When most people think about honey, they think about a deliciously sweet but healthy substance that can be used to spruce up any number of different foods and beverages. What many people do not know is that you can use honey for oily skin. In fact, you can also use honey for dry skin, and even for treating acne.
Honey really is a gift from Mother Nature that can benefit us internally and also externally in more ways than one. If you have been spending money on countless skin care products and you still have oily skin, I can honestly understand how disappointed and how frustrated you must feel.
Maybe you have also tried a number of different home remedies which did not produce the results you were hoping for? If that is the case, I implore you to give honey a try. After all, you have nothing to lose, but you may finally be able to say goodbye to your oily skin. Before I discuss the best ways to use honey as a skin care treatment, let us just take a quick look at some fascinating facts about honey.
5 Fun Facts about Honey
- Honey NEVER spoils, and edible honey has apparently been found in some ancient Egyptian tombs.
- A single bee only produces about 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey during her lifetime.
- Honey has been used for medicinal purposes ever since the ancient Mesopotamians.
- Honey is 20% water and 80% sugars.
- A colony of bees will visit roughly 2 million flowers and cover a distance of approximately 55,000 miles between them in order to produce a single pound of honey.
There are lots of other fascinating facts about bees and the honey they produce, but I will leave it up to you to decide if you want to find out more. If you do, you can visit The HoneyBee Conservancy.
Is Honey Good for Oily Skin?
I am not a dermatologist or any other kind of skin care expert. I am just a regular person trying to keep my skin looking as good as possible and for as long as possible. I made the move away from chemical-laced skin care products several years ago and switched to all-natural products instead. Soon after making the switch, I came across some very convincing and interesting articles about using honey for oily skin.
I already knew that many people use honey for treating their acne and also for treating dry skin, but I had no idea that you can also use honey for oily skin. I had endured oily skin for ages, especially on my forehead and my cheeks, so I was naturally curious to see if honey could finally solve my problem.
I obviously cannot guarantee that honey will work for you in the same way it has worked for me, but I will say that I was, and still am, delighted with the results I have had. I must just mention that I only use raw honey for face treatments. Most reputable online sources recommend raw honey rather than pasteurized honey, so I have just gone along with this. As such, I cannot really say if there would be any difference or not. Right, if you want to use honey to treat and manage oily skin, here are 7 of the best ways to do it:
7 Ways to Use Honey for Oily Skin
Since I have never tried regular store-bought pasteurized honey, I recommend you also use raw honey for the treatments I am about to share with you. By the way, honey is also great for treating cuts and burns. Not only is it very soothing, but the antibacterial and antifungal properties in the honey help to disinfect wounds and prevent infections.
Okay, are you ready to begin treating your face with honey? Let us get started…
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Honey for a Gentle Exfoliating Scrub
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Pore Opening Honey and Oats Facial Mask
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Honey and Banana Hydration Mask
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Honey and Milk Facial Cleanser
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Turmeric and Honey Acne and Brightening Mask
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Aloe Vera and Honey for Face Revitalizing Masks
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Lemon Juice and Honey Oil Control Cleanser
For a lovely and gentle exfoliating scrub that will leave your skin feeling clean, fresh and smooth, simply mix one or two teaspoons of honey with about one tablespoon of sugar together in a small bowl. I use brown sugar, but feel free to use white sugar if that is all you have. Once you have combined the two, apply the mixture to your face and then massage using gentle circular movements.
You can rinse it off immediately, although I like to leave it on for a few minutes so that the honey has time to penetrate my pores and nourish my skin.
Honey and oats masks are great for opening up your pores, which is good news for people with oily skin. To make this mask you will need 2 tablespoons of finely ground oats and 1 tablespoon of honey. It may sometimes be necessary to add a little bit more honey. Apply the mixture to your face and gently massage it into your skin. Leave it on for about 10 minutes and then rinse your face with some warm water.
When I am feeling a bit lazy, I often skip the honey and sugar exfoliating scrub, and instead, I do not grind my oats as finely as I usually would. This way, my honey and oats mask also acts as an exfoliator, so I kill two birds with one stone.
I would not specifically recommend banana and honey for oily skin, but I have found that when combined, they have a very good hydrating effect on the skin. In order to properly manage oily skin, you need to keep your skin as healthy as possible. Keeping your skin adequately hydrated is therefore essential.
To make my hydration masks, I mash up a banana and then I add 2 to 3 spoons of honey. I often use bananas that are slightly overripe because we tend to eat quite a lot of bananas in my family. They are also a bit easier to mash when they are a bit overripe.
