A month ago I made the switch from store bought skincare to honey.
Over a month ago, I became obsessed with zero-waste lifestyles.
I watched video after video about young women just like me swapping for natural and conscious products. I found out about DIYs that could save on a lot of plastic packaging and potentially help my skin in the long term.
I didn’t just swap my glossier milky jelly cleanser for honey because of environmental reasons, I also did it because of value for money.
For as long as I have had skin problems, I have been using creams, cleansers and toners that claim to fix my skin. I’ve bought miracle oils, serums, elixirs, and gels.
But nothing seemed to solve my acne, or combination skin. My face was still dry in places and prone to acne on my chin.
I thought that the only way to get great skin was either to be extremely wealthy or extreme beauty regimens.
My attitude changed when I worked at Lush
I worked at Lush a couple of years ago and it was one of the handful of retail jobs I have ever worked. It was an experience I can say that! What many people don’t know is that Lush employees need to learn so much product knowledge. You need to know: the products, the ingredients, the properties of the ingredients used, and where those ingredients came from.
Lush employees have extensive training about how different ingredients work for different skin needs.
It was through this training that I started to look at my skincare differently. I began to understand that certain ingredients, while temporarily fixing problems, were not helping my skin. I finally started a three-step skincare regimen — cleanser, toner and moisturiser.
I began to evaluate my skin for oiliness, dryness, acne, redness, and skin pigmentation. I knew that using things like shea butter on my oily skin was not going to solve the problem. I knew that using tea tree in a product regularly would help prevent acne and is antibacterial.
I swapped my routine of acne-preventing cheap cleansers for a simple cleanser which didn’t strip my skin of oils, the tea tree toner from Lush and the Bare Minerals Complexion Rescue Defence as a moisturiser (probably not the best moisturiser but hey, I don’t like a heavy moisturiser).
Why honey?
As I said, I did indeed change to honey as a cleanser after my zero-waste lifestyle obsession. A lot of people praised honey for not only being affordable (the one I use is only £1.25 or $1.62) but better for your skin. Instead of cleaning your face with loads of different chemicals and ingredients, you could just use honey.
Honey has healing properties, and is antimicrobial.
Honey also has anti-inflammatory properties, and is an humectant — meaning simply honey helps keep moisture on your skin. It helps fight acne due to its low pH which means that bacteria struggles to survive in it.
Sensitive skin doesn’t need harsh cleansers, or strong ingredients. It needs healing and soft cleansing. My skin was definitely sensitive so I was willing to give honey a try.
What honey is best?
Many people online say that raw, unfiltered honey is best. Some say Manuka is best. I have been using supermarket own brand’s honey but once this jar is empty I will be changing to a raw, unfiltered type despite the potential increase in price.
Raw, unfiltered honey is probably the best to use. According to different sources, the raw kind has the strongest medicinal properties and this is because regular honey (or the honey I use) may have been heated during the processing which decreases the honey’s enzymatic properties.
While I wouldn’t pay for Manuka because I have seen it range from $10 to $30, I would recommend using the raw kind.
My experience using honey
I have been using the store-brand honey for at least a month and I have got to say that I like it. My skin feels softer, less dried out and looks less red. I have washed my face with honey every morning and afterwards felt that the need for moisturiser was minimal.
My face is less prone to non-hormonal spots. The pores on my nose seem smaller and less prone to blocking.
I didn’t have terrible skin to start with but I knew that my face wasn’t having the best time with my past routine. With the use of honey, my skin doesn’t feel under-cleaned or over-cleaned. Like Goldilocks says, it’s just right.
My skin has reacted better to honey than it has any other facial cleanser that I have tried and that includes natural ones from Lush.
The Environmental Cost of Skincare
I’ve written before about plastic pollution. Since that piece, I have started to make more educated choices about my waste. Now I’m not by any means a pro at living zero-waste but I have started to incorporate aspects of the approach into my life. I now carry metal straws and a reusable coffee cup when I go out to my local city.
When I started to think about it, the real thing that was so wasteful was my skincare and makeup. I no longer use a lot of makeup except maybe two or three items regularly but I can’t go a day without some form of skincare.
I was going through moisturisers, toners and cleansers monthly — it was starting to really irritate me that brands were not making it easy to reduce my plastic waste.
There is so much plastic being used for makeup and skincare that it is scary.
There are other ways to package your products that doesn’t have to cost the environment. It could also save money in the long run if you think of most environmentally friendly methods. Businesses could start their own recycling schemes and re-use old jars for new products. Of course, I’m not a business owner so I wouldn’t know what goes into that side of things but surely there is some hygienic way to make recycling and glass more business-friendly.
My choice to move to honey was partly driven by wanting to have a low-waste product incorporated into my skincare routine. The honey I currently use comes in a glass jar and is more environmentally friendly because of this. Glass jars require less energy, and chemicals to create. Glass jars can also be reused safely and glass takes less energy than plastic to recycle.
Honey isn’t always best
While honey has worked for me and others, it may not work for you. If you suffer from any form of skincare condition, I would chat to your doctor or dermatologist first before making a change. They will know what is best for you to try.
Honey has helped me save money, and take care of my skin in a more natural way but it won’t work for everyone.
But give it a try and you might be pleasantly surprised.
