Questions about honey
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free skin care · Sun Mar 04, 2007 2:24 pm

I want to add honey to my DIY creations. I know that manuka honey is very popular for skin preparations, but will other kinds yield similar results? My SO has a jar of cold-filtered "Water White" honey from St. Benedicts' Monastery in Snowmass, Colorado. I want to use it on my face so bad, but he has left it exposed to light for quite some time - will it still be o.k.? I know this is kind of a strange question, but if anyone knows, it will be you all Smile

. TIA

free skin care · Sun Mar 04, 2007 3:11 pm

TO my understanding honey is the only natural product that doesn't go bad. But - I could be wrong too, lol. Here are a few links to honey sites (I am not endorsing any of them, they merely provided info I was looking for).

http://www.johnstonhoney.com/faq.asp?cat=Honey
http://www.glorybee.com/glorybeehoney/HoneyFacts.html
http://www.adeehoneyfarms.com/Tips.htm

free skin care · Sun Mar 04, 2007 3:13 pm

Candy8865 wrote:

TO my understanding honey is the only natural product that doesn't go bad. But - I could be wrong too, lol. Here are a few links to honey sites (I am not endorsing any of them, they merely provided info I was looking for).

http://www.johnstonhoney.com/faq.asp?cat=Honey
http://www.glorybee.com/glorybeehoney/HoneyFacts.html
http://www.adeehoneyfarms.com/Tips.htm

Ive heard this too, something about bacteria not being able to grow in it.

free skin care · Sun Mar 04, 2007 5:49 pm

I got Manuka honey. I heard white honey is really good since it is made for the queen bee. Smile

free skin care · Sun Mar 04, 2007 7:17 pm

Is white honey another term for royal jelly?

Honey does have the potential to last possibly forever. I am not sure the effect sunlight has on it. perhaps try a patch test?

free skin care · Sun Mar 04, 2007 7:19 pm

honey has a high sugar content so it does not go "off" but as for anti bacterial properties, I think you must get "active" honey to have such effects, but honey does contain natural enzymes which may contribute to the anti bacterial activity.

free skin care · Mon Mar 05, 2007 6:25 am

Thanks for your replies. I had no idea white honey comes from the queen bee. The kind I was going to use is super thick (basically solid, really). I can't wait to make something w/ it.

free skin care · Tue Mar 06, 2007 12:43 am

Hi Bunny,

I don't think white honey comes from the queen bee. i think it just refers to a kind of honey that is light in color. From what I have read, bees that gather clover and alfalfa produce white honey.

Royal jelly on the other hand, is the substance exlcusively fed to a larvae that is destined to become the queen bee.

Quote:

Royal jelly, which is sometimes called bee's milk, is a thick creamy liquid secreted by special glands in young worker bees who serve as "nurses" to the hive.

All bee larvae are fed a small amount of royal jelly mixed with honey for the first three days of their lives. Starting on day four, however, most of the bees are weaned from this diet and develop into worker bees. But one bee, hatched from an egg identical to the rest, is fed exclusively on royal jelly. That bee becomes the queen. She will grow, on average, 40% larger than her fellow bees, perhaps 50% heavier, and live up to 40 or 50 times as long. And all the while, she will be producing enormous numbers of eggs, equal to more than twice her own body weight, every single day.

This phenomenon has led numerous researchers and practitioners to explore both the chemical composition and the potential therapeutic uses of royal jelly, particularly over the last several decades. Among other things, the complex substance has been found to be rich in amino acids (including the eight essential to human life), essential fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, RNA, DNA, and many other elements of clinically proven usefulness. Other compounds in royal jelly have yet to be identified.

http://www.answers.com/topic/royal-jelly

Just thought i would clarify since I had initially thought white honey was another term for royal jelly.

Kristen

free skin care · Tue Mar 06, 2007 12:55 am

Bunny7475,
White honey is another term for royal honey. It doesn't come from the queen bees, but are made from the worker bees for the queen bees to eat. Smile

free skin care · Tue Mar 06, 2007 1:27 am

Hi Lisa,

I am confused. I can't seem to find a source saying that white honey is another term for royal jelly? Can you direct me to any information on that? I am pretty sure royal jelly isn't called white honey and that they are in fact, different.

