WHY YOU SHOULD DO A RAW HONEY MASK
I enjoyed a raw honey mask nearly every day while I was on Panchakarma in India, and it reminded me of the awesome signature Alexandra Soveral facial, which includes a raw honey facial treatment. This natural product has so many benefits for wellbeing and beauty, so I can’t recommend enough using your “kitchen arsenal” for your outsides as well as your insides — despite my mum always telling me to eat my food rather than wear it! Of course natural ingredients like honey are the OG beauty product, and so much kinder to the skin and the body than many store-bought products, and price- and freshness-wise — usually much better.
WHY RAW HONEY?
Honey has many benefits, but not so if you go for the processed, heated and/or pasteurised version, which negates many of the honey’s natural properties. That’s why it’s important to choose a raw honey that’s been as little modified as possible, checking the label carefully. You can find this in larger supermarkets, health food shops, local farmers’ markets or online — check out my shop page. Once you’ve selected honey in its natural form, it can work wonders for your skin, acting as an anti-inflammatory and antibacterial, calming angry skin, moisturising, minimising dark spots and acne scars — raw honey does it all! Other problems it can help appease include fine lines, excess oil and eczema or rosacea.
HOW TO DO A BASIC RAW HONEY MASK
Just use your fingers or the back of a spoon to spread a layer of raw honey over your face (and neck if you want). Either kick back and relax during that time — relaxation is also great for your whole mind-body and therefore for the skin — or take the opportunity to give yourself a rejuvenating face massage by working the honey into your skin with your fingers for a few minutes to get your circulation going. The honey will become very tacky as you work with it, and with very little effort your skin gets a workout and you can feel the tension melt from your face, especially when you rinse it off with a hot, wet muslin cloth. Otherwise just enjoy kicking back and actually relaxing to complete your little home spa session. You have to resist licking your lips (or not!), but once it’s on, the magic starts to happen. You can also use raw honey as a lip mask to repair chapped lips, following the same method.
VARIATIONS
If you’re feeling a bit adventurous, there are plenty of add-ins you can throw in your DIY honey face mask for extra properties or to make it even more efficient. Here are some of the options, but there are many more out there!
Turmeric: for inflammation and acne
Cinnamon: anti-inflammatory and antibacterial
Lemon juice: for dark spots, scars and exfoliation
Coconut oil, bio yoghurt or avocado: moisturising
Baking soda: helps with acne, blackheads, pigmentation and clogged pores
Oats: exfoliating
Nutmeg: for impurities and dead skin cells
