If you’re looking to enhance your facial skin quality or simply fight off some skin issues, there’s one ingredient lying in your kitchen right at this moment that can help flawlessly. It’s none other than our centuries-old sweet-tasting, always fresh, and found in every nook & cranny of the world – Honey. It’s unique antiseptic and antibacterial qualities, combined with humectant properties make it a beneficial ingredient for fighting acne and it’s scars, lending glowing skin, adding moisture to the surface, and warding off wrinkles. We bet you’re tempted to use a honey face mask right at this moment and we’re with you. Find below 6 homemade honey masks, sorted for every skin concern.
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DIY Honey Face Mask
#1 Honey Face Mask For Oily Skin
Ingredients:
1 tbsp Honey
1 ½ tbsp Multani Mitti
1 tsp Lemon Juice
Application:
Mix all the ingredients well. If the mask is too runny, add some Multani mitti, but if it’s too thick, add some water, instead of the other two liquid ingredients. Mix them well and apply them evenly to the face. Let the mask sit for 15-20 minutes. While a Multani mitti face mask is supposed to be removed after it’s completely dried, this one won’t dry as quickly because of the presence of honey. Wash well with plain warm water and follow up with a good face cream for oily skin.
Benefits:
Raw honey helps in balancing the sebum production on the skin, and hence, reduces the oil secretion over time. Multani mitti is an age-old remedy to draw excess sebum, dirt, and impurities out of your skin and leave you with clean pores. Lastly, lemon juice has astringent qualities that control oily skin and instantly revitalize your complexion.
#2 Honey Face Mask For Dry Skin
Ingredients:
1 tbsp Honey
½ tbsp Curd
Application:
Mix both honey & curd together. To prevent it from becoming too runny, don’t add too much curd and use only the thick part. You can also convert this mask into a DIY scrub by adding some sugar or coffee granules. Leave on for 10 minutes and wash off with lukewarm water. If you’ve dry skin and acne, we’d suggest skipping curd and using a milk and honey face pack instead of just applying plain honey on the face.
Benefits:
Honey is a natural humectant that draws water from the surroundings and retains it on your skin’s surface. Using honey every day on your face can combat signs of dryness and make your skin supple and hydrated. Besides, the lactic acid and zinc in the curd gently exfoliate the dry skin and heal any dry patches. The after-effect is smooth, soft, and hydrated skin.
#3 Honey Face Mask For Pores
Ingredients:
1 tbsp Honey
1 Egg
Application:
Crack the egg and only let the egg white drizzle. Add in 1 tbsp of honey and mix well. Lather the face mask onto your face and let it sit until the egg whites begin to tighten. Finally, rinse off with water.
Benefits:
Egg whites are a great source of protein, which can repair and grow tissues whole promoting collagen production in the skin. They also contain lysozyme, an enzyme that kills acne-causing bacteria. Egg whites are also rich in potassium, magnesium, and riboflavin that slow the aging process and repair any damaged skin. Most importantly, egg whites contain adhesive properties which can lessen the appearance of your pores. Honey in the mask helps in cleansing the pores from within, and hence, closing them for good.
#4 Honey Face Mask For Glowing Skin
Ingredients:
1 tbsp Honey
¾ tbsp Lemon Juice
Application:
Mix both the ingredients and lather on your face. Because of the smooth consistency of the mask, you can also use it to do a DIY face massage. Alternatively, you can use a partially squeezed out lemon and pour honey in it and use it to massage your face. Let the face pack sit for 15 to 20 minutes before rinsing off with lukewarm water.
Benefits:
This honey face mask for glowing skin is the best one to give you radiance instantly. Honey, on your facial skin, removes dirt from the pores, moisturizes, and heals, lending it a beautiful radiance instantly. Moreover, lemon juice is rich in Vitamin C, one of the best compounds out there to make your skin glow. It also has astringent qualities and has citric acid, which tones and brightens the skin.
#5 Honey Face Mask For Acne Scars
Ingredients:
1 tbsp Honey
A pinch of Turmeric (Kasturi Manjal is recommended – buy here)
Application:
Mix both the ingredients well. If you want a more liquid consistency, you can add a few drops of rose water or milk to the pack. Leave on for 10 minutes and rinse off with water. After applying turmeric, don’t go in the Sun without using sunscreen. Whenever possible, do this mask at night rather than in the mornings.
Benefits:
Turmeric is one of the most recommended Ayurvedic remedies for all skin issues. From severe acne to dark spots, pigmentation, and defying skin aging, it can help with them all! Turmeric and honey face mask for acne scars contains a strong antioxidant compound called curcumin that promotes skin healing and reduces the appearance of pigmentation scars quickly. In 2016, cumulative research studying 234 articles concluded turmeric’s effect on bettering skin conditions like acne, psoriasis, facial photoaging, and vitiligo.
#6 Honey Face Mask For Skin Whitening
Ingredients:
1 tbsp Honey
1 tbsp Aloe (buy pure aloe vera gel here)
2 tsp Rosewater
Application:
Mix all the ingredients together and apply a smooth layer to the skin. Leave on for 20 to 30 minutes before rinsing off with plain water. Follow up with a moisturizer.