Kristen

free skin care · Tue Mar 06, 2007 10:37 pm

I just tried honey. Mixed it with my lemon peel bioferment (which is really hard, hard lemonade). I put it on my clean, wet face for about twenty minutes while soaking in the tub and put warm wash cloth over it. It got my blood circulating and felt good. Then I washed it off with water. I did the same thing the night. It was nice.

The only problem is that I didn't wash it off before the honey dried (?) because I had submicrscopic balls of it stuck on the down on my face. LOL I've been pulling them off one at a time ever since.

Otherwise, go for it. It feels great.

free skin care · Tue Mar 06, 2007 11:13 pm

skincareaddicted wrote:

Hi Lisa,

I am confused. I can't seem to find a source saying that white honey is another term for royal jelly? Can you direct me to any information on that? I am pretty sure royal jelly isn't called white honey and that they are in fact, different.

Kristen

Sorry for my mistake. I thought it was called white honey too because royal jelly honey is really white in color. I just found out that white honey is a tropical honey.

free skin care · Wed Mar 07, 2007 1:14 am

Hi Lisa,

your mistake is a delicious one. I also ran into those hawaiian white honey sites Smile

. Think I will be trying some.

Kristen

free skin care · Wed Mar 07, 2007 1:15 am

chinachatters--what is hard hard lemonade? does it have anything to do with kefir?

Kristen

chinachatters wrote:

I just tried honey. Mixed it with my lemon peel bioferment (which is really hard, hard lemonade). I put it on my clean, wet face for about twenty minutes while soaking in the tub and put warm wash cloth over it. It got my blood circulating and felt good. Then I washed it off with water. I did the same thing the night. It was nice.

The only problem is that I didn't wash it off before the honey dried (?) because I had submicrscopic balls of it stuck on the down on my face. LOL I've been pulling them off one at a time ever since.

Otherwise, go for it. It feels great.

free skin care · Wed Mar 07, 2007 3:19 am

.. The rare hawaiian white honey does look really yummy! Drool

free skin care · Thu Mar 08, 2007 3:48 pm

mmm i have chesnut, acacia, natural unrefined, and lavendar honey AND agave nectar and now you girls are making me want MORE />

--avalange

p.s. honey is great in many diy preparations, but you have to be careful because in some instances, it can degrade into hydrogen peroxide!

free skin care · Thu Mar 08, 2007 6:06 pm

[quote="skincareaddicted"]chinachatters--what is hard hard lemonade? does it have anything to do with kefir?

Kristen

Yes - I started reading about all the kefir and seaweed experiments and then read about fermenting lemon peels. I figured I could do that with just water. After it sits around for a couple of weeks, it gets hard - like cider gets hard.

Then when I mixed with honey and half 'n half and let it dry on my face it got hard like hard candy. Not that brittle; but I'm still pulling out little wads of it and it's been several days. I do that for a while when I watch Tv, then I use my LightStim.

free skin care · Fri Mar 09, 2007 2:01 am

Dang Avalange, that is a lot of honey, and I thought I was obsessed! Raw, unrefined tastes soooo good. and to think I used to hate the taste of honey!

and what's the thing about it degrading into Hydrogen Peroxide???? Shock

Thank you Chinachatters, i have to try that with my kefir one day.

free skin care · Fri Mar 09, 2007 3:05 am

skincareaddicted wrote:

Dang Avalange, that is a lot of honey, and I thought I was obsessed! Raw, unrefined tastes soooo good. and to think I used to hate the taste of honey!

and what's the thing about it degrading into Hydrogen Peroxide???? Shock

Thank you Chinachatters, i have to try that with my kefir one day.

Hi Kristen!

