A Valentine Treat for Your Face: A Honey Mask

 What is the favorite fairytale of bees?   Beauty and the Bee.

 What flowers are their favorites?  Bee-gonias and Honeysuckles.

To bee or not to bee– Shakespeare
To do is to bee– Nietzche
To bee is to do– Sartre
Do bee do bee do– Sinatra

Sorry, couldn’t resist.  We are not to blame for the above.  They are courtesy of Honey Tasmania (www.honeytasmania.com/honey-bees/honeybee-jokes)

USDA Image Library – Scot Bauer

Does Your Face Need Some TLC?  

Want you face to feel more like a baby’s skin than a prune?  Maybe you want to control those break-outs; or even out your skin tone; or reduce the seborrhea flakes around the T-zone, or get some glow going on.  Honey is sweetness for the face.  And it doesn’t take a lot of honey for a facial–about a tablespoon or so is enough for the entire face.

What Makes Honey So Yummy for the Face? 

Honey is a humectant so it helps to bind moisture to the skin.  It plumps up those wrinkles so they are less noticeable.  Honey has some nutrients and antioxidants that help skin to repair and heal itself, which is why it is good for pimple prone skin.  Also, the enzymes in honey are beneficial for healing.  There are several B vitamins, C, copper, potassium, and some flavonoids in honey.  It is also said to have antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal properties.  A honey mask is a gentle exfoliate because it contain natural glycolic acid. 

FYI: The reports I have read on the benefits of honey for acne say that repeated use is required to see any benefits.  Generally, results happen after about a week of daily applications.  Although, a few people reported seeing immediate results in the reduction of break-outs.

Not Just Any Honey Will Do

To get the full nutritional benefits of honey, raw or raw unfiltered honey is the way to go.  It can be purchased at health food grocery stores, from the local farmer’s market, or from local honey producers (Google your area or check craigslist).  Pasteurized honey that is sold in most grocery store chains has little or no nutrients left due to the processing.  Also, large bee-keeping commercial operations are very hard on bees and often the pollination is done on plants that have been sprayed with chemical herbicides.

Skin Test First

There are some people who can eat honey, but when they put it on their skin it causes an allergic reaction.  We would not want you to look like a blowfish for Valentine’s Day.  So, do a skin test with honey on a small area of the face first.

Moisturizing/Rejuvenating Honey Mask

1 Tablespoon raw honey
1/8 teaspoon extra virgin coconut oil (extra virgin olive oil also works)
1/8 teaspoon warm water
damp cloth
facial headband

Clear Skin Honey Mask
1 Tablespoon raw honey
1/8 teaspoon unfiltered apple cider vinegar
1/8 teaspoon warm water
damp washcloth
facial headband

Directions

Use the facial headband for preventing the hair from getting into the honey.  You may want to apply the mask prior to showering or taking a bath.  This way you can wash out any honey that may remain along the hairline.  Use the damp cloth to wipe any honey that goes where you do not want it to go.  Start with a clean face.

Mix the ingredients thoroughly.  Using clean fingers fingers, apply mask to face and front of neck.  Set a timer for 12 minutes. Recline and relax.  For some TLC for the eyes, put a couple cucumber slices or moistened tea bags over them as you wait for the honey to do its magic.

After 12 minutes, dampen the washcloth with warm water and use it to remove the honey mask from the face and neck.  Follow-up with splashes of very cool water to the face.

For dry or mature skin apply moisturizer.  We of course suggest our wonderful Argan and Allies Hydrating Serum.  For acne prone skin, we recommend applying our popular Argan Acne Serum.

Click to Buy Our Great All-Organic Skincare Line:

YumScrubhttp://bit.ly/1jKksLG

Abe’s Market bit.ly/1rueto2

Yum Mini Facial

The face like the rest of the body loves a bit of pampering.  What better way to dote on the face than with a mini facial.  These facials takes no more than thirty minutes and can be done at least once a week.  We’ve designed two–one for dry or mature skin and one for oily or blemish prone skin.  Combination skin can use either.

MINI FACIAL – DRY OR MATURE SKIN
Prepare two large bowls of water.  In one large bowl add hot water (distilled or spring water would be great) with slices of lemon or oranges. This is for steaming the face. You can also add a few drops of lavender essential oil, or dried chamomile, lavender, rose petals or  a combination of the above.  Pour in the other bowl cool water with a few ice cubes, lemon, orange, or cucumber slices.  Set aside a hand towel or washcloth.

Begin

• Start with a gentle cleansing of the face.

• Steam the face. With a towel over your head, sit or stand so that you face is over and above the bowl.  Don’t be so close that it burns.  Keep your eyes closed.  Stay for 5 – 10 minutes.

• Gently exfoliate with a gentle scrub.  If you don’t have any, make your own with some sugar and almond oil or olive oil.  If you have a gentle face cleanser, mix some of it with a little sugar.  Rinse thoroughly with lukewarm water.

• Wet the hand towel or washcloth in the cool lemon/orange water, wringing out excess water.  Place on the face (eyes closed).  Now’s the time to lie back, relax, and soak-up the coolness.  When the cloth starts to warm, immerse it again in the cool water. Repeat several times.

• Rinse face in cool water; pat dry, and apply hydrating serum.

• Feel radiant.

MINI FACIAL – OILY OR BLEMISH PRONE SKIN
Prepare two large bowls of water.  In one large bowl add hot water (distilled or spring water would be great) with slices of lemon and a couple drops of tea tree essential oil.  In the other bowl, add some cool water with a few ice cubes.  Set aside a hand towel or washcloth.

Begin

• Start with a gentle cleansing of the face.

• Steam the face. With a towel over your head, sit or stand so that you face is over and above the bowl.  Don’t be so close that it burns.  Keep your eyes closed.  Stay for 5 – 10 minutes.

• Using an extracting tool, extract any blackheads or white heads.  Sterile extracting tools can be purchased at drug stores; it’s the safest way for extracting pimples.  Don’t squeeze them.

• Gently cleanse the face again.  Rinse with lukewarm water.

• Wet the hand towel or washcloth in the cool, wringing out excess water.  Place on the face (eyes closed).  Now’s the time to lie back, relax, and soak-up the coolness.  When the cloth starts to warm, immerse it again in the cool water. Repeat several times.

• Take a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar and mix it in ¼ cup cool water.  Using a cotton ball, dab your face with the vinegar to close pores. You could also use a couple drops of tea tree essential oil mixed in ¼ cup of water, or pure witch hazel.  Rinse with cool water.  Pat dry.

• Moisturize with acne serum.

• Feel beautiful.

Options
For both facials, instead of steaming over a bowl of hot water, you could wet a hand towel or washcloth in warm water (add the other ingredients to the water).  Wring out the excess water from the towel, and lay it on the face.  Repeating several times.

Lay a cucumber slice on each eye under the cool hand towel or washcloth.