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Raw Honey–The Healing Face Wash
Posted on February 20, 2012 by Dawn Michelle in DIY, Skin
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, hyperpigmentation, enlarged pores, sensitive, mature, and dull lifeless skin.With so many beauty products on the market, we sometimes think that every product that we use must be extremely complicated and full of tons 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 which 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 do have good genetics, but they are 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 the 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, a mild alpha hydroxy acid that is amazing at brightening the complexion, evening out the skin tone, and lightening scars and age spots.
Most 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 released peroxide properties which helps heal fades 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 and you will also experience 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. My favorite ways to use raw honey is with rhassoul clay or as an exfoliating treatment with sugar and lemon juice. 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 honey in skin or hair care?
FYI: I purchase raw honey from Trader Joe’s, yet you can also find raw organic honey here
. For my skin care regimen go here.
DIY Soothing Antioxidant Toner
Curly Confession–The Curly Girl Method
(Image by D Sharon Pruitt)
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Thanks for explaining your process about the rhassoul clay and honey Dawn! How long have you been using the minimalist approach to your skin? Did you have any blemishes before starting and if so approximately how long did take for you to see results using the minimalist appproach?
Hi Keisha,
I’ve been using very simple skin care since January 2010 when I decided that I wanted to pay off my debt. I used to spend over $100 on skin care every month and a half or so. I can honestly say that since I simplified my regimen, started doing less overall to it, and of course drinking more water it has greatly improved.
I began noticing improvement within a month or so. When I first started using rhassoul clay I was only mixing it with water and using it morning and night. I hadn’t discovered the wonderful healing benefits of raw honey yet. The two together is phenomenal! Now I mainly use only raw honey to wash my face in the morning and then add the rhassoul at night. I will sometimes use the raw honey and rhassoul twice a day if it looks like my skin needs it, but less really is more for me right now.
My largest skin dilemma has always been hyperpigmentation especially after a breakout. That’s the main reason that I wrote Soften Hyperpigmentation Naturally. Minimizing my breakouts with raw honey and rhassoul clay has helped so much I can’t even believe it. Also since using natural oils, doing fruit enzyme masks (DIY or bought) every once and a while, and maintaining a balanced skin pH, I’ve seen an amazing overall improvement. It is part of my job to maintain beautiful skin. I’m just glad that I found a way to do it without spending a fortune. Let me know how it works out for you.
Peace,
Dawn Michelle