Does honey help with acne? We investigate!
Posted on January 14, 2022 Written by: 100% PURE®
We never met something gold that we didn’t like, and that goes double for this sticky-sweet ingredient. Honey is as rich and sweet as can be – and not just in terms of taste. Honey is one of the few non-vegan natural ingredients that has nearly endless skin and hair benefits.
However, because honey isn’t vegan, it can be seen as a controversial ingredient, not just in skin care but in the market as a whole. Why is honey bad? Does honey help with acne? Those are some of the questions we’ll be answering today as we do a full review on this golden syrup.
Why is honey often included in skin care? Does honey help with acne, as some people think?
Though it is an animal product, honey is a natural product with beneficial uses dating back to ancient Egypt around 3500 BCE. Documented uses historically included deity offerings, embalming for traditional Egyptian burial rites, and more to our current interests, a healing skin ointment.
Some of the main reasons honey might go from the hive to the kitchen to the skin care stash these days are the many topical benefits of honey. So, does honey help with acne? Antimicrobial in nature, honey has an amazing ability to fight the bacteria living on our skin. That makes honey an amazing product for acne-prone skin types.
Not all acne or breakouts are caused by bacteria – there’s hormonal acne to contend with, after all. But since acne is often caused by bacteria and blockages in the skin, honey is an excellent natural remedy. For those asking “does honey help with acne?” – the answer is yes.
Speaking of blockages in the skin, though the texture wouldn’t suggest it, honey is known as a great skin exfoliant. In addition to honey helping with acne, it is also a natural and gentle healing product. Soothing for irritated or inflamed skin, honey has been an effective remedy against scars, active skin conditions like dermatitis or eczema, and sunburn or sun inflammation.
Honey in skin care isn’t just useful for those reasons alone. Honey has been known to be incredibly hydrating and moisturizing. As a naturally occurring humectant, it helps to preserve and maintain the moisture content in the skin.
Using honey on the skin tends to leave it cleansed, calmed, supple, radiant, and hydrated. So when considering whether or not honey helps with acne, that’s also an important consideration.
With the aforementioned benefits in mind, like honey helping acne as well as calming skin, being a gentle exfoliant, and enriching skin moisture, it’s no wonder it’s used in a whole spectrum of cosmetic products.
Seeing that the answer to “does honey help with acne?” is that honey is in fact healing for active acne, we may want to look for it in acne treatments and skin care masks. Our skin has adequate time to absorb those benefits when our products are in these forms.
A benefit that we didn’t mention when exploring “does honey help with acne?” is that honey is often used as a natural preservative. Considering how comforting and healing honey can be, it is a great addition when whipping up DIY skin treatments.
As a humectant with antimicrobial properties, one place that honey can literally transform is the head. It’s wonderful in hair care, as it allows for a deep scalp cleanse and gentle exfoliation while also drawing moisture into the hair and revealing its shine. Check out our Restorative Honey & Virgin Coconut Shampoo and matching Conditioner to experience some transformed tresses.
Honey, as we mentioned, is a smooth natural exfoliant. That’s also an important consideration when wondering, does honey help with acne? Seeking it out in a body scrub would be a great way to polish the skin for softness and a radiant glow. As honey can also be healing, hydrating, and a humectant on the skin, it works wonders in balms, ointments, salves, and skin creams.
As we make it our mission to craft wholesome, effective, and natural products, we acknowledge that we do create products that occasionally contain honey. Those not of the vegan persuasion may not understand why honey isn’t vegan.
By definition, honey isn’t vegan simply because it is an animal product, but there are ethical concerns to the harvesting and consumption of honey as well. First, the product of honey itself is essentially bee food, created for bee colonies by bees. Gathered by humans for flavor, nutritional value, and cosmetic or medicinal uses, harvested honey is then typically replaced with corn syrup to supplement the colonies’ diet.
In the honey collection process, many bees are often injured. And colonies are usually exposed to pesticides, herbicides, and antibiotics. Furthermore, should any disease or contamination break out with the bees, one of the more macabre approaches is to burn the hive whole with the live bees inside.
While there are certainly fair trade and more ethical options out there for honey, these are the reasons that many vegan and plant-based folks choose to abstain from honey contact. Luckily, if you’re vegan and wondering “does honey help with acne?”, there are honey alternatives. Options such as tree sap, maple syrup, agave, rice nectar, and curated blends of plant and fruit extracts often convincingly mimic both the flavor and benefits of honey.
- Tags: Ingredients, January-2022, Skin Care
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The information in this article is for educational use, and not intended to substitute professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment and should not be used as such.
