I Put Honey on My Face and it Drastically Cleared My Skin

As a beauty expert and lifestyle writer, I’m pretty much game to trying anything whether it be a new innovative skincare product, an on-trend lipstick shade, or a DIY treatment. But as open as I might be, my super sensitive skin doesn’t always respond well to certain ingredients. I recently tried a retinol serum designed to fade away post-acne dark spots, that caused my skin to breakout into red bumps and pesky pimples. I literally looked like I had hives all over my face.

Photo: Courtesy of Johanna Ferreira

Fortunately (and unfortunately) this wasn’t the first time this had happened to me. I experienced a very similar reaction a year ago after receiving a brightening facial, that left my skin red, raw, and full of little bumps. I realized this time around that my skin probably can’t handle retinols or products with vitamin A or aggressive acids. Lesson finally learned, right?

I had learned from my previous experience, that no dermatologist appointment or drugstore “miracle” product was going to save my skin. So instead of spending a crap load of money, I grabbed the cute and sticky plastic bear in my kitchen cupboard.

That’s right, I went in for the honey because I remembered it being the only thing that brought me relief last time. I slathered honey all over my face and left it on at night for about 4-5 hours. By the next day most of the redness was gone. I kid you not.

Photo: Courtesy of Johanna Ferreira

I did it again the following day, and by the day after the redness and bumps were completely gone. The only thing I still had were three small and very annoying pimples on my chin but that was it! I did the honey mask everyday until the pimples cleared up. My cheeks are now miraculously clear and the only thing I have to worry about are the three little dark spots on my chin that remain post-acne breakout.

Honestly, honey did more for my acne and irritated skin in a matter of days than any benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid acne treatment ever has and apparently I’m not the only one out there singing honey’s skincare praises.

A woman on Reddit recently shared before and after pictures of how she was able to cure her skin from facial seborrheic – also known as dermatitis – using a raw honey mask only.

But wait, before you call BS on all this, it might interest you to know that there’s actually some science behind all of this. One study in the journal of Antibacterial Chemotherapy showed that honey (in concentrations between 2.5 percent and 5 percent is effective in fighting against harmful bacterias like staphylococci, that can cause skin reactions like dermatitis or irritation.

Another study that was published in the National Center for Biotechnology showed that “30/30 patients had their condition disappear after using a raw honey mask for three hours every other night.”

I didn’t use raw honey because I had regular honey already in my apartment and was too self-conscious to leave my house with all that redness on my face. But I probably would have seen quicker results had I opted for raw organic honey.

Photo: Courtesy of Johanna Ferreira

“Most popular brands of honey are treated in some way, by heating or adding, for example, Annie Chiu, a dermatologist in North Redondo Beach, California told Allure. “These processed honeys are very unlikely to work [in treating acne] because the antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties are destroyed in the processing. It’s best to find an all-natural, raw, unprocessed, and unheated honey with no added ingredients, ideally from organic hives that have not been treated with chemicals or antibiotics.”

Lucky for me, the processed honey still did the job but it’s definitely better to go for a raw, organic, and unprocessed option. And like with everything in life that’s medical or health related, I can’t guarantee that honey will give you the same kind of miraculous results it’s given me or others – but it’s certainly worth a shot. If it doesn’t actually clear your breakouts – it’s guaranteed to at least calm your angry skin and that alone is probably worth it.