I've been asked many times how to use raw honey as a face wash.  Many of you may wonder why you would even consider raw honey in the first place.  Raw honey is a universal beauty tonic for all skin types because of its potent yet gentle healing benefits for skin.  Raw honey does wonders for acne, rosacea, eczema, scars, enlarged pores, sensitive, mature, and dull lifeless skin.

With so many beauty products on the market, we sometimes think that what we use for skin care must be full of a ton of ingredients.

That notion is completely wrong.  Although what we wash our face with doesn't stay on our skin that long, soap based products quickly strip the skin of its natural oils and create an imbalanced in the skin's pH. This in turn causes many skin problems and forces the skin to produce excess oil.

When you find people who have beautiful skin that claim to wash their face with only water, yes they may have good genetics, but they’re also not creating any imbalance in the pH of their skin with harsh cleansers and toners.  Maintaining a balanced pH in the skin consistently will allow the skin to do its job so much better.  Products that dry, strip, then replenish the skin continue the cycle of skin distress.  Less really is more.

Maintaining a healthy pH in your skin is an important anti-aging secret.

The less stress your skin endures from drying cleansers and toners, the more elastic it will remain over time.  Any thing with a pH of 4.5-7 is usually considered pH balanced since water is a neutral pH of 7, yet skin thrives when using products with a pH of 4.5-5.5. Raw honey has a natural pH of 4.5. 

The antiseptic and antimicrobial properties of honey make it wonderful for healing cuts and burns by killing bacteria and fungus.   Raw honey also contains gluconic acid. This mild alpha hydroxy acid is amazing at brightening the complexion, evening out the skin tone, and lightening scars and age spots.

Most raw honey contains iron, silica, copper, vitamin B, manganese, chlorine, potassium, calcium, sodium, phosphorous, aluminum and magnesium depending on where the honey is collected from.  This rich mineral content makes it excellent for skin.  Raw honey's intense moisturizing abilities with gentle cleansing agents makes it perfect for even very sensitive skin.  When honey is mixed with water it releases peroxide properties which helps  to heal and fade scars, and also prevent bacteria causing more acne.

Not all honey is created equal.

Most of the honey found in grocery stores is "adulterated honey" meaning it literally has no nutrients.  When honey is processed and refined with heat the live healing enzymes are killed.  You are instead left with liquid sugar.  Raw honey will give your skin the healing benefits that it needs with the best results.

To use raw honey as a face wash simply add a quarter size amount of honey or more to wet hands and massage into your skin.

Rinse your face, then tone and moisturize as usual.  You can also leave honey on your skin for as long as you like as a honey mask, or combine it with other ingredients for more cleansing and brightening.  One of my favorite ways to use raw honey is with rhassoul clay.  I've also used raw honey in place of vegetable glycerin in my DIY hair recipes.  Raw honey has been used for centuries for medicinal and cosmetic purposes.  There truly is such beauty in simplicity.

How have you used raw honey in skin or hair care?

Image by Dawn Michelle