Moisture is the skin’s basic requirement. It keeps the skin soft, healthy and youthful. As knowledge about the skin and its cosmetic needs have grown, it has been found that aged and prematurely aged skins have one thing in common: lack of moisture. The amount of moisture that the skin holds determines its texture to a great extent - whether it is soft and smooth, or dry, rough or covered with fine lines. The skin loses moisture to the environment when humidity is low, or through artificial means like airconditioning and central heating. Exposure to the sun, over a period of time, also lowers the skin’s ability to retain moisture. Even the water that you wash the face with is treated with chemicals like chlorine which deplete moisture and cause dryness. If the skin is perpetually short of moisture, it can get dehydrated and shrivel up. This makes the skin texture rough and sensitive, vulnerable to the formation of lines and wrinkles.
Oily skins can also be short of moisture. This happens during the dry winter season, when there is a superficial dryness of the outermost layer of the skin. You can identify it by the taut, uncomfortable feeling immediately after washing. Some areas of the skin may also acquire tiny white flakes.

It does not contain preservatives, artificial fragrances, colour or essences.
In other words, it is totally natural in every sense of the word. So make the most of it.

In your home and right there on the kitchen shelf is one of the most powerful natural moisturizers - honey! Actually, honey is a humectant, and attracts moisture to the skin from the atmosphere. In fact, it is one of the most versatile natural products. Everyone knows that bees make honey by converting nectar into simple sugars. That is why when we eat honey, it is easily and quickly digested, assimilated and absorbed by the body. As a food, honey has many properties. It contains several vitamins and minerals, like Vitamins B and C, calcium, iron, potassium, sodium, as well as amino acids and enzymes. Taking honey, therefore, ensures a supply of valuable nutrients to the body. It also helps provide instant energy. Honey is a wonder food. It has fewer calories than sugar, but it must be borne in mind that taking large quantities of honey will lead to weight gain. Moreover, in certain medical conditions, like diabetes, honey should not be taken without consulting a physician.

Honey has medicinal values too. It has been employed in home remedies for simple ailments for generations. As far as skin care is concerned, it has been used as a beauty aid and for its healing benefits in topical applications, for centuries. According to ancient records and texts, honey was applied on the skin to soothe and heal injuries and burns. It was also used to treat skin conditions like eczema and dermatitis. Modern scientific research has, in fact, revealed its various healing benefits in external applications, including its antibacterial and antiseptic properties.

Modern scientific research has, in fact, revealed its various healing benefits in external applications, including its antibacterial and antiseptic properties.

Its wound healing action, even in post-surgical cases, has really caught the attention of the medical world. Honey is also an anti-irritant, which means that it can be applied even on sensitive skins and for conditions like dehydrated skin sensitivity. Honey’s anti-oxidant properties increase its importance in skin care, in terms of preventing oxidation damage and delaying the manifestation of ageing signs on the skin.

All these properties of honey make it an ideal natural cosmetic ingredient. Writer Barbara Cartland, who was a great advocate of honey as a beauty aid, said: “It is the purest and most healthy cosmetic you could put on your face. And what a wonderful complexion it gives everyone who uses it.” For one thing, it suits all skin types. Being a natural humectant, it draws moisture to the skin and even improves the skin’s natural ability to retain moisture. In other words, it helps to seal in moisture and thus hydrate the skin powerfully. It relieves dryness, even in extremely dry and dehydrated skins, making the skin soft and smooth. As it contains valuable vitamins, minerals and enzymes, it nourishes the skin when externally applied. It also stimulates, tones and tightens the skin, giving it a fresh and radiant glow.

If you have dry skin, apply honey daily and wash it off with plain water after 20 minutes. You can also mix honey with a few drops of orange juice. Apply this on the face for 20 minutes and wash off with water.

For dry skin, you can also mix half a teaspoon honey, one teaspoon rose water and one teaspoon dried milk powder. Mix into a paste and apply on the face. Remove after 20 minutes with water.

Add one-quarter cup of honey to your bath water to relieve dryness and soften the skin on the body.

Honey suits both oily and combination skin. In fact, it is most useful for oily skins, since moisturizing creams and lotions can block the pores and lead to blackheads and pimples. For oily skin, mix honey with egg white and apply on the skin daily, washing it off after 20 minutes with plain water. Egg white has a cleansing effect, it reduces oiliness, while honey will soften the skin and nourish it. If you have a combination skin, apply honey by itself on the entire face, as it would suit both oily and dry areas.

Honey, with its antiseptic and healing properties can also be used on pimple-prone skins and even if there is a severe acne condition. In fact, people with acne often suffer from superficial dryness and flaking of the skin. Honey would be ideal. Mix one teaspoon honey with yoghurt (curd) and apply on the face. Wash it off after 20 minutes. It would relieve dryness and also soothe and nourish the skin. Both honey and yoghurt have a healing effect on acne. Yoghurt, which contains lactic acid, also helps to restore the normal acid-alkaline balance, so necessary in acne conditions.

Face Masks

Honey can be useful in face masks, for all skin types. Mix wheat bran (choker) or oatmeal with honey. Rose water can be also be added. Mix into a smooth paste and apply on the face. Wash off when it is dry or after 20 minutes. This mask may be used two or three times a week to keep the skin soft, supple and youthful.

Damaged Hair

Honey can also be used to revitalize dry and damaged hair. After shampoo, stir one teaspoon honey in 4 cups of warm water and use it as a last rinse, to condition the hair and add shine or, mix one teaspoon honey with sesame seed (til) oil or olive oil. Massage this into the scalp and hair, half an hour before shampoo. It would really help to soften dry hair, adding lustre.

Today, honey is an important ingredient in the formulation of products for beauty care from moisturizers, skin toners and masks, to hand creams, body lotions and hair conditioners. This most versatile beauty aid is actually within easy reach in your home, on your kitchen shelf.

The writer is herbal beauty expert, Shahnaz Husain