is relatively inexpensive, easy to store, and simple to incorporate into a cocktail of natural cosmetic products.
Once you start experiencing the benefits and uses of raw honey for your skin and hair, you will ensure that a bottle is within reach whenever the need for pampering arises.
Natural Benefits Of Honey
At first thought, the idea of washing your face with honey might sound insane. Who would willingly put something so sticky on their skin? In truth, honey is an exceptional skincare product that can treat everything from dry skin to ailments like eczema and acne. The phytonutrients and enzymes honey contains make it a nutrient-rich substance that will benefit your skin and hair.
While honey has long been valued as a natural sweetener, the substance is far more than just the sum of its sugary parts. Bees make honey through a highly-evolved collection process by pulling pollen and nectar from a wide variety of flower species. It takes over 50,000 bees visiting more than 2 million flowers to make a single pound of honey, and these Herculean efforts are what keep them alive throughout the winter. It’s to humanity’s benefit that this vital bee food is such a boon for us as well.
Best Honey Varieties For Skin & Hair
Putting honey on your skin is a stellar combination, no matter what kind you use. It doesn’t make much difference what type you use, so long as it is pure, raw, and unfiltered.
If antibacterial benefits are a high priority, Manuka honey is often best. Studies show that this honey, which is sourced from pollen from New Zealand manuka bush, can boost your immunity, protect you from developing the flu, and treat skin conditions like rosacea and hives.
This medicinal-quality honey can be expensive though, so you might prefer to use other raw honey varieties for general upkeep for your skin and hair.
21 Uses Of Honey For Skin & Hair Health
The ways to use honey are almost limitless, but the list will get you started.
1. DIY Honey Mask
Thanks to its ability to unclog pores while moisturizing the skin, raw honey is ideal for making a face mask. Lightly dampen your skin and spread one teaspoon of honey in circular motions over it until your face feels unevenly covered. Let it set for 20-30 minutes before rinsing it off with lukewarm water.
2. Honey Spot Treatment
If you’re sick of suffering from breakouts, honey can work as a stellar spot treatment to reduce the evidence of acne. Honey’s natural enzymes can help clarify your skin and keep your pores clear, and its antibiotic properties will prevent bacteria from building up and triggering breakouts.
You can swab a dab of honey on the pimple with a Q-tip, keeping it on as long as is comfortable (all night is best). For an extra boost of cleansing, you can also mix the honey with tea tree oil or lavender oil.
3. Heal Burns and Wounds
If you accidentally burn your skin on the stove, healing relief is only as far away as your pantry. When honey is applied to skin right away, it can prevent the formation of free radicals and reduce your risk of scarring. If you get burned, put your hand under cold water for several minutes before applying honey to the burn.
Honey’s natural antimicrobial properties also make it ideal for dressing surface wounds because it makes the injury sterile and increases its rate of healing. For the best benefits, consider using Manuka honey, as it has additional anti-septic properties due to its methylglyoxal content.
For a homemade antiseptic cream with an extra kick, consider mixing honey with neem oil or tea tree oil to boost the benefits.
4. Treat Fungal Infections
Suffering from chronic ringworm? Manuka honey might help. Dab raw honey on the ringworm twice a day, and the infection will soon clear up.
5. Treat Chapped Lips
Pure honey is the perfect treatment for dry lips, so long as you can trust yourself not to lick it off! Simply dab some honey onto your lips before heading to bed, and it will absorb into your skin as you sleep.
6. Dry Skin Treatment
Put an end to the suffering of your woefully dry skin by treating it with a blend of honey and unsweetened, unflavored yogurt. Mix one tablespoon of each together and spread it onto your face and other patches of dry skin. After fifteen minutes, you can rinse it off.
7. Cuticle Treatment
Raw honey is precisely what ravaged nail beds need to heal, thanks to its natural humectant properties. Mix one teaspoon of honey with a teaspoon each of apple cider vinegar and coconut oil. Rub the blend over each cuticle and let it sit for 10 minutes before rinsing.
8. Makeup Remover
While honey might not be capable of completely removing your delicate eye makeup, the compound still makes a high-quality cleanser for the rest of your face. You can create an easily spreadable solvent by blending honey with coconut oil and incorporating in any spices or essential oils to add to the indulgence. Gently massage the mix into your face, and heavy makeup will start to dissolve.
9. DIY Exfoliator
Weekly exfoliation will do your skin a world of good, and honey is the perfect ingredient for making your own gentle scrub. You can make a homemade blend by mixing two parts honey with one part baking soda, and producing a skin treatment that offers gentle exfoliation by sloughing off dead skin cells while still soothing and smoothing your skin.
