How to make and use honey face masks

  
Honey contains a wealth of skin benefiting properties, it has powerful antioxidants and enzymes as well as fantastic moisturising affects. Honey is also a gentle cleanser and won't strip your skin of its natural moisture like some cosmetic products can - it can even benefit more serious skin conditions such as psoriasis or eczema!

We are highlighting three different masks in this blog today, the first is for dry skin, the second for oily skin and a third that's especially good for clearing up problem spotty skin. For the best ongoing results we would recommend using a honey face mask once a week as part of your regular skincare routine.

But first, while honey can be extremely beneficial for your skin, we do recommend that you should always do a patch test on a small area of skin before applying any of the face mask recipes below, even if you've never had a reaction to any of the ingredients before.
  

General making honey facemask information

To make any of the following honey face masks you will need a small dish and something to mix the ingredients. We recommend something non-metallic to ensure there is no reaction to the ingredients - this is especially important for the oily skin mask that contains clay.

We've found the small plastic bowls that come with some home hair dying kits are perfect for this job and it's a great way to repurpose those, alternatively you could use an empty Just Bee Honey pot!

It's always best to apply the mask to clean skin, so wash your face as you would normally and afterwards lay a warm flannel on your face for a few minutes to really open up the pores in your skin before starting the application.

These are honey face masks not face scrubs, so apply gently with your finger tips and smooth across your face, there's no need to rub it into your skin.

Avoid the area around your eyes as honey will sting if you get it in your eyes (trust us, we know from experience!) so keep it well away. If you need to treat the delicate skin around your eyes use a product designed specially for that instead.

The recommended time to leave any of our honey masks on is 15 minutes.

As you might already imagine a honey face mask can be messy, so we recommend applying before you have a shower to make cleaning off nice and easy. After it's all washed off give your face a quick rinse with cold water to tighten the skin and close the pores before patting your face dry with a soft towel.

Honey face mask for dry skin

You will need:

• 2 tablespoons of Just Bee Original Honey (or any other raw honey)

• 1 quarter of a fresh avocado

• 2 tablespoons of ground almonds.

Yes, we know it sounds delicious! But avocado is brilliant as a skin moisturiser. Combined with the fat from the ground almonds and all the honey goodness, this recipe is perfect for leaving dry skin feeling softer and smoother. Mash the avocado well before adding to the other ingredients and mix into a paste before using.

Honey face mask for oily skin

You will need:

• 1 tablespoon of Just Bee Original Honey (or any other raw honey)

• 1 teaspoon of green clay

• 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar

Green clay can be found quite easily online these days if you can't find it locally, it's sometimes called 'French clay' and it's bought as a paste or powder. You should always buy it from a reputable source however to make sure it's of a grade suitable for cosmetic use. Green clay is a common ingredient of pre-made masks and it contains many important minerals, while also acting like a 'sponge' to absorb excess oils from your skin. Because the clay is an alkaline, the acidic vinegar helps balance the pH of this mask making it closer to the natural pH level of your skin. This mask is also recommended for getting rid of nasty blackheads and deep pore cleaning.

Honey face mask for spots and acne

You will need:

• 2 tablespoons of Just Bee Original Honey (or any other raw honey)

• 2 teaspoons of baking soda

This simple mask is for sufferers of spotty skin and can even help control long term acne problems. Baking soda has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties and can really help with clearing up those problem areas on your face. Combined with the amazing effects from the honey this mask is a real winner for regular use and is also recommended for people who don't have dry or oily skin and just want a gentle cleansing and soothing honey face mask.

IMPORTANT: Don't forget to do a patch test before putting any of these masks all over your face, just a small amount on the inside of your wrist is fine, then leave it for as long as you can.

If you experience any kind of itching or redness then wash it off immediately and stop use the mask. With natural products like honey a bad reaction is rare but still possible. We should really test every product in this manner when we introduce it into our skin care regime, so if your aren't doing it already then now is a good time to start!

We hope you enjoy trying these masks and that your face feels soft and wonderful afterwards! If you'd like a mask recipe for a specific skin problem or skin type in a future blog then let us know and we'll get our beauty bees working on it!