15 Incredible Benefits of Honey for Skin, Hair and Health

Nutritional Value of Honey

Benefits of Honey for Skin

1. Gives your skin a healthy glow

The benefits of honey and turmeric together can be referred as a sought-after mixture for acquiring a clear bright skin. Applying raw honey to your skin can get rid of impurities, dirt and grime without making it feel dehydrated. Honey can also be used as a skin exfoliator to remove blackheads, whiteheads and dead skin cells from your skin pores. The combination of powerful antioxidants makes it a natural cleansing toner that leaves your skin soft, radiant and glowing. Rinsing your face with honey and warm water once a day, is a simple remedy to achieve healthy glowing skin.

2. Prevents acne and pimples

The abundance of antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, healing and cleansing properties in honey makes it an ideal option to treat acne and breakouts. This natural antiseptic soothes your skin and reduces swelling, redness, and irritation, that are accompanied by acne. Moreover, the sugar content in honey restricts the acne causing bacteria from multiplying and helps in eliminating them. Applying honey with few drops of tea tree or lavender essential oil on your acne prone skin will cut down the chances of acne and pimples on your skin. The benefits of honey and cinnamon can be useful in treating acne, as a face pack with these two ingredients can effectively heal stubborn acne overnight.

3. Heals dry skin

Honey acts as a natural emollient and humectant for dry skin as it helps to preserve the moisture and natural oils in your skin, providing it with essential nutrients that make your skin appear hydrated and healthy. The rich antioxidant in raw honey unclogs your skin pores and moisturizes parched skin. Honey is very effective in healing cracked lips and rough skin, especially during winters. Honey face masks can be used to increase the water content and prevent dryness of the skin naturally. Make a fine blend by combining equal portions of unflavoured yogurt and honey together. Smear a layer of the mixture on your face and wash it off with lukewarm water after 15 minutes to get well-nourished skin.

4. Reduces scars and pigmentation

Certain nutrients and enzymes found in honey are known to help fade skin pigmentation and marks. This is extremely impactful in the treatment of uneven skin tone, skin tanning and blemishes. The antioxidants in honey absorb the impurities from your skin and helps in brightening up your skin complexion. Honey also provides nourishment to your damaged skin cells and aids tissue healing to reduce scarring and hyperpigmentation. Gently massage your skin with a mixture of honey, castor oil and lemon juice to treat pigmented patches of your skin and experience the benefits of honey for face. Using tomato juice and honey together on your face is an effective natural remedy to get rid of sun tan and lighten up your skin tone.

5. Gets rid of wrinkles and open pores

Making sure your skin is always moisturised can be an important step in keeping wrinkles and skin aging signs at bay. Furthermore, clogged skin pores tend to make your skin lose its elasticity, making your pores appear enlarged. The potent antioxidants in raw honey give you a similar effect as that of an anti-wrinkle cream and also helps to tighten your skin. The benefits of honey with milk can be observed in reducing fine lines and age spots. Make a DIY age-defying exfoliating face pack using cinnamon, honey and apple cider vinegar to retain the youthfulness of your skin and reduce open pores. Also, lightly massaging honey after rinsing your face with warm water will help to eliminate facial pores once and for all.

Benefits of Honey for Hair

1. Provides nourishment

Honey provides your hair with essential nutrients that take care of its overall health. Honey being a humectant, acts as a natural conditioner for your tresses and helps to keep the moisture locked in your hair follicles. It also retains the natural oils present in your hair that prevents your strands from turning dry and dull even during monsoon. Applying a hair mask of honey, castor oil and unflavoured yogurt is an excellent remedy to make your hair appear soft, smooth and hydrated. Alternatively, you can add raw honey to any of your regular DIY hair packs to boost its efficacy.

2. Boosts hair growth

The effects of pollution, chemicals and heat on your hair can be a major cause for hair thinning. The rich antioxidant properties in honey are extremely useful in stimulating hair growth as it ensures proper blood circulation in your scalp. Honey contains a number of crucial minerals and vitamins that not only boosts hair growth but revives dormant hair follicles for addition growth. Applying honey to your scalp and hair helps in reducing hair breakage and prevents hair loss. Add honey to warm coconut oil or olive oil and cover all your hair strands with the mixture. This will lead to stronger hair follicles and make your hair shiny and frizz-free.

