How Sweet it is: Honey Challenge and other news

I have been washing my face with raw honey now for two whole weeks. Take a short stroll with me down memory lane, will you?
Here is my before picture:

honey challange

Let’s review the issues, shall we:

  • Uneven skin tone (redness)
  • Larger than I’d like pores along bridge of nose
  • Wrinkles and acne
  • Poor lighting in my bathroom
  • Inability to look you in the eye
  • Creepy looking wet hair

Get ready to take a look at my after photo.
Are you as excited as I am?
Really? Nothing better to do today, huh?

honey challenge final
It’s amazing, but honey* seems to have addressed all of my issues:

  • