Debbi has been encouraging me to smear my face with raw honey as of late, and I have to say—I liked the idea. I’ve read a lot of fantastic things about raw honey. It’s a fantastic natural antibiotic ointment (it’s also anti-fungal and anti-viral), a humectant (it attracts moisture), an anti-inflammatory, and it’s loaded with enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and healthy bacteria. Perfect for healing up, err, imperfections and encouraging your skin to behave itself.
I decided I wanted to give the honey a bit of a boost, especially since I have a lot of bee-type ingredients. I started with aloe vera, which is a fantastic all-around healer, just like raw honey. Then bee pollen, which is said to contain every vitamin except vitamin K, and is supposed to help with inflammation related skin disorders like psoriasis. Lastly, propolis, the substance bees assemble to clean, seal, and sanitize their hives.
The final mask was pretty runny—perfect for painting on with a brush. I learned fairly quickly not to coat it on too thick above my eyes or mouth as the mixture drools downwards courtesy of gravity. Let it dry for 20 minutes or so before washing off with a warm, damp cloth. Your skin will feel soft and lovely 🙂
Honey Bee Facial
1 tbsp raw honey
2 tsp aloe vera juice
1 tsp bee pollen
5–10 drops bee propolisWarm the raw honey a bit in the microwave and then slowly whisk in the aloe vera juice. Once it’s thoroughly combined, whisk in the bee pollen and propolis. Paint it on with a foundation brush (and give it a good washing afterwards).
Mmm, gooey!
Yes, honey is great! It can be used in homemade shampoo, or as a hair mask too. It will lighten your hair if used regularly.
Never used it in a mask though! Have only made clay based masks. Maybe it’s time to try….
I’ve read that it will lighten your hair (it has a natural peroxide content, apparently). I tried it once and nothing happened 😛
I think you need to be using it as your main shampoo for awhile. And for it to work maybe you have to have light brown hair to begin with…Not sure 😛 You’ve probably read about different herbal rinses that are supposed to color your hair. I keep wondering if I will try that when my hair has more gray in it. Right now, it only has a couple of grey strands.
Yeah, I figured one go probably wasn’t enough lol 😛 My next DIY coloring explorations are going to be based around the Australian red reef clay I used in the lipstick—it’s supposed to be good for hair dye and I’m super curious!
I use natural honey as a face mask two or three times a week. It makes your skin very soft.
Mmmm! How long do you usually leave yours on?
Yes! Honey is a sweet miracle! When we lived in Costa Rica and didn’t have access to the herbs and essential oils I use to make a healing salve, I used honey. It worked great for fungus, (living in the rainforest = deal with fungus…), for fighting bacterial infections, scorpion stings and ant bites, and it even healed a 3rd degree burn on my husbands foot, with hardly any scarring. It ia amazing stuff! But I had never thought of using it on my face. I will give it a try! Thanks!
What a fantastic tale, Elle, thanks for sharing! I am so jealous of your Costa Rica adventures 🙂 Why were you living there? Perhaps I can fandangle myself a similar arrangement 😉
I am in need of how to make the seave out of honey, I have a leg ulser that is leaking water been going on for over a year. I change the bandage twice a day. can you please help me out thanks Sharon
Hi Sharon—Ouch, that ulcer sounds like a doozy! What is a “seave”? I tried googling it and all I got was a potential misspelling of “sieve”, but I assume that’s not what you’re looking for. I would recommend making a compress out of clay with a bit of raw honey—I have read that clay compresses can do great things for ulcers, and I love clay for blemishes and infected wounds.
Hi Marie,
Have you ever experimented with pineapple or papaya enzymes? I’m wanting to make a facial scrub, using one or both, and possibly ginger root extract. I purchased all 3 from http://www.formulatorsampleshop.com, under the impression they would come with recipes, but they did not. I’ve emailed the company but thought I’d ask your opinion as well. Even though these are “all natural” ingredients, I’m unfamiliar with them and don’t feel comfortable experimenting by myself. So if I’m not able to learn how to use these items safely, I’ll just send them back.
Thanks for your time. I adore your site!
I haven’t, but ooooh boy, do they sound like FUN! I do know that the enzymes in pineapple and papaya break down proteins, which is why you can’t use them in Jello—they’ll destroy the structure of the gelatin. I checked out the product page, and it sounds like the use for them is basically a chemical exfoliant (as opposed to physical, like baking soda). The recommended usage is 1–10%, and the pineapple is water soluble (no solubility listed for papaya, but I assume it is also water soluble). My recommendation would be to make a toner type solution with 3–5% of the enzyme (the rest can be water, or maybe some green tea). Swab it onto your skin and see what happens! If you start with low concentrations and small amounts, take notes, and go slowly, you generally can’t go too far wrong, and you’ll have tons of fun!
Thanks for reading 😀 And if you don’t want them you can always send them to me 😉 😛
Hi Marie. I’m so glad I found your blog, I absolutely love it and all these ideas and recipes for natural, homemade goodies. I was wondering though where you get the bee pollen. I checked both ingredient sites that you have listed but unfortunately I can’t find the pollen…. Any help would be greatly appreciated as I really would like to try this particular recipe soon.
Thanks 🙂
Hi Crystal! It looks like NDA has stopped stocking bee pollen since I last bought it there 🙁 Boo! The other places I’ve bought bee pollen is straight from a bee keeper—check your local farmers market. I’ve found it at the St. Lawrence Market in Toronto before. You could also try your local health food store. Good luck!
Hi Marie, your blog makes me want to try more DIY! 🙂 Since I don’t have bee pollen and propolis, I added royal jelly, the result is delightful too!
Awesome! This mask must have been so very luxurious with the royal jelly, I’m rather jealous 😛 Where did you get yours and how much did it cost? In these parts I’m seeing ~$100/tbsp or so. Yipes!
I got it while I was on holiday in Australia, AUD40 for 365 capsules! At home the price is really terrible too, so guess I’ll be ingesting whats left of the capsules rather than experimenting with them 🙂
Hmm… a plane ticket to Aus + 40AUD does sound a bit steep, lol 😛 I do need some more Double Coat Tim Tams, though, so maybe that can round off my excuse for going to Aus. Hahhaaha… I need to get out of here before I freeze solid, lol. Also! Have you ever tried eating bee pollen? Nature’s multivitamin, or so they say.
I haven’t tried bee pollen before, but ahh you’re really tempting me! I’ll be getting it the next time I buy a batch of stuff from iherb.com 🙂
Nice! You should also check your local farmer’s market for bee pollen—it’s one of fairly few DIY ingredients you can buy locally almost anywhere 🙂
Hi, Marie! I find your blog very interesting , congratulations for what you do! tell me, please, how long does this mask preserve?
Hi Monique! I would make just as much of this mask as you can use in one go. If you happen to have lots leftover, keep it in the fridge, and use it up within 5–7 days 🙂
Hi Miss Marie,
I was just wondering. Is propolis and propolis extract the same thing? And thanks for all that you do.
Thanks
Lucy
Hey Lucy! Definitely not. Watch this video for more info 🙂 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhh_eZfFwEA