Table of Contents Show
Honey Benefits for skin1 have been in use from time immemorial, and it’s just that we were not aware of such sweet benefits from this healthy alchemy.
Just as the saying goes that a book should not be judged by its cover, people should not be judged by their apparent beauty. We refuse to accept that it is natural beauty and good health that are crucial and not showcased beauty.
So what is natural beauty? Natural beauty means the magnificence that you have inborn, and you work with yourself and enhance that beauty you are blessed with.
There are many natural beauty things that we use to enhance the beauty of our skin, face, hair, and body. Most of them are available to us from nature, and we need to know to utilize them in the right proportion and the proper manner.
One such undeniable beauty product is honey for the skin. I am sure most of you have had a sweet surprise reading this. We are often told to stay away from sweet things to have great skin. Nonetheless, raw honey is one sweet ingredient with tons of benefits for your skin and hair, too, even if it is spread in a thin layer.
Why Using Honey is so Good?
Honey for skin has achieved the long-standing credibility of becoming one of the respected beauty ingredients in the kitchen.
1. Storehouse of Nutrients
It is said that regular honey is said to contain nearly 300 components beneficial like Vitamin B, Zinc, Calcium, Iron, Potassium, and some more, which will help your skin radiate beauty.
2. Improves Immunity
Honey consumed with warm water is said to improve your immune system as well.
3. Loaded with Antimicrobial Properties
One of the significant honey benefits to the skin is its antimicrobial properties that help to kill the bacteria living on our dead skin cells. Maybe it is these beneficial properties of honey that have made it one of the traditionally used wound healing agents in so many various cultures across the globe.
This sweet substance is produced by plants through enzyme activity and live bacteria. But what eventually is contained in raw honey depends on how many parts of the plant source the bees use up during the process of making honey.2
4. Natural Humectant
Honey draws moisture into the skin and hence is called a natural humectant. If you feel your skin requires a hydrating booster, then think no further – applying honey is the perfect remedy for this.
Honey is beneficial for skin as it has anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, antiviral and antibacterial properties.
7 Honey Benefits for Skin
Honey made by the experimentation of the bees by collecting nectar, resins, and pollen from flowers is one product that helps in moisturizing, fighting age, and fighting bacteria too! Plus, it has loads of antioxidants, nutrients, and gallops of healing compounds.
Much before cosmetic products started ruling our lives, people relied on a lot of natural oils and ingredients like raw honey, turmeric, and other things from their pantry to improve their skin.
Peer-reviewed studies show that the ancient Romans, Greeks, East Indians, and Egyptians all used honey for skincare preparations3. Cleopatra, who is believed to be the most beautiful person who ever lived on this earth, is believed to have used a combination of milk and raw honey as one of her most prized beauty secrets.
So, without any further hype, let us see how honey benefits the skin:
1. Natural Moisturiser
An excellent moisturizer, honey benefits the skin when added to skincare mixtures. It naturally helps to retain moisture for all skin conditions like itchy skin, dull skin, treating acne, etc. The enzymes present in honey help soften the upper layers of the skin and penetrate deeply, hydrating the skin cells underneath. The honey face mask is one of the most moisturizing and soothing face mask treatments.4
2. Clears Clogged Pores
Honey benefits skin as it has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. It thus plays an essential role in removing the excess oil from your skin and clearing the clogged pores of the skin. This way, pimples, acne, and pesky blackheads can be prevented from occurring. To get good results, instead of using other skin cosmetics, try and mix raw honey and coconut oil or jojoba oil; after applying honey to clean dry skin, massage gently, and remember to avoid your eyes area.
3. Antibacterial and Anti-inflammatory
Raw honey helps balance autoimmune skin conditions 5packed with natural ingredients. Organic honey benefits skin care as it contains healthy bacteria. These healthy bacteria help treat and support the redness and inflammation of the skin cells underneath that is caused by skin diseases like eczema outbreak, psoriasis, and other autoimmune skin conditions.
4. Glowing Skin
The skin-brightening properties of honey help your skin to get a healthy moisturized glow after usage. Dull or dry skin, oily skin, acne-prone skin, or combination skin types can be treated with honey. Honey is beneficial for the skin as it leaves a hydrated glow, unlike what you imagined that honey would leave a sticky or oily feeling. Try it, and I am sure you will be surprised by the gorgeous glow you see on your skin after using honey!
5. Removes Scars
Honey has natural antiseptic properties. These properties help in wound healing and fade scars on our skin. Honey is not only a good moisturizer but also makes your scars look less prominent.
It reduces inflammation and helps speed the healing of your skin, thus allowing the scar to fade away or making sure visible signs are reduced to minimal when used continuously. Honey can help fight acne scars, burns, deep cuts, and healing wounds.
6. Face Packs
The exfoliating properties of honey can help remove blemishes and maintain good healthy skin6. Honey helps as a good exfoliator for all skin conditions by removing all the dead skin cells and helping new skin cells grow, thus improving your skin’s natural glow.
Honey benefits the skin when mixed with other ingredients. A honey face pack along with a mixture of turmeric and curd makes a fantastic face pack to get your skin hydrated. If used along with the juice of tomatoes, honey can help to brighten the skin and get rid of blemishes and tan marks.
