Do you realize that honey can also be used as a moisturizer? Well, you do not buy a jar of honey and start applying it directly to your skin. Honey is processed to extract some of its essential substances and used as ingredients in your skin moisturizers.
Honey has been used since time immemorial
For centuries, honey has been used widely both as a food component and as a medicinal treatment. A Mesolithic painting found in caves in Valencia, Spain, suggests that honey was already collected as early as 10,000 years ago. Ancient people were using honey as sweeteners for their drinks and pastries. The ancient Egyptians were also known to use honey as a major component in embalming their dead pharaohs.
Honey is a complex and natural animal by-product, produced mainly by bees using nectars gathered from various flowers. It is processed usually in their honeycombs, although more modern bee honey cultivation no longer relies on the naturally occurring honeycombs. Many bee honey farms now use various equipment and structures that efficiently allow increased honey production.
Some people doubt if honey could truly be used as a skin moisturizer. Remember, though, that honey is considered by many nutritionists as a natural food. Subsequent clinical tests have also revealed that honey is an abundant source of micronutrients and other essential substances. Let us find out what we can find in honey.
What essential ingredients can you find in honey?
Honey is composed of at least 38% fructose. It also contains substantial amounts of glucose and other complex carbohydrates. These are essential in the growth of newer cells. These complex carbohydrates provide fuel for cellular metabolisms and other activities.
Although it has been used by ancient people as a topical treatment for various skin conditions, it is only now that these healing potentials of honey have been confirmed. Recent laboratory tests prove that honey contains some trace amounts of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients known for their anti-bacterial and anti-oxidant properties.
Manuka Honey
However, there is one type of honey that so far contains the highest concentration of these essential trace elements. In New Zealand, a special type of honey is produced by bees feeding on Manuka plant. Manuka is a flowering bush native only to New Zealand. The bees that feed on their pollen grains produce a distinctive honey, also called as Manuka honey.
Manuka honey has been shown to contain the highest amount of anti-oxidants, compared to other honey varieties. It is rich in anti-oxidants, such as chrysin, pinobanksin, vitamin C, catalase and pinocembrin. Together, these natural compounds fight the free radicals inside the body.
If you previously read other articles about skin rejuvenation, you probably know that collagen is essential in keeping your skin look younger. Collagen is a protein naturally produced by the body, although this inherent ability is weakened because of many factors, including aging, toxins, free radicals and many others. In order for the body to speed up its collagen production line, it should have the ideal environment to get the body machines start moving.
Anti-oxidants play a key role in providing a critically important condition for optimal regeneration of collagen beneath your skin. This is where Manuka honey comes in. So next time you buy your new moisturizer be sure that it contains natural extracts from Manuka honey.
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