an article by Andrea Elizabeth Conway
Exploring the benefits of honey in skincare and cosmetics
Honey is a natural, low cost, environmentally friendly product that is easy to access. You know that honey is sweet to eat, but did you know that extracting it from the beehive (figure 2) reveals many scientific uses for commercial cosmetic purposes? For years honey has been utilised in skincare and cosmetic products. For instance, you can mix honey into a home remedy oatmeal facemask and apply it topically to calm the skin. Add honey to lemon juice and hot water and drink to soothe a sore throat. Honey also serves as a useful bioactive ingredient in commercially produced cosmetic and skin care products such as lip balms, face creams and perfumes (3). Thus, honey is more versatile than synthetic alternatives, making it worthwhile to harnessing its power in home remedy skincare routines and shop-bought cosmetic and skin care products.
Figure 1 Honeybee collecting nectar and pollen from lavender (1)
What is honey.
Honey comes from the nectar of flowers collected by honeybees (Apis mellifera) (4). Raw honey is a sticky substance that tastes sweet, with floral or woody undertones, depending on the plant source of the nectar, time of year harvested and geographical region of collection. The colour of honey varies, for instance honey sourced from wildflowers looks clear amber in colour with a smooth runny consistency. Honey extracted from Ivy blossoms has a creamy white cloudy colour that is hard when initially harvested as it crystalizes very quickly , becoming smooth consistency after mechanically blendeing. Whereas honey extracted from heather appears darker in colour and thicker with a granular texture. As well as honey, other products made by resourceful bees for use in cosmetic and skin care remedies include bee pollen, royal jelly, beeswax, propolis, and bee venom.
Figure 2 Raw honey in combs that bees seel with wax(2)
Ancient uses of Honey in skincare and cosmetics
Historically people consumed honey as a sweet treat on its own, or mixed with foods or drinks to flavour them, or to preserve other foodstuff due to its high sucrose content, which reduced spoilage. The Chinese used first used honey back in 6500 BC in the fermentation of the alcoholic beverage mead. Beside eating it, ancient cultures used honey to aid wound healing because of its useful antibacterial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antiseptic properties (4). The Greek Scientist, Aristotle wrote that honey served as a useful balm to heal wounds and sore eyes when applied directly to the affected areas. In Roman times people used it as a soothing skin care emollient to treat spots, blemishes, and pimples. In ancient Egypt, honey was even utilised as an embalming agent in the respectful final body cleansing ritual because of its preservation action.
Mechanism by which honey works
Recent studies have investigated the use of honey in ancient skin care practices of and the mechanisms beind how it effectiveness. Various components in honey assist the skin’s immune system to repair wounds, lesions and other skin disorders. Modern research shows that when honey promotes cell generation when applied to wounds, due to a high sugar and low water content that draws water to wounds, thus aids cell healing.
Not all honey is the same however and certain varieties of pure raw locally sourced honeys have higher beneficial qualities than commercially mass-produced alternatives. Some varieties such as Manuka honey even have higher anti-inflammatory and inhibitory qualities than others against several bacterial types have and are a valued choice for wound healing (4). Therefore, considering the research into the benefits of honey, it is practical to harness this product in cosmetic and skin care formulas and practices.
Home made skincare that contain honey
In fact, recent evidence has identified that honey is useful in soothing and healing the skin against bacteria that cause skin disorders like atopic dermatitis, contact dermatitis, and psoriasis. For instance, a home skincare remedy for a facemask made of honey and cinnamon is a good antimicrobial, antiseptic and antioxidant beauty treatment. Mixing honey and water mix on the skin can brighten skintone due to its exfoliating properties. Honey can also be incorporated into home remedy hair conditioning mixes to promote shine and softness.
Comercial cosmetic products that contain honey
Commercially produced cosmetics and skin care products also incorporate honey in ranges between 1% to 70% concentrations by mixing it with gels, emulsifiers and oils as well as via polymer entrapment. Products that infuse honey in cosmetics and skin care products includes in shampoos, conditioners, cleansing milks, soaps, hydrating creams and lip ointments. For instance, some top honey-infused cosmetics and skin care products listed for the 2022 ‘World Bee Day’ promotion included:
- Farmacy’s ‘Honey Potion Renewing Antioxidant Hydration Mask’ is made using honey and propolis. This product inhibits dry skin and encourages renewal of glowing skin.
- Laura Mercier’s ‘Créme Brülée Soufflé Body Créme’ also includes honey, causing skin to feel deeply moisturised without a heavy or greasy feeling.
- Lancôme’s ‘Miel-En-Mousse’ incorporates honey in its mousse to remove impurities and makeup, leaving a clean and refreshed face.
- Gisou’s ‘Honey-Infused Hair Oil’ that repairs follicles and maintains shine.
Another example of commercial incorportation of honey into products is perfume. For instance:
- Jo Malone’s aromatic ‘Nectarine Blossom and Honey Cologne’ spray and body cream has a fresh floral scent with a note of acacia honey that gives a sweet accent of beeswax and flower blossoms.
All of these products and many others display the benefit of incorporating honey in quality homemade and commercially produced cosmetic and skin care products in order to be of benefit to beauty and overall skin health practices. So, based on the interesting information gathered-what’s not to like about harnessing the power honey for skin health? You can rub it in, spray it on, let it infuse, or just take a tasty spoon full to give yourself a Buzz!
References
- Conway, A. (2024,a). Native Irish Honey Bee collecting nectar and pollen from a lavender herb (Figure 1). Author’s copyrighted picture.
- Conway, A. (2024, b). Hive box with honey in combs, sealed by wax (Figure 2). Author’s copyright picture.
- Khan, M. (2022). Usage of Honey in Various Medicinal Products. (Perspective) Journal of Apitherapy, 2022, 9(2): 01. Available at: https://www.japitherapy.com/japitherapy-articles/usage-of-honey-in-various-medicinal-products.pdf (accessed 30.11.23).
- Samarghandian, S., Farkhondeh, T. and Samini, F. (2017). Honey and Health: A Review of Recent Clinical Research. Pharmacognosy Res. 2017 Apr-Jun; 9(2):121-127. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5424551/ (accessed 29.11.23).