3 Simple Honey Beauty Recipes
September 22, 2009 by Kelly Townsend
Filed under Bath & Body
Honey is a natural humectant, meaning that it attracts and retains moisture. That’s why honey is used in many moisturizing beauty products, including skin creams, cleansers and even shampoos. Though you can find honey in a variety of store-bought products, you can also make your own honey beauty products at home. Here are three simple honey beauty recipes from honey.com.
Image: Honey.com
Smoothing Skin Lotion
- Mix 1 teaspoon honey with 1 teaspoon vegetable oil and 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice.
- Rub into hands, elbows, heels and anywhere that feels dry. Leave on 10 minutes. Rinse off with water.
Skin Softening Bath
- Add 1/4 cup honey to bath water for a fragrant, silky bath.
Hair Shine
- Stir 1 teaspoon honey into 4 cups (1 quart) warm water. Blondes may wish to add a squeeze of lemon.
- After shampooing, pour mixture through hair. Do not rinse out. Dry as normal.
Here are some historical honey beauty secrets also provided by the National Honey Board.
Madame du Barry, the infamous last mistress of Louis XV, used honey as a form of facial mask, lying down for a rest while the honey did its work.
Cleopatra of Egypt regularly took honey and milk baths to maintain her youthful appearance.
It was said that Queen Anne of England used a honey and oil concoction to keep her long hair lustrous, thick and shiny.
It was claimed that another famous Englishwoman, Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, used her own secret recipe for a honey water to keep her hair beautiful.
Chinese women have a tradition of using a blend of honey and ground orange seeds to keep their skin blemish-free.
Honey truly is a wonderful ingredient for the skin, whether alone or in actual formulated products. We have a couple of beautiful skin care products that contain honey, specifically for its humectant properties you mention above, but I also found that when my skin is feeling all allergic (like after rubbing my eyes to death during a hayfever bout), I can slather on a layer of honey, leave it for as long as possible then rinse it off, and my skin feels so much better. Strange but true!