If winter has your skin feeling dry, tight, dull and tired, here's something you've got to try!
Morning honey masking can do wonders for improving skin hydration! Why?
- Honey is a humectant. That means honey draws in water from the environment, and then binds to that water and keeps it in your skin. Water in skin = HYDRATED SKIN.
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Honey is enzyme-rich. The enzyme and sugar content in honey lends itself to deep moisturizing and gentle exfoliation.
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Honey is oil-free. Don't get me wrong - WE LOVE OIL. Your skin NEEDS oil. But it also needs water and humectants, and oil is neither. Your skin needs a balance of ingredients from nature, and honey delivers great results.
- BONUS: Honey is self-preserving. Honey doesn't require any preservatives to keep it shelf-stable, and it doesn't require surfactants or emulsifiers to make it an effective cleanser. It's a simple ingredient that WORKS. It won't irritate skin, disrupt skin balance, or worse, negatively effect your health.
Morning is an ideal time to honey mask.
I often preach about the wonders of not washing your face in the morning. This is especially true if you're using a traditional, soapy or foamy cleanser. It can be overly drying and lead to skin that feels tight and dehydrated, lacking bounce and plumpness and all that jazz.
I believe that nightly oil cleansing is the ideal way to cleanse your skin for lasting moisture, gentle treatment of the skin, and lasting radiance. But that's another blog post for another time.
With it's gentle exfoliating nature and super-hydrating properties, honey is a great way to get your skin feeling clean and glowy in the morning. So let's get you started!
The Official Guide to Honey Masking
The Honey: raw honey is what you want. Conventional honey is heated to the point that most of the enzymes are destroyed. Want to kick it up a notch? Manuka Honey is even more enzyme-rich and is slightly probiotic, meaning it will feed your skin microbiome, strengthening overall skin health.
The Ritual:
- Begin by gently wiping face clean with a warm, wet washcloth. No cleanser.
- Apply 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp honey while skin is still damp.
- Leave on for 10-15 minutes. Make coffee, feed the kids, etc.
- Rinse off with warm water. It should easily rinse clean.
- While skin is still damp, apply your favorite Skin Tonic and Facial Oil.
- Now you've got hydration locked in, your skin is nourished, and you're ready to take on the day!