3. Cleanses and detoxifies scalp

Dirt, pollution and impurities tend to damage your hair and make your scalp feel greasy and itchy. Using hair care products that are filled with toxic chemicals on a regular basis can be detrimental to your hair follicles. Raw honey, on the other hand, possesses all the cleansing properties minus the damaging effects. Give a relaxing detox treatment to your scalp at home using honey and notice how it makes your scalp feel fresh, clean and healthy. Add 2-3 tablespoons of honey to half a cup of warm, filtered water. Massage this diluted honey solution all over your scalp to get rid of impurities and soften your hair strands.

4. Natural remedy for dandruff

Treating dandruff and scalp issues using honey was a common practice in earlier days. Still now there are many, who consider honey as a better option than medical shampoos to eliminate dandruff. Honey acts as an antibacterial and antifungal agent and aids the treatment of seborrheic dermatitis and dandruff. Moreover, it is also known to ease scalp irritation and inflammation and helps to get rid of dead cells from your scalp. Make an anti-dandruff hair mask by mixing three tablespoons of crude form of honey, one tablespoon of organic yogurt and two teaspoons of lemon juice together. Generously apply this mixture onto your scalp and wash off with mild shampoo and water after 2-3 hours. Repeat the process twice a week until your scalp if free from dandruff.

5. Adds natural highlight to your hair

You can create temporary highlights using honey as it gently lightens your hair strands without applying any chemical hair dye. Honey contains an enzyme, called glucose oxidase that produces hydrogen peroxide. This works as a natural bleaching agent to give your hair sun kissed highlights. Prepare a solution by mixing raw honey and fresh lemon juice with water. Spray it on your hair strands that you want to highlight. Rinse off with water after 2-3 hours. Although, the longer the solution stays in contact with your hair, the more intense the result would be.

Benefits of Honey for Health

1. Good for heart health

The best thing about honey is that it is completely fat-free, cholesterol-free, and sodium-free and, at the same time is a great source of vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. This ensures that consuming honey doesn’t increase the risk of heart disorders or high blood pressure. Moreover, honey can prevent the build-up of fat in your arteries as it reduces the high LDL cholesterol levels, cutting down the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Consuming honey instead of sugar lowers the triglyceride levels in your blood and regulates your heart health, especially in diabetic people. The antioxidant compounds in honey ensures proper blood flow to your heart and inhibits the formation of blood clots.

2. Improves immunity

The benefits of honey with milk is directly related to immunity building power, especially in children. The presence of strong antioxidants and antibacterial compounds like flavonoids and methylglyoxal act as a natural immunity booster that helps in preventing day to day health complaints that include cough, throat irritation, allergies, acid reflux, fatigue and nausea. Honey is also known to stimulate the discharge of cytokines, a group of proteins produced by the immune cells. Recent studies tend to introduce a unique concept that is associated with particular probiotic bacteria found among honeybees. These bacteria work to improve the antibiotic immune functions and strengthens your immunity in the long run.

3. Helps in weight management

Honey is a natural alternative to sugar and hence, acts as a healthy source of calories, as well as helps to cut down sugar cravings. The benefits of honey in warm water includes its ability to improve your body’s metabolism. Replacing sucrose with honey in your daily diet prevents weight gain as it can activate hormones that control the appetite. Also, having a spoon of honey before bed at night helps to burn body fat while you are asleep. Although the benefits of honey lemon water in respect to weight management cannot be experienced overnight, but daily consumption will eventually show results.

4. Treats digestive issues

The benefits of honey and garlic when combined together can heal stomach and gastrointestinal disorders such as constipation, diarrhoea, abdominal bloating and ulcers. Having this mixture every morning ensures proper digestion and detoxifies your body. Honey alone has powerful antioxidant and antimicrobial elements in it that helps to reduce the damaging effects of mycotoxins and treat various acid-induced gastric complaints. The benefits of honey lemon water in cleansing the colon and flushing out undigested food and other toxic substances from the body is excellent as it maintains the proper functioning of your digestive tract and gut.

5. Soothes burns and wounds

Honey was a crucial ingredient in conventionally treating cuts, chronic wounds and burns because it is naturally sterile and disinfects wounds and sores from major species of bacteria. In case of any skin injury, the antibacterial, antifungal and antioxidant characteristics in honey tend to destroy the bacteria that can infect and penetrate into your body through the wound. It also works great to treat minor burns and prevents the area from scarring due to its anti-inflammatory and healing powers. This natural antibiotic works both when consumed internally and applied externally. Washing the affected area with water and applying a layer of raw organic honey can soothe your skin and effectively help in recovery.

Also read: 10 Benefits and Uses of Honey for Face & Skin Care