Once you have mixed everything together, apply it evenly to your face and then leave it on for about 30 minutes before rinsing it off with some warm water. I usually try to do this twice a week.
Do you want a super-duper all-in-one facial cleanser and moisturizer? If you do, then this is definitely one which you will want to try. As an added bonus, the lactic acid in the milk often plumps up the skin, which is great if you are starting to see fine lines and wrinkles.
This is a really good soap-free cleanser, which is largely due to the fat content in the milk. The oil produced by your skin is called sebum, and the fat in the milk is very effective at breaking down and dissolving sebum. For this reason, you need to use full-fat milk. I really, really recommend milk and honey for oily skin.
To make this excellent facial cleanser, simply mix equal amounts of milk and honey together and then whisk well to thoroughly combine. I use about half a cup of each but you can make more if you wish and then store whatever is left in the refrigerator for a day or two. Once you have applied the mixture to your face, you need to wait for it to dry, and then rinse it off with some warm water.
I would definitely recommend using this cleanser every day if you can afford to. I cannot afford to, so I usually only use it two or three times a week.
Turmeric has long been used by certain cultures to brighten and lighten skin, and for promoting natural glow. Because of its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, it has also long been used to combat acne. Honey too is often used as an effective home remedy for treating acne due to its potent antibacterial and antifungal properties.
By mixing these two time-tested ingredients together, we can make a face mask that can help to control oil and help to heal and prevent acne. If you can get your hands on some fresh turmeric paste rather than dried turmeric powder, I would definitely recommend that you do.
To make your mask, mix half a teaspoon of turmeric powder or paste with one tablespoon of honey. Apply the mixture evenly on your face and then leave it on for about 20 to 30 minutes. When the time is up, rinse your face thoroughly with some warm water, and then rinse again with some cold water. By the way, you can use a cold water rinse at the end of all these treatments. The cold water helps to close your pores, which in turn helps to keep dirt out.
NOTE: Using more turmeric than the recommended amount, and/or leaving your mask on for a longer period may result in temporary skin discoloration.
We already know that we can use honey for oily skin, but by adding one or more additional ingredients, we can make honey even more effective than it already is. Aloe Vera is just one such ingredient, and one which has been used for medicinal purposes for centuries already.
To make a face mask with honey and Aloe Vera, I mix two tablespoons of honey with one tablespoon of pure Aloe Vera gel. I then apply this evenly to my face and I leave it on for about half an hour, sometimes even longer because I love the soothing effect it has on my skin. When the time is up, I rinse my face with some warm water, and then again with some cold water.
I would highly recommend this mask even if you do not have oily skin. It results in a good deep cleanse and leaves your face feeling wonderfully refreshed and revitalized. If you have acne, you can increase the antibacterial and antimicrobial potency of this mask even further by including a quarter of a teaspoon of cinnamon powder.
By the way, I use pure organic Aloe Vera gel which I get from a nearby health foods store, but nothing stops you from harvesting your own gel if you have some Aloe Vera plants growing in your garden.
Forget all about those expensive “oil control” soaps and cleansers that are laden with toxic chemicals. Instead, you can use some fresh lemon juice and honey for oily skin. Not only will the lemon juice effortlessly strip away excess oil, but it will penetrate deep into your pores to provide an even more thorough cleanse.
To make your honey and lemon an oil-busting cleanser, simply mix one tablespoon of honey with the freshly squeezed juice of one medium to large sized lemon. Apply the mixture evenly on your face and then leave it on for about 20 minutes before rinsing it off with warm water. Finish the treatment with a cold rinse to help close your pores.
What is the Best Honey for Oily Skin?
Okay, now we know that we can definitely use honey for oily skin, but what sort of honey should we use? Many people may not be aware of it, but honey can vary tremendously from one place to the next. Some honey can be up to 100 times more potent than other honey in terms of its antibacterial, antifungal, and antimicrobial qualities.
I cannot tell you exactly what sort of honey you should use, or what brand you should choose. I like to use Manuka Honey because it is more or less the only honey I have used after seeing it being widely recommended. Because of this, I cannot really compare it to other types of honey. I can recommend Manuka Honey for oily skin only because I am happy with the results I have had.
Regardless of what honey you decide to use, I strongly recommend using only raw and unpasteurized honey. Pasteurization and processing can greatly reduce the potency of honey as a type of skin treatment. If you are feeling a bit lazy, or if you are simply not in the mood to make any of the cleansers I have discussed, remember that you can also use honey all by itself to clean, moisturize, and nourish your skin.
