Using raw honey on your skin might sound weird at first, and what's so important about it being raw? Well, read on for the full deets! There are many benefits and surprising facts about honey including what makes raw honey a superfood, and why it's so good for your skin.

Honey has long been a favorite ingredient in skincare products as it helps keep the skin younger looking, improves radiance, and leaves skin very smooth.

The ancient Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, and East Indians all used honey in their skin care preparations. In fact, the combination of milk and honey was known as the elixir of life, and Cleopatra's most prized beauty secret.

Use raw honey straight out of the jar as a nutrient rich skin-plumping facial mask or as facial cleanser.

The Essential Vitamins + Nutrients in Raw Unfiltered Honey

• Amino acids
• B vitamins (B6, thiamin, niacin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid)
• Calcium
• Copper
• Iron
• Magnesium
• Manganese
• Phosphorus
• Potassium
• Sodium
• Zinc

When honey is heated and filtered it becomes pure sucrose (sugar), and loses most of the healing benefits and nutritional value listed above. This is a HUGE reason why so it's really important to use raw honey in your food prep as well as your skin care and home spa recipes.

To be considered raw with 100% of the full spectrum nutrients intact and bio-available, honey must not be heated over 95 degrees Fahrenheit.

Raw honey is unheated and unpasteurized which means the naturally occurring vitamins, minerals, enzymes, antioxidants are intact and potent. Raw honey also contains a unique insulin-type substance which helps digestion. Raw organic honey can be easily found at your local health food store or farmers market. Or you can order this organic raw honey which is high quality and yummy or opt for superfood raw Manuka honey from New Zealand.

Raw honey has antibacterial properties that speed the healing of infections + wounds.

Raw local honey is one of my favorite things to bring home when I travel. Honey varies wildly with the terroir. Flavor, color and consistency vary according to what flowers the bees are collecting their nectar from, and are influenced by factors such as the soil, topography, and climate as well. Pure honey doesn't have an expiration date and has been found fully preserved and intact in ancient Egyptian tombs.

"Manuka honey, produced in New Zealand by bees that pollinate the Manuka bush, is one of the most unique and beneficial forms of honey in the world. With Manuka honey, the nutritional content is up to four times that of normal flower honeys" according to Dr. Axe.

Honey is naturally moisturizing to your skin without adding any oil.

This makes skincare products containing raw honey highly beneficial for acne prone skin. In fact, you can use pure raw honey as a simple DIY facial cleanser with that won't strip away your natural oils providing antimicrobial benefits that can help fight acne. 

When applied to the skin, honey increases circulation which encourages a natural, healthy radiance. Honey is a humectant which helps your skin absorb and retain moisture which keeps it from drying out. Honey is packed with natural antioxidants and anti-microbial properties which help protect, repair and prevent skin damage. Honey is also quite calming to the skin. As an anti-irritant, products containing honey are beneficial for sensitive skin and even baby products.

3 Ingredient DIY Luxury Goddess Bath Recipe

For an absolutely divine DIY luxury bath, try adding half a cup of honey and a cup of full fat milk (cow or coconut will do fine) to a warm tub. Mix well, and sprinkle a few organic rose petals. Get in the tub and soak for a good long while. The milk and honey will soften your skin, and you'll feel pretty and pampered like the royal princess that you are!!

There are several recipes that you can make at home which call for raw honey in my DIY beauty book 100 Organic Skincare Recipes. You can download the ebook/kindle version HERE.