The concept of the mask was simple: smear honey all over your face, let it dry, wash it off. According to the folks on MUA it would make my skin soft, radiant, even pimple-free. Yes, please! My skin was threatening to freak out on Sunday night after I neglected to wash my makeup off the night before, stayed up late, and downed a bunch of sugar and caffeine because it was Valentines Day, eeps. I decided a calming honey mask might just be what my skin needed.
I started out by washing my face with a mild cleanser. I use Clinique's liquid facial soap in mild but anything gentle should work. I didn't dry my face all the way after washing, since honey on dry skin didn't seem like it would work very well. I was a bit skeptical about how I would like having honey on my face because I thought it would feel really heavy, but it just felt a bit "tight" like most facial masks do. It really helped to apply it with your fingertips in a circular pattern to sort of "massage" it on (think of how they would do it at a spa). I definitely had to pull my hair back for this part, there is no way you want to get your hair in honey, and I would also suggest avoiding the eyebrows unless you want a sticky mess.
After applying I kicked back for 15 minutes until I felt the mask was a little bit "dry" though it was definitely still sticky. You could probably leave it on your face longer, but I was impatient. I hopped in the shower and steamed it up a bit before splashing water on my face and the honey came right off! No huge sticky honey removal mess, which is what I had been really afraid of. I rinsed all the honey off with water, then patted my face dry and dabbed a bit of sensitive-skin moisturizer on my cheeks.
The results when I got out of the shower were really nice, though not earth-shattering. No, my pimples did not suddenly disappear. No, there was not a halo of light emitting from my face. But my skin definitely felt softer and looked more even. I'm not sure about radiant, but it looked less ashey and beat-up. And the best part was that the breakout I was SURE would come never did. Could it be the honey that helped? I think so. It really made my skin look and feel a lot more calm, and sooo soft!
So, in summary:
- Honey is (naturally) a sticky mess, but applying on a damp face will help a lot.
- Wait 15-20 minutes before rinsing, then use lots of water to get it off. I found a shower worked better than hovering over the sink with honey on my face.
- There is little risk of irritation it seems. My skin is somewhat sensitive and it was perfectly fine with the honey, both while it was on and after I washed it off. Some of the ladies on MUA did report reactions though, so definitely wash it off if you feel burning/itching or start to look irritated. Or do a skin patch test first. At any rate, I had no problems and the honey felt like it actually decreased the irritation in my cheeks.
- The results probably won't rock your world- but you skin will look a wee bit nicer. And with repeated use? Who knows? It's totally worth the cost of a $3 bear jar.
via mejier.com
I can't believe you had the courage to do that! I never could! I'd be far to afraid it would never come off! I'm glad you had such good results though!
ReplyDeleteShoshanah- I was a bit afraid of that too, but honey is basically sugar and sugar dissolves in water. So it's all good :) I was more afraid of it making a huge mess and/or making me break out.
ReplyDelete~Amanda
I've used honey before but my skin broke out!! :( hmm maybe its abit too rich for me?
ReplyDeleteMy son has very sensitve skin after shaving, so he applies raw honey to his face afterward--and rubs it in, leaves it there. It doesn't show after about 15 minutes, and his skin is healthy now and unbelievably soft. No need to rinse if you use small amounts and rub in thoroughly.
ReplyDeleteim 13 and i have bad pimples and i her honey would work thanks for helping me
ReplyDeleteThe comment by Schatten uses the important words....raw honey. Processed honey of any sort loses its ability to help to some degree. Try mixing a little organic plain yogurt with the honey before applying it, that is if you can avoid the temptation to eat it.
ReplyDeleteGood luck,
A honey user down under.
Im going to try it right now! Wish me luck! Oh and thanks for the tips!:)
ReplyDelete-Anissa-
Honey is also really good for burns, cuts and abrasions. At a campfire I was at, a piece of wet wood exploded onto my face and caused a pretty nasty burn. Since I only had a basic first aid kit with me I couldn't really treat the burn normally. However, I heard that honey was an excellent healer so put some on the wound and covered it with some gauze, and continued with the honey treatment for a few days. My wound healed so well, that I don't even have a scar. I read up about it later, and there is some really interesting science behind why it works.
ReplyDeleteWow My results were AMAZING. When I stepped out of the shower my skin glowed, and my cheeks had a really pretty look. It looked as if i had already applied foundation! I just used 3 packets of honey and smeared it on my face. It dripped a little, but the clean up was worth it!
ReplyDeleteI use RAW honey from the health food store, and once or twice a week I add mashed banana as a natural moisturizer, also the raw honey that I am using has tiny granuals for exfoliating.My skin is even, tight, smooth, and feels really good.....
ReplyDelete