8 Benefits of Honey on Skin: Know From Dermatologist

Written By Dr Surbhi, MD Skin

Last updated: 19/09/18

“Doctor, How to use honey on my skin? Will honey suit my sensitive skin? How to use honey for wrinkles?”

These questions seemed like a puzzle until I researched scientific data on the benefits of honey for skin. I soon realised that there is a lot more than allopathy when it comes to skin care. One such proof is this article.

My research about honey coincidentally clashed with analysis of an anti-wrinkle cream. To my surprise, benefits of honey on the skin were more than that of anti-wrinkle creams. Don't agree? Read further to see the table that compares the composition of honey and an anti-wrinkle cream. Also, have a sneak peek to the 8 researched benefits of using honey for face along with recipes!

1. Honey for anti-ageing:

Why use honey for anti-ageing? Honey is loaded with anti-ageing ingredients, as shown below in the table:

Benefit	Honey (Ingredient source)	Anti-wrinkle cream
Moisturizer	Yes	Glycerine and water
Vitamins	Six (riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, vitamin B6, folate, vitamin C)	Four (tocopherol, niacin, vitamin C, pantothenic acid)
Anti-oxidants	Multiple (Chrysin, pinobanksin, catalase, pinocembrin)	One (green tea)
Minerals	Zinc, selenium	None
Amino acids	18-20 amino acids mostly Proline	None
Organic acids	Many especially Gluconic acid	None
Anti-septic	Anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-viral properties	None
Preservative	Natural	Synthetic

After this analysis, I was but convinced that honey is must try natural ingredient for skin care. This study further reconfirms that honey is emollient, humectant, soothing; it retards wrinkle formation and regulates pH.

How to use honey for anti-ageing? You can avail anti-aging benefits, by applying honey on your clean face for 15 to 30 minutes either alone or as one the following powerful rejuvenating face pack:

2. Honey for acne:

Why use honey for acne? Honey reduces pimples especially the red ones due to its anti-bacterial properties.

How to use honey for acne? You can either:

Put raw honey mixed with turmeric directly on red pimples at night as described in this article Honey and turmeric home remedy for pimples or
Make this highly effective neem and tea tree oil home remedy that vanishes red pimples in 3 days. Do not agree? Watch this video.

3. Honey for exfoliation:

Why? The organic acid in honey like gluconic acid accelerates shedding dead skin cells just like a scrub but without mechanical rubbing. With age, dead cells stick to skin surface giving dull and patchy look because their shedding is delayed. Hence, honey helps in improving the dull, patchy look of your skin.

How? Mix honey with grounded oats or almonds in dry skin type, and with chickpea flour in oily skin type. Massage on the face for a minute or two and rinse off.

4. Honey for sensitive skin:

Why? Honey is rich in anti-inflammatory factors that soothes your sensitive skin, provided you are not allergic to honey perse.

How? Pure honey might sting sensitive skin, so always dilute it with rose water, aloe vera and other soothing ingredients before putting on your sensitive skin.

5. Honey for cuts and burns:

Why? Honey is used as an antiseptic, especially Manuka honey has been used in the patient of burns and resistant bacterial infections. Antimicrobial properties of honey are due to release of H₂O₂ or the presence of active components, like methylglyoxal in manuka according to this study. The best part is that microbial resistance to honey has never been reported, thus, honey should be used as a first line anti-septic at home.

How? You can either:

Put raw honey with turmeric on minor burns, cuts, abrasion, boils, ringworm, etc. twice a day until they heal, or
You can also make this anti-septic cream by mixing honey with neem, tea tree oil etc. This cream can be used for bacterial, fungal and viral skin infections.

6. Honey as a moisturiser:

Why ? Honey is hygroscopic like glycerine. No wonders, it is part of many moisturising lotions. Honey moisturises your skin by absorbing water from the environment. Therefore, it should not be used alone especially in dry weather because it might extract water from your skin making it drier.

How? Mix Honey 5 ml honey with 15 ml of coconut oil. Apply it on your dry skin 30 minutes before bath.

7. Honey for fungal infections

Why? Honey especially Manuka honey can be used to treat fungal infections of skin commonly called as ringworm.

How? You can put raw honey on ringworm twice a day until they heal or combine honey with neem, tea tree oil etc. to make this anti-septic cream.

8. Honey for weight loss:

Why? Ayurveda recommends honey as one of the remedies for reducing weight because it aids in digestion.

How? Mix a teaspoon of honey and few drops of lemon juice in a warm glass of water. Drink it slowly in the morning after getting up.

How to make sure that honey is raw or processed?

Honey is time-tested ingredient when it comes to skincare, but did you know you that raw honey benefits are much more than the processed one? Here are few tips to look for raw honey:

You can put a drop of the honey on your thumb. If it spreads or spills, it’s not pure. If it stays intact, it’s pure.
Put a spoon of honey in a glass of water. Raw honey settles at the bottom and dissolves gradually on stirring. Processed honey starts dissolving as soon as it is put in water.
Raw honey crystallises on storage, while processed honed remain like transparent syrup no matter how long you store it.
Raw honey looks milkier and has fine textured crystals; contains flecks made of pollens, honeycomb bits and broken bee wing fragments. On the other hand, processed honey looks lucrative, but is devoid of medicinal ingredients that are destroyed upon heating. Hmm..all that glitters is not gold:-).

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