10. Hair Conditioner
Honey’s ample enzymes and nutrients make it ideal for nurturing your hair back to health after some rough treatment. Make a homemade honey conditioner by mixing one tablespoon of honey with two tablespoons of coconut oil, and apply the blend thoroughly to the bottom third of your hair, letting it set for at least fifteen minutes before rinsing it out.
11. Natural Wrinkle Treatment
Because honey is a natural humectant, it will work to moisturize the top layers of your skin and add needed hydration to improve the appearance of wrinkles. And, thanks to its ample antioxidants, honey can also delay the aging process for your skin cells. To enhance the benefits further, consider making a facial treatment by mixing one tablespoon of honey with a blended banana or papaya.
12. Hydrating Shampoo
Regular life puts a lot of wear on your hair, but you can help bring it back to health by mixing a dab of honey into your standard shampoo, make the switch to natural shampoos to give your hair an even better chance of ultimate health. This subtle treatment will add a boost of moisture that can also work to strengthen each follicle.
13. Hydrating Honey Bath
Dry winter skin is a pain to deal with, but incorporating honey into your bath can soothe and hydrate it. Add two cups of honey to the hot water and soak for at least fifteen minutes before adding a cup of baking soda to help rid your skin of dead cells.
14. Natural Highlighting
Want to lighten your hue without damaging your hair? Honey contains an enzyme called glucose oxidase that slowly releases hydrogen peroxide to give you natural-looking highlights. Just mix three tablespoons of honey into two tablespoons of water and apply directly to clean, damp hair. You can rinse the mixture out after it sets for an hour. For best results, use this treatment weekly.
15. Sunburn Treatment
Sun exposure is one of the fastest ways to dry out your skin, but a honey treatment can restore lost moisture and soothe your outer skin layers- especially when blended with aloe vera gel. You can make a natural treatment for sunburns by mixing one part raw honey with two parts aloe vera gel and applying it where needed.
16. Fade Scars
Honey is a subtle way to lighten skin, making it ideal for fading the evidence of scars. Its natural anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties also work to promote healing and tissue regeneration. Mix one teaspoon of honey with a teaspoon of olive oil, and gently massage the blend into the scar tissue. The massaging motion is essential, as it will improve circulation and improve blood flow to the damaged tissue.
17. Remove Warts
Strange as it sounds, Manuka honey has the potential for removing warts when used regularly. Apply a thick layer of honey to the wart and keep it in place for at least 24 hours. Repeat this treatment daily until the wart begins to disappear.
18. Clears Up Dandruff
Clear up your flaky scalp for good by mixing raw honey with water and massaging the mixture into your scalp, letting it sit for at least three hours before rinsing it out. For best results, perform this treatment weekly.
19. Resolve Rosacea
The skin condition rosacea often leads to enlarged skin pores that become inflamed and sore, leading to disfigurement around the nose and cheeks. While the condition is incurable, you can use Manuka honey to cleanse your pores and reduce their size, thanks to its natural anti-inflammatory properties. This product is potent, so be sure to experiment with small amounts first before putting it on sensitive skin.
20. Prevent Frizz and Split Ends
Raw honey has hygroscopic properties that benefit hair by drawing in water and locking it into the shaft, reducing the appearance of frizz and split ends. Adding even a teaspoon of honey to your conditioner will ensure your hair behaves better throughout the day.
21. Reduce Hair Loss
Thinning hair often has many causes. A vitamin deficiency, dry scalp, or even chronic dandruff can all be to blame- and a honey treatment can counteract each of these conditions. Apply honey directly to your scalp through a massage, and you’ll infuse it with high mineral content, B-complex vitamins, and plenty of amino acids that can help prevent hair loss.
How To Purchase Raw Honey
While all forms of honey can be beneficial for your skin, raw honey is significantly better because the nutrients haven’t been compromised. How can you tell if your honey is raw? These tips will help.
- Raw honey tends to have a milkier appearance and might contain flecks of honeycomb or pollen particles.
- Put a spoonful of honey in water and slowly start to stir. While processed honey begins dissolving right away, raw honey will settle on the bottom and disappear more slowly.
- Place a drop on your thumb and watch if it spreads. If it stays intact without dripping, it’s raw.
- Raw honey crystalizes after several months of storage, while processed varieties will stay like syrup.
You can probably pick up a jar of raw honey at your local farmers market, but if not then we recommend Honest Raw Honey available on Amazon as it’s completely natural, raw, Non-GMO and unfiltered.