Almost everyone has heard of the Oil Cleansing Method but have you heard of the Honey Cleansing Method? No, I didn’t just make that up! Raw honey is hugely beneficial for our skin. It’s not just meant for internal health! I wrote THIS post a while ago about the benefits of Manuka Honey and have since been using it to cleanse my skin in the morning! Quite honestly, I’m turning away from conventional cleansers. They so often tend to strip our skin of what it needs to thrive. The more I delve into pH and how it effects our skin, the more I realize how we can be doing everything right by our skin, but if we are using a cleanser that is too harsh, it all goes down the toilet.
I’ve been a huge advocate for Oil Cleansing. I do this every night. I even offer a Oil Cleanser in my Etsy shop which I personally use and feel it has enhanced my skin greatly. In the morning I knew I needed something to refresh and cleanse my skin but again, cleansers just seemed to leave me tight and dry. I started using a DIY cleanser but because it contains castile soap (super high pH) I ended up having to add citric acid to bring the pH down. I also had to add a preservative because it contains water. It dawned on me that cleansers just aren’t the best option.
Cleansing with honey feels like a way to truly nurture my skin. It leaves my skin feeling just as clean as a cleanser would but without the tight, dry feeling. I can’t explain it but my skin just feels happy. It feels clear and glowy afterwards! Honey Cleansing is such an important part to my skin care regime.
How Skin Benefits from Honey:
Honey is antibacterial and anti microbial making it a very efficient cleanser. It is also very effective in calming inflammation-this can be so helpful first thing in the morning. Who wants to wake up and immediately annoy your skin? Not me! Honey is also very healing and encourages healthy skin on a cellular level, encouraging old skin to slough off and new skin to glow! As you can tell, honey is excellent for every skin type. It’s also extremely gentle and can calm irritation-very helpful for sensitive skin types. Honey also contains enzymes and probiotics-both very beneficial for the skin!
How to Honey Cleanse:
It’s really so simple!
- Scoop up about 1 tsp. of honey into the palm of your hand.
- Add a few drops of water to help the honey become more spreadable.
- Using upward motions, massage your skin for as much time as you have. Sometimes I’m in a hurry and it’s only a minute, other times I get 5 minutes. The longer the better!
- Always rinse with cool-cold water. This helps “wake up” skin as well as reduce puffiness and tighten pores.
- Follow up with a toner and moisturizer.
Be sure to thoroughly remove the honey from your hair line and neck. It’s so annoying to find you’re sticky later on in the day!
Honey will not remove makeup. This is why I hardly ever honey cleanse in the evenings. You can always use an oil like coconut oil to remove makeup and then honey cleanse once your makeup has been removed with the oil and a warm cloth.
Where to Find the BEST Honey for Cleansing:
The absolute best honey for cleansing is Manuka Honey. I use THIS brand. The next best thing is RAW honey. I use THIS and have used THIS brand. You want your honey to have the least processing possible. The more heat used to filter the honey, the less benefits for your body and skin. If you’re buying that little plastic bear, be aware it’s been processed to smithereens and no longer contains the good stuff! Always look for “un-filtered”, “un-pasterized” or “raw”. Not “all-natural”-any company could boast their honey is “natural” because technically honey is natural.
Honey cleansing is definitely something I recommend everyone try. You’ll be shocked at how easy it is. It requires much less time and effort then the oil cleansing method and leaves your skin feeling truly clean. Since I’ve been honey cleansing, my skin is smoother and no where near as red. In fact, between my new DIY hyaluronic acid serum and honey cleansing, my skin doesn’t even need foundation! VICTORY!
xx, Jenni