I know, I know, but I live in Paris right now and all the little artisanal jars are just too cute!

re: peroxide:

Quote:

Hydrogen peroxide

Hydrogen peroxide in honey is activated by dilution. However, unlike medical hydrogen peroxide, commonly 3% by volume, it is present in a concentration of only 1 mmol/l in honey. Iron in honey oxidizes the oxygen free radicals released by the hydrogen peroxide.

glucose + H2O + O2 → gluconic acid + H2O2

When used topically (as, for example, a wound dressing), hydrogen peroxide is produced by dilution with body fluids. As a result, hydrogen peroxide is released slowly and acts as an antiseptic. Unlike 3% medical hydrogen peroxide, this slow release does not cause damage to surrounding tissue.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey

This is why, for example, it's great for using as a rinse on lightened hair. It wouldn't burn you, per se, but you might want to be careful overall. And you might not want to slather even manuka honey all over your skin every day, especially if you have acne prone skin or scarring.

--avalange

free skin care · Sun Mar 18, 2007 7:04 pm

I have sensitive skin and manuka honey didn't work for acne/inflammation. It seemed to make the sore more inflammed.

free skin care · Tue Mar 20, 2007 3:28 am

The sugar in honey might age the skin instead. Consumption is much better as it clears the system and is antibiotic (boosts the immune system).

Be careful of royal jelly if you are allergic to pollen though. Might get a fatal allergic reaction.

free skin care · Tue Mar 20, 2007 8:26 am

chloes wrote:

The sugar in honey might age the skin instead. Consumption is much better as it clears the system and is antibiotic (boosts the immune system).

Be careful of royal jelly if you are allergic to pollen though. Might get a fatal allergic reaction.

Hi chloes,
Do you have any source that can back u up on the claim that the sugar in honey might actually age the skin...instead of moisturizing it. Every time I use a mask with honey, my skin always feel incredibly soften and young looking... Think

free skin care · Thu Mar 22, 2007 3:26 am

Bunny7475 wrote:

My SO has a jar of cold-filtered "Water White" honey from St. Benedicts' Monastery in Snowmass, Colorado. I want to use it on my face so bad, but he has left it exposed to light for quite some time - will it still be o.k.? I know this is kind of a strange question, but if anyone knows, it will be you all Smile

. TIA

The fact that it is "cold filtered" might mean that it isn't heated when processed and therefore has retained it's more beneficial ingredients. So I would say, yes, try using it in your preparations. Also, I don't know if sunlight would affect honey... my guess would be yes. Have you found any info on this yet?

free skin care · Thu Mar 22, 2007 3:28 am

I am also interested in that statement that the sugar in honey can cause aging... where did you learn this, chloes?

skodalady wrote:

I have sensitive skin and manuka honey didn't work for acne/inflammation. It seemed to make the sore more inflammed.

Really? How did you use it and which brand and strength did you use? (Was it active w/ an UMF rating?)

free skin care · Thu Mar 22, 2007 3:39 am

avalange wrote:

re: peroxide:

Quote:

Hydrogen peroxide

Hydrogen peroxide in honey is activated by dilution. However, unlike medical hydrogen peroxide, commonly 3% by volume, it is present in a concentration of only 1 mmol/l in honey. Iron in honey oxidizes the oxygen free radicals released by the hydrogen peroxide.

glucose + H2O + O2 → gluconic acid + H2O2

When used topically (as, for example, a wound dressing), hydrogen peroxide is produced by dilution with body fluids. As a result, hydrogen peroxide is released slowly and acts as an antiseptic. Unlike 3% medical hydrogen peroxide, this slow release does not cause damage to surrounding tissue.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey

This is why, for example, it's great for using as a rinse on lightened hair. It wouldn't burn you, per se, but you might want to be careful overall. And you might not want to slather even manuka honey all over your skin every day, especially if you have acne prone skin or scarring.

--avalange

avalange, if honey's production of hydrogen peroxide is unlike 3% medical hydrogen peroxide, and is slowly released and thus "does not cause damage to surrounding tissue", why would you think one with acne prone skin or scarring shouldn't apply it every day? Just curious on your take on this.

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