Honey: The Sweet Effective Ingredient Your Skin Craves

Honey, produced by bees, is a potent substance with remarkable benefits for the skin. This natural nectar has been revered across cultures for centuries due to its ability to nourish, heal, and rejuvenate the skin. 

Its unique blend of antibacterial, moisturizing, and anti-inflammatory properties makes it an exceptional ingredient in promoting skin renewal, whether used in facial masks, lip care, or wound healing. This timeless ingredient enhances skin texture and hydration and supports the skin’s natural healing processes, making it a key player in traditional and modern skincare practices.

This blog will explain the five crucial reasons why you need this natural ingredient incorporated into your skincare routine and its impact on skin health.  Lastly, we will uncover the origins of honey and how it remains a vital ingredient in today’s modern skincare practices.

An exploration of the traditional origins of honey use reveals its long history of application across various cultures...

 

Honey History & Origin

Over the centuries, honey has been used for its medicinal properties, including skincare. Historical evidence pinpoints honey initially used in China, Greece, and Egypt. Each civilization used honey for similar purposes: healing wounds, soothing skin, and promoting overall health.

In China

Honey has long been prized in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for its skin-soothing, hydrating, and nourishing properties. Its natural antibacterial properties help treat acne and skin irritations, while its ability to promote moisture retention and healing leaves the skin soft, smooth, balanced, and rejuvenated. 

Honey is renowned for its anti-inflammatory properties, especially in alleviating joint pain and discomfort associated with rheumatoid arthritis. Its natural ability to boost energy makes it ideal for supporting and soothing the elbows, wrists, and other joints. These benefits explain why honey is commonly used in exfoliating scrubs, lotions, and soaps. 

Beyond its benefits for joints, honey was employed to promote tissue regeneration from its high antibacterial content. Women in the Ming Dynasty commonly used honey mixed with orange seeds to maintain clear, blemish-free skin and combat hyperpigmentation.

Greece

The ancient Greeks, much like the Chinese, valued honey for its healing and skin benefits. Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, praised its ability to cleanse sores, heal ulcers, and soften tough skin. It’s no surprise that honey remains a key ingredient in many health and skincare products today, as its natural properties promote longevity and wellness.

Innovative in skincare, the Greeks often combined honey with ingredients like olive oil, lemon, and milk to craft hydrating facial masks. They also frequently used honey in their lip care routines, as its natural enzymes gently softened, making it an effective lip balm. Similarly, at Bend Soap, honey is a key ingredient in our chapsticks to nourish dry, cracked lips, leaving them smooth and replenished.

 

Egypt: 

The earliest evidence of humans keeping beehives dates back to 2400 BC, when they were discovered in a sun temple in Cairo, Egypt. The ancient Egyptians were well-known for using honey as a staple ingredient in skincare. 

Like the Greeks, the Egyptians were inventive in skincare, combining honey with milk to protect against harsh UV rays. They also blended honey with crushed lotus flowers and plant oils to help treat swelling and promote healing.

Cleopatra (c.69 BC - 30 BC), the last queen of Egypt, used honey and milk in her bath each night to keep her skin smooth, firm, and reap the anti-aging effects. 

 

 

Honey’s Enduring Legacy

Honey was used across cultures to address similar skin conditions. Likewise, it is still being used in the same way centuries later. I am excited to share with you the five ways Honey continues to impact today. 

 

1. Honey As A Natural Moisturizer

If you didn’t already know, one of honey’s most profound qualities that make it stand out among many other natural ingredients is that it is a humectant. Therefore, it draws moisture from the air to help your skin retain hydration, softness, and suppleness. 

While reducing sugar intake is beneficial for overall health, it can be challenging for those with a sweet tooth. Thankfully, there are natural sugars, such as honey, that one can transition to, one being honey. 

Honey is a natural sweetener, rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, including fructose and glucose—the primary sugars found in honey.

The high sugar content in honey yields amazing benefits for your skin, acting as a barrier, preventing water loss, and maintaining the skin’s moisture balance. Thus making it ideal for dry and sensitive skin types. Honey will soothe and nourish your skin; it is a gentle yet effective way to stay healthy and moisturized. 

 Since honey is a humectant, it effectively hydrates both dry and oily skin without clogging pores, making it ideal for all skin types. So whether you are more oily-prone or dry-skin prone, honey has the ability to help you!  

 2. Antibacterial & Antiseptic Properties | Benefits of Raw Honey On Your Skin

A well-known honey for its potent antibacterial properties is Manuka honey, sourced from the Leptospermum scoparium plant, native to New Zealand. This honey stands out due to its high levels of methylglyoxal (MGO), a compound responsible for its remarkable ability to combat bacteria. Thanks to these natural compounds, Manuka honey is an excellent choice for promoting skin health and treating bacterial infections. 

