Honey for Skin: How to use it and Precautions needed.

During this time of the pandemic, people have been trying many DIY activities; be it home décor, food experiments or even beauty treatment. Talking about beauty treatment, one popular kitchen ingredient which comes in handy, and probably the safest, to use in almost all kinds of DIY skincare routine is Honey. Because of its anti-ageing, antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties, honey has some amazing benefits on the skin.
Here are some ways in which honey can be used to make homemade skin care recipes:
Face cleanser: Honey has anti-bacterial properties and has a soothing effect on the skin; this makes it an ideal face cleanser. Simply wet your face, and massage little honey in a circular motion on your face with your fingertips. Wash it off and apply moisturizer.

Face mask: To bring back the lost sheen on your face, apply a honey mask that has added the goodness of curd, lemon and turmeric. Take 1tsp each of honey, curd, lemon and a pinch of turmeric and mix everything and apply it on the face. Let it sit for 10-15 minutes and wash it off with lukewarm water.
If you have dry, sensitive skin like me, you might want to try a Honey, Oatmeal face mask. This face serves a dual purpose- it moisturizes and exfoliates the facial skin. In a bowl take 2 tablespoon fine-grounded oats (use a blender if oats are too grainy or whole). To soften the oats, add 1 tablespoon hot water in it and mix it properly. Once it cools, add 1 tablespoon of honey. Ensure that the consistency of the mixture should be a little runny; to achieve that you can also add a few drops of lemon juice or even olive oil. Apply it on the face for 10-15 minutes and once it dries, wash it off with water.

For Spot treatment: Apply a mix of little honey and one-two drops of tea tree oil on acne and acne scars. Honey helps reduce redness and inflammation and the tea tree oil is a good choice to mix with honey as it has antimicrobial properties.

As gentle exfoliator: Honey in itself can be used as an exfoliator. Raw honey crystallizes over time and when used in this form it makes an excellent gentle exfoliator for the skin. After washing the face with water, massage honey in a circular motion on damp facial skin. Rinse the scrub off and pat dry

For body: You can easily make a homemade honey sugar scrub. Honey when mixed with coconut oil and sugar and applied to the body helps remove the dead cells. The scrub is exceedingly effective for dull and dry skin because it is an incredible exfoliator.

As a hair mask: In DIY hair masks, honey is used for moisturizing dry hair, reducing hair breakage, and restoring shine. To make an excellent hair mask mix honey and olive oil or coconut oil and apply to the strands of hair and scalp. Leave for 10-20 minutes and wash it off with shampoo. Since honey can be very sticky, I mix 1 tablespoon of it in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Warm the mixture a bit in the microwave or either on the stovetop and then apply.
If you want, you can also add a little aloe vera gel into the mixture to provide extra moisture to dry hair.

Precautions with honey 

● Be careful when using honey-based DIY products as raw honey should not be applied near your eye.
● Make sure to use raw, unflavored honey in your DIY treatments. But it’s advisable to do a patch test on the skin before using honey on the skin.
● Though it’s said that raw honey is good for the skin, it may contain traces of pollen. People with pollen allergies should therefore avoid using raw honey on their face.

Takeaway:
Honey is one of the best kitchen ingredients to use in the DIY skincare routine. It helps skin look more youthful, fresh, besides aiding in skin conditions like acne. But be sure to check for allergies before using it.

Keep watching this space for more such skincare tips.

This post is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon.