The Holy Grail of Honeys - Manuka Honey

My skincare routine is very simple. Usually I use a make-up wipe to take my eye make up off, use a cotton pad with a warm water to cleanse, and that is it. Over the years I found that honestly this is what worked best for me, and I've stuck loyally to it fearing any addition would cause disruption.

However, recently I've been feeling brave and after hearing a lot of hype from the internet about Manuka honey I took the plunge and bought a pot. 

 

Manuka honey has strong antibacterial properties as well as being anti-inflammatory. If you've been considering buying this then you'll know it's not cheap. I paid £16 for a small jar at my local organic supermarket, but you only need to use a small amount at a time so a little goes a long way. If you go to some health stores it can be a little over-whelming as there's a huge selection of different "strengths" which are shown by little plus signs ranging from +5 up to 16+. Most Manuka honey users advise on buying 16+ and also making sure it is 'active' to make sure it is effective. I bought 'Gold' as this has the highest MGA, and therefore the highest anti-bacterial activity.

You can eat and drink Manuka honey for overall health as it is packed full of anti-oxidants and you can also use Manuka Honey on it's own as a cleanser. It's quite exfoliating (something else I'm wary of) so I mixed it with Aloe Vera gel from my Aloe Vera plant to make a mask.

To make the mask, I scooped about a teaspoon full of Manuka honey in to a bowl I then tore a leaf from my Aloe Vera plant (as close to the root as possible so that it can recover, as cutting it kills the leaf). I then sliced the leaf in two with a knife. I used the back of the teaspoon to scrape the gel from the Aloe Vera leaf into the bowl and then mixed them together. I left the mask on for about 15 minutes and then rinsed it off with warm water and gently pat my face dry with a clean towel.

This was a very soothing mask which had a calming effect on my skin. My skin also felt a lot softer. I didn't see any over-whelming 'miracle' results, but I didn't get any reactions either! Apparently the longer you leave this on the better, so I'm going to keep this up at least once a week to see long-term results.