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In my last post, I talked about how I simplified the beauty products that I use after I realized how many chemical ingredients were in the ones that I used to use. Part of that simplifying involved trying to find something new to wash my face with that was more natural than what I had originally been using.

There are so many different face washes out there that claim to be natural, but as I was searching online to find a good one, I came across the idea of using honey.

It seemed kind of strange to me at first to think about smearing sticky honey all over my face, but once I actually tried it, I realized that it actually does make a really good face wash, and it’s about as natural as you can get. Just one ingredient instead of the twenty or more that are usually in store bought face washes. I also love the fact that it’s something that’s edible. It certainly fits the advice of “don’t put anything on your skin that you wouldn’t want feel safe putting in your mouth.” 

The Best Type of Honey to Use

If you’re going to use honey to wash your face, you want to make sure it’s a natural, good-quality honey. This is one case, though, where good quality doesn’t necessarily mean certified organic. Unlike fruits and vegetables that grow in the same spot, bees often travel a pretty far distance in search of pollen, and it’s pretty hard to guarantee that every flower a bee might come in contact with is certified organic. So, the main thing to look for is a honey that is essentially organic and without any additives or chemicals used in processing even if it doesn’t have an actual certified organic label.

It’s also best to use honey that is raw because honey that has been heated and heavily processed has lost many of the beneficial enzymes and healing properties of raw honey. You want to look for a label that says “raw” and “unfiltered.” Raw, unfiltered honey often has more or a creamy and opaque texture to it because it still has bits of beeswax, pollen, and propolis in it.

The color and texture can vary depending on the type of honey, how recently it was harvested, and how much it was strained, so you can’t always go by texture, but what you want to avoid is the really heavily processed honey that’s been heated to high temperatures and ultra-filtered to the point that there’s no pollen left in it at all.

You can read more about finding good-quality honey in these articles:

• What Does “Raw Honey” Really Mean?
• Your Honey Isn’t Honey

Where to Find Good Quality Honey

If you’re looking for good quality honey that’s natural, raw, and unfiltered, your best bet is to stay away from the really cheap honey in the grocery store and get your honey from a local farmer or from a farmer’s market. Many health food stores also carry good quality, real honey (and some regular grocery stores do, too, if they have a “natural” section.) The main thing you want to avoid is the “fast food” version of honey.

If you don’t have any good sources of raw honey near where you live, you can also find good quality honey online. You can find some good options for raw, unfiltered honey online here.

Why Honey is a Better Option than Other Face Washes

The face wash I used to use was one of those foaming kinds that makes your face feel really, really clean. Too clean, actually. Even though the foaming wash was great at removing makeup, my skin always felt so tight and dry after using it that I couldn’t stand to go one minute without putting on moisturizer.

With the honey though, I don’t have that problem at all. The honey is so much more of a gentle cleanser, and since honey has healing qualities to it, it helps make your skin healthier rather than cleansing it harshly like a lot of drugstore cleansers do.

I still use natural oils (like jojoba oil or almond oil, or tamanu oil) as a moisturizer since my skin tends to get dry, especially in the winter time, But unlike my old foaming cleanser, the honey leaves my face feeling moisturized enough that I don’t feel like I absolutely need to put on moisturizer the moment I finish washing my face. And just a few drops of jojoba oil are enough. (You can find the jojoba oil I’ve been using here.)

I found out about the idea of combining the honey and jojoba oil after stumbling across this post from Tracy at Thelovevitamin.com. I watched Tracy’s video about how she washes her face with the honey and the jojoba oil and decided to give it a try. I really liked her method, and I’ve been doing basically the same thing she does for the past few months now. This is what I’ve found to be a good routine:

A Simple Honey and Jojoba Oil Routine

1) The first thing you want to do is to make sure that your hair is pulled back completely away from your face (if you have long hair.) I’ve made the mistake of getting honey in my hair before, and it’s kind of a sticky mess.

2) Then you want to spread a thin layer of the honey over your face. I’ve found that it works best not to splash any water on your face before applying the honey because it seems to absorb better on dry skin.If your skin is wet, the honey seems to clump in spots and doesn’t go on as evenly.

3) Then, you can either wash the honey off right away, or, if you have time, you can leave it on for a little while like a mask to allow the beneficial properties in the honey to be better absorbed into your skin. Even if you only have a few minutes, you could put on the honey and then have breakfast or plan what you’re going to wear for the day and then wash it off.

4) When you’re ready to wash off the honey, all you need to do is to splash some warm water on your face and gently wash it away like you would with a regular face wash. You won’t feel the same soapy texture like with face wash, but you can tell when the honey is all rinsed off when you don’t feel any stickiness left on your skin.

5) Then pat your face dry with a towel and apply jojoba oil (or any other natural oil) for a moisturizer if desired. I usually just put a couple of drops of oil in the palm of my hand, rub my hands together, and then pat them over my face to distribute the oil evenly. I’ve found that doing it this way seems to give just the right amount of moisture. (And if you like, you can even add a few drops of essential oils that are good for the skin like lavender or tea tree to your bottle of jojoba oil.)

And that’s it for the morning. Then I apply my makeup if I’m planning to wear some or, if not, I’m ready to go about my day.

In the evening, I do basically the same thing except that I wash my face with both the honey and the jojoba oil together because the jojoba oil works as a great makeup remover.

I’m Never Going Back to Drugstore Products

I’ve been washing my face this way for a while now, and I really love it. It’s so much simpler than my old face-washing routine since the honey and jojoba oil work as a makeup-remover, cleanser, and moisturizer all in one. Rather than using three separate products (with dozens of different ingredients in each one), I love being able to just use the two ingredients of honey and jojoba oil.

I’ve found that the cost works out to be at least the same if not even cheaper than the other products I used to use. Even though the raw honey can be a bit pricey depending on which type you get, it still ends up being economical in the long run because you don’t have to buy a separate product for each step of your cleansing routine. (And since some store-bought face washes are pretty expensive, the honey might actually be even cheaper.)

And the jojoba oils is really cost-effective too. Since you only use a few drops at a time, a bottle of it lasts for literally months. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the bottle I’m using lasts me for half a year or more.

With my new honey and jojoba oil routine that’s completely natural, simple, and economical, I have no desire to ever go back to my old drugstore products!

Other DIY Natural Beauty Recipes to Try:

DIY Skin Cleanser for Sensitive Skin by Beauty and the Foodie

DIY Serum for Puffy Eyes by Oh Lardy

DIY Mirical Anti-Aging Skin Butter by Mary Vance, NC

 

This post is linked to Make Your Move Monday at Simply Made Home.

 

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The information in this post is not to be taken as medical advice and is not intended to diagnose or treat any disease.