Saturday, June 26, 2010

The Power of Honey



My skin is extremely temperamental.  It's sensitive, combination, and extremely acne-prone.  Where my skin is on the oily side, I have some large pores that have a tendency to clog.   When I break out, it's usually one extremely large, deep and painful cyst in the area of my chin.  Where my skin is on the dry side, I am prone to flaking, redness and itching (also due to my skin's sensitivity).

For a long time I tried product after product to balance my skin, and nothing would really address all my  issues.  The anti-acne products were too irritating and drying, the moisturizing products would break me out, the products for sensitive skin wouldn't fully cleanse.  A few years back I read an article somewhere about the benefits of honey as a skin treatment, which piqued my interest.  I love honey, and spread on pretty much everything.  I prefer it to butter (although mixed with butter, honey is utterly delicious!) on breakfast breads and pastries, and there really is nothing like a peanut butter and honey spread over a banana for a delicious snack.

So when I read that the ancient Greeks and Egyptians used it regularly to heal wounds and burns, and that they revered honey for its properties as a humectant, antimicrobial agent, and anti-inflammatory agent, I decided to give honey a try for myself.  For a little while now, I have been using honey as a facial mask, and I absolutely love it.  I spread it on my face and let it sit for 20 minutes before using warm water to remove it.  I do this about twice a week or so.  Water dissolves the honey pretty quickly, and the result is soft, supple, hydrated skin that feels wonderfully fresh.  Honey has helped balance my skin by moisturizing the dry spots and controlling oil in the oily spots.  I did not have any reactions to the honey mask, and have not broken out in quite some time.  It's a miracle!

I've also tried honey for a couple of other purposes, and I will be posting about those soon.   I am so happy to have discovered even more uses for my beloved honey!

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