Oh, honey, honey...

Okay, so I just had to get online and tell everyone about something amazing. I doubt that I'm the only female in this world, young or old, who has stubborn skin. Whether it's blemishes, wrinkles, redness, dryness, or excessive oiliness. I have tried just about every single product in the world to help me get rid of these problems. As I mentioned in my favorite products blog, I was using facial cleansing pads. What I didn't know is that there are natural ways to lose your acne... and they are so much better for your body. Sure, the cleansing pads got rid of a few pimples but they always come back. And do you know why? Because using chemicals to clean your face only gives your body more chemicals to absorb, thus creating more toxins to excrete via the face.
I was reading up about a week ago about some natural ways one can clean their face. You all know I'm having horrible health problems again, and I wanted to eliminate all extra chemicals from my body (beside my Epilepsy medication) so I have been seeking out natural ways to substitute chemical products that we use every single day. While reading up, I discovered that honey can be used as a facial cleanser!
So what do we already know about honey? Beside being man's oldest sweetener in the book, what else is it good for? First off, it's a natural antibiotic and antioxidant. It contains many natural vitamins and minerals. Eating only a teaspoon of honey a day can relieve stomach pain from ulcers and even rid you of your seasonal allergies if it is made locally to your area. It's antimicrobial properties make it wonderful for healing cuts and some say it will even prevent some types of cancer! But who knew it was the secret to beautiful skin?
I know what you're thinking. Do the words 'sticky' and 'messy' come to mind? Well, it's quite the opposite and it will leave your face looking beautiful. Every night for the past 3 weeks I have been washing my face using honey, and my stubborn acne is literally disappearing by the day. I saw my biggest results after only 8 short days. Better yet, there is no need to use any moisturizers because my face is left baby soft as soon as I'm done. I tried a few variations and they are all 100% organic! If you would like to try some of the honey masks, which I hope you do, here are a few different recipes that I have tried depending on your skin type.



1. For normal skin, or everyday use: Just plain old organic honey. This works great if you want something you can use every night. Try adding a little bit of lemon juice which will help with skin discoloration and redness. I do recommend using some of the other recipes below once or twice a week to exfoliate.

2. If you need to gently exfoliate: Everybody uses a different amount of honey, so scoop about as much as you would usually use into a small jar, cup, etc. Then add about 2 tsp of brown sugar.

3. If you need to seriously exfoliate or you have wrinkles: Ground up about 2-3 tsp of coffee beans until they are very finely ground. If you have a coffee grinder, you are going to want to grind the beans for at least a minute. This is very important! Otherwise the mixture will be too rough on your face. After the coffee is ground up well, mix it in with your honey. Coffee beans contain caffeine which will not only scrub and exfoliate, but you will have a temporary face-lift and less redness to your face for the day. This is great for use in the morning before you shower.

4. If you have very dry skin: Honey is already a great moisturizer, but everyone is different. So if the honey alone isn't giving you enough moisture, try mixing with 1-2 tsp of mashed bananas or avocado. Another interesting way to moisturize when you are done cleansing is taking banana peels and rubbing the insides all over your face. Do this before bed each night.

5. If you have blackheads, big pores, or need a daily face lift: For this mask you will need one organic egg, 1 tbsp organic whole milk or 2 tbsp organic powdered milk, and 2 tbsp honey. Powdered milk works the best since you are making a mask. If you are using regular milk, use more honey. It is of great importance that all ingredients are organic. We don't want your skin absorbing anything with too much preservatives or added ingredients. If you have normal skin use both the yolk and the egg whites. For oily skin use only the egg whites. For dry skin use only the egg yolk. You do not need to use the entire egg because there's no way you'll be able to use the whole egg at one time. You can save the rest of your egg for up to 3 days if it is covered. This mask is best done in the morning since it gives you a temporary face-lift.

6. Exfoliation without the caffeine from coffee beans: You will need 1 1/2 tbsp brown rice and 2 tbsp honey. Grind the brown rice until it is very, very fine (as we did for the coffee beans, about 1 minute). Mix with honey.

Once you've picked your recipe and prepared it to your liking, go to your bathroom and tie back your hair so that it is all out of your face. Then heat a damp wash cloth (not too hot!) and lay over your face for one minute or until the towel begins to feel cold. Then, lift the wash cloth and rub your honey or honey mixture so that it covers your whole face, taking care around your eyes and hairline. Let your honey mixture sit on your face for at least 10 minutes. Then, once again, heat a damp wash cloth and let it sit over the honey on your face for another minute. When you remove the cloth, you may remove the honey. You can also do this before a shower which works well too. To tighten face, close pores, and lock in nutrients, take a piece of ice and rub all over face over a period of one minute. Then carefully dry your face slowly with a tissue. Be careful not to scratch, rub or touch your face too much and if possible not at all!

*As I mentioned a million times, it is so very important that all ingredients used are organic. Remember that what goes on our skin are the same things that our skin absorbs. This mean that any pesticides, growth hormones, chemical fertilizers and anything else will be absorbed too.*

I hope you try and enjoy these different honey masks, whether you only do it once in a while or every night, I'm sure you'll love it! I've noticed a huge change in my face, not just from the honey but from the lack of extra chemicals that I've been putting on my poor face! God bless you all and have a great night!

P.S.- Make sure to drink those 8 glasses of water!

- Mandy Krzywonski