7. Reverses Aging
As Honey is a natural humectant, honey helps with the signs of ageing along with its natural antioxidant properties. Honey benefits the skin by controlling the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles on our faces. It supplies our skin with the apt nourishment needed to stay healthy with its moisturizing and antioxidant properties.
These properties help to repair our skin and fade away the scars. Honey helps in improving the elasticity of our skin, thus making it look youthful and glowing. To sum it all up, honey strengthens our skin barrier and thus delays the signs of ageing.
8. Treating Sunburns
Sunburns are caused when you spend too much time out in the sun, and often they occur because you have not used any sun protection like SPF.
Sunburned skin leaves you with a burning sensation, redness, dryness, and inflamed skin. You need to cool your skin with a therapeutic agent, and this is where the healing properties of honey come to your rescue! Honey benefits your skin when applied directly to the affected sensitive skin area. If you apply it along with aloe vera gel, it will give you a soothing effect.
Due to all such benefits, honey is widely used in dermatology and skincare products.
The Side Effects of Honey
Just like any other product, honey also has specific side effects. You must know what you are allergic to and how your skin will respond to a product. An allergic reaction could be to bees, bee venom, or pollen, as the honey may be contaminated with either of these.
If you do not have any known allergies, it is still crucial that you do a small patch test on your skin before applying honey to a larger area of your body.
Remember that you should remove or clean natural honey or any honey-based products or skin cosmetics from your skin before going to bed. This is because if honey remains on your skin, it could create a mess or get dirty. Such dirt may make your skin absorb them, and conditions could worsen, leading to skin infections too!
What Kind of Honey is Good?
Honey benefits the skin in so many great ways because of its remarkable properties, and it can be used in various forms.
It is believed that the darker the honey, the more antioxidants it contains. So try to use unpasteurized honey. But well, there are so many honey varieties available because of numerous flowers and the geography that is trying to stick to one particular kind would seem difficult.
It would be excellent if you could get your hands on organic or unpasteurized honey. There are other varieties too like Buckwheat, Kanuka honey, Thyme, and Manuka honey.
One of the popular types of these is the Manuka honey which is derived from the tea tree flowers mostly in Australia and New Zealand.
Even though it comes with a hefty price tag and is not the most moisturizing, it is said to have enormous benefits for treating wounds, healing the skin, and fighting acne. So it is up to you and your requirements wh\ traditional honey.
The other types of honey are more moisturizing, accessible, and affordable.
If you cannot reach out to these brands, then you should go for the locally-produced raw honey that is completely clean and natural. Local honey benefits skin as it is ordinarily thick, crunchy because of the wax pieces found in honeycombs, and creamy.
Honey that you find in the supermarket could have fewer skin benefits because of being heated, filtered, and processed.
Key Takeaways
Honey benefits the skin as it is a natural ingredient that contains a lot of nutrients to enhance your beauty regime and make your skin glow entirely in every aspect. It is considered one of the top-notch ingredients in the skincare industry for various skin benefits and skin infections.
After reading this post, you must have realized that it is best to incorporate honey to bring a natural glow and enhance the beauty of your skin. Pure honey is undoubtedly a recommended product as long as you know how to apply and use it.
So, go on, don’t hesitate and make honey a regular part of your beauty routine and enjoy honey benefits for your skin.
Click here to read more.
FAQs
1. Can I apply honey to my face every day?
Ans. Yes, you can apply honey to your face every day. It will work as a perfect cleanser for you.
2. Can honey remove dark spots from the face?
Ans. Yes, honey will help you to fade the dark spots from your face.
3. Is honey effective in removing dark circles?
Ans. Yes absolutely. Honey contains anti-oxidant properties like anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. Also, most importantly it contains bleaching properties which help in fading off the dark circles around your eyes.
- Burlando, Bruno, and Laura Cornara. “Honey in dermatology and skin care: a review.” Journal of cosmetic dermatology 12.4 (2013): 306-313. ↩︎
- Subramanian, R., H. Umesh Hebbar, and N. K. Rastogi. “Processing of honey: a review.” International Journal of Food Properties 10.1 (2007): 127-143. ↩︎
- Burlando, Bruno, and Laura Cornara. “Honey in dermatology and skin care: a review.” Journal of cosmetic dermatology 12.4 (2013): 306-313. ↩︎
- Tortop, Tuba, Alaadin Keykubat, and Sema Yuksel. “Facemask therapy with and without expansion.” American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics 132.4 (2007): 467-474. ↩︎
- Mukhatayev, Zhussipbek, et al. “Engineered antigen-specific regulatory T cells for autoimmune skin conditions.” Autoimmunity reviews 20.3 (2021): 102761. ↩︎
- Ryan, Terence J. “Healthy skin for all.” International journal of dermatology 33.12 (1994): 829-835. ↩︎
Last Updated on by Icy Health Editorial Team
Hey, I’m really amazed by your article! The information and benefits you mentioned about honey is the fact! I use honey in many of my skincare products and definitely the results are amazing! You also answered many of the questions,so definitely I liked your article!
This insightful article highlights the diverse benefits of honey for skin, showcasing its natural properties as a moisturizer, pore-clearing agent, and scar-reducer. It encourages readers to embrace honey in their beauty regimen for a radiant and healthy complexion.