Manuka honey, in particular, has been widely studied for its wound-healing benefits. As Johnson states, “The research data has confirmed that Manuka honey's antibacterial activity, compared to non-Manuka honey, is due to a higher phenolic and methylglyoxal content. Manuka honey can be safely used as an alternative natural antibiotic, which exerts a stimulating effect on macrophages to release mediators needed for tissue healing and reducing microbial infections” (Johnson et al., 2018). 

 With its powerful methylglyoxal content, Manuka honey has been clinically shown to support tissue regeneration, making it an incredibly effective option for healing wounds and enhancing overall skin health.

The distinction between antibacterial and antiseptic properties:

Honey’s antibacterial properties effectively target bacteria, and its unique composition helps prevent bacterial growth. Honey is high in osmolarity and contains acidic pH, hydrogen peroxide activity, and phytochemical factors, inhibiting bacterial growth. 

Antiseptics in honey target a wider range of microbes, killing the growth of fungi, bacteria, and viruses, and are typically used to reduce the risk of infection. Because of its high sugar content, healing properties, and low pH, honey is a remarkable antiseptic that prevents bacterial growth while simultaneously promoting the production of hydrogen peroxide, a natural antiseptic agent. This array of factors makes honey a must-have in your everyday skincare regime. 

3. Anti-inflammatory | Honey To Soothe Skin

One great feature of honey is its natural anti-inflammatory properties. I appreciate natural ingredients that soothe my skin through their anti-inflammatory properties, as they help externally and internally. This indicates that you have sore muscles, and applying honey can help loosen them and ease pain. After all, your skin is your body’s largest organ. What goes on your skin goes directly into your bloodstream, your organs, and your body’s biochemistry. Thus making what you put on your skin exceedingly important. 

Lucky for you, honey helps a wide array of anti-inflammatory issues by calming irritated or inflamed skin and providing an antidote to those who suffer from eczema or psoriasis or those who have fair skin and are more susceptible to sunburns. Applying honey to the skin can reduce redness and swelling, relieving inflamed areas. Moreover, honey will support your skin’s natural defense mechanisms, promoting a more balanced healing process in places where you have wounds. 

Honey’s cooling properties make it a highly effective remedy for sunburn relief, especially after a long day in the sun. Its soothing and hydrating effects offer your skin a refreshing, rejuvenating boost—like giving it a much-needed drink of moisture.

Incorporating honey into a daily skincare routine has shown significant benefits. Its anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties contribute to calming sensitive skin, reducing puffiness, and evening out dark spots for a more radiant complexion.

4. Rich in Antioxidants | How Honey Reduces Fine Lines

Honey is rich in antioxidants, which play a crucial role in combating the signs of aging. These antioxidants, in combination with other essential nutrients, help reduce the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, and other age-related skin changes.

Most people don’t realize that honeybees are key in boosting our well-being and supporting a longer, healthier life. Who would have thought that bees could make vitamins and minerals that are essential to us? 

Antioxidants found in honey combat free radical damage to the skin, which is a primary contributor to the formation of wrinkles and signs of aging, essentially helping to slow down the aging process by protecting the skin's structural integrity and promoting collagen production; this results in a more youthful appearance with fewer visible wrinkles.

Free radicals are unstable molecules that damage cells, accelerating aging. Free radicals are something I am always trying to avoid; I am thankful the honey protects my skin from them. Anything that can help support collagen production and skin elasticity is something I want to be supplemented in my skincare routine. I have noticed a significant difference in my appearance after applying honey products to my skin. It now looks more hydrated and rejuvenated.

 

 

5.  Honey As A Natural Skin Exfoliator

Our skin cells must shed dead cells regularly to allow fresh, healthy, new skin cells to emerge. Consistency in cell regeneration helps maintain a vibrant, glowing complexion. Raw honey plays a key role in fostering cell growth by acting as a gentle yet effective exfoliator. 

Raw honey gently removes dry, dull skin cells, revealing a smoother, fresher skin barrier. Its natural enzymes break down bonds between dead cells, promoting easier skin renewal. 

To Conclude…

Raw honey has proven to be a practical addition to skincare routines, promoting new skin-cell growth, reducing dark spots, and enhancing skin hydration and overall radiance. Regular use supports skin health naturally and contributes to a rejuvenated complexion.

Resources: 

Johnston M, McBride M, Dahiya D, Owusu-Apenten R, Nigam PS. Antibacterial activity of Manuka honey and its components: An overview. AIMS Microbiol. 2018 Nov 27;4(4):655-664. doi: 10.3934/microbiol.2018.4.655. PMID: 31294240; PMCID: PMC6613335.