Benefits:
Aloe Vera Gel has close to magical benefits on the skin. Studies have shown that aloe vera gel doesn’t just increase the production of collagen, but also promotes collagen cross-linking and hence, improves skin’s wound healing and repair process. Besides, it’s zinc and amino acids composition betters skin’s integrity and helps in evening out and improving skin tone. Both rosewater and honey unclog pores, remove impurities, and freshen skin to have a visible toning and fairer effect on the complexion.
FAQ’s
What are the benefits of honey on your face?
Here are 5 benefits of applying honey to your face:
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Treats Acne:
Honey has strong anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties that kill acne-causing bacteria, promote skin healing and prevent pimples from coming back again. There have been several research studies that have proven that honey can treat acne, even the stubborn rosacea, and Vulgaris. From influencers to independent Reddit threads and product reviews, many have boasted about honey’s miraculous benefits on acne. One Reddit thread, with more than 1700 comments, has some amazing results on acne using raw honey, you know, just for a little motivation.
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Promotes Skin-Healing:
Honey boosts skin’s natural ability to regenerate cells and hence, can help clear those pesky acne scars, pigmentation, and skin discoloration at several places.
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Cleanses & Brightens the Skin:
Honey has a ton of natural enzymes that have the ability to go deep into your pores and clean them off dirt and impurities. Honey also acts as a natural exfoliator and removes dead skin cells from the surface of your facial skin. When the pores are clean and tight, the result is naturally clean, nourished, and radiant skin.
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Hydrates The Skin:
Honey is a natural humectant, like glycerin. This means it draws water from the environment and traps it onto your skin, giving it a nice, hydrated finish. Over time, honey can help increase the hydration levels of the skin by sealing in the moisture and preventing any outside forces from deteriorating the skin’s natural moisture balance.
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Prevents Aging:
Honey has a variety of antioxidants and enzymes which nourish and heal the skin. Aging is often a result of external factors and erosion of the skin’s natural surface balance. Honey, when applied on the face, nullifies these factors and improves the appearance of fine lines on the skin. You can also benefit from honey’s anti-aging effects by consuming it directly.
What are the best ingredients for a honey face mask?
The best ingredients for a honey face pack are lemon juice, turmeric, milk, curd, aloe vera, rose water, and clay powder. All of these can be used to create a honey mask for your specific skin issue. We have mentioned 6 of them depending on your skin problems. You can pick the ingredients based on the issues.
Which is better for the face: Raw Honey or Manuka Honey?
The only difference in the benefits of raw honey and manuka honey is the strong anti-bacterial, antiseptic, antifungal, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory properties of the latter. This is all because of the unique structure of the Manuka plant that the bees use to make Manuka honey. Given it’s distinctive properties, it’s best suited for those dealing with acne and skin inflammatory issues. If you’re going for normal honey, we’d suggest opting for a raw, pasture one. By raw, we mean the one taken directly from the beehive, unprocessed and unfiltered. While this kind of honey is often considered unsafe for eating, it’s the best one for applying on your face due to its untampered enzyme structure. You can find this honey in a local beehive farm where they practice apiculture or you can keep a close eye on a beehive set up in a neighborhood where it’s soon to be disoriented. They often sell the honey from it to those around only.
Coming back to Manuka honey, here’s what’s so unique about this popular variant:
- All honey comes from the nectar of plants, especially the ones with flowers. The only difference is the nectar for Manuka honey comes from the Manuka plant, native to New Zealand and Australia. Most of the Manuka honey comes from New Zealand though. The texture of Manuka honey is more viscous than regular honey, and also has a much more pigmented color, dark cream to brown.
- It has also been found using research that manuka honey has better healing properties than other types of honey.
- There have been many independent organizations that have come up with ratings to measure the effectiveness and authenticity of manuka honey. The most popular among them is the K-factor, which is also recognized by the New Zealand government. The K-factor ensures the following: raw and unpasteurized, non-GMO, purity of pollen count from Manuka, and most importantly, made in New Zealand. A K-factor 16 ensures “pure and whole” honey made from the Manuka plant and K-factor 12 means there’s a blend of nectars from other plant types.
- Other common certifications you’ll find on Manuka honey are MGO, which measures levels of methylglyoxal, a chemical that naturally occurs in Manuka honey and defines the anti-bacterial strength, and UMF, the Unique Manuka Factor is overseen by a third-party organization and measures the originality of Manuka honey using several tests.
For a good Manuka honey, look for K-factor 16, UMF 16+, and MGO 250. Buy a good grade Manuka honey here.
Can I use honey on my face every day?
Yes, you can use honey on your face every day if you’re using it raw or mixing it with other safe ingredients that can be applied daily. These include rose water, milk, aloe vera, curd, and gram flour. Don’t use a honey face mask mixed with lime juice, fuller’s earth, turmeric, or egg daily. In fact, honey makes for a good everyday cleanser. After removing your makeup, you can smear some honey on your fingertips and massage it onto your face. Wash off with water after 10 minutes.
How long should I leave honey on my face?
You can easily leave honey for 15 to 30 minutes on your face. Once it starts getting sticky, it can only attract more dirt on your face, negating its positive effects. If you’re using it with a strong ingredient like turmeric or lime juice, a 15-minute time interval is good enough to reap all the benefits.
Honey Face Mask Before & After
Including videos of two beauty Youtubers who tried a honey face mask for a week or more and documented their results. Both reacted positively to the benefits of a honey face mask on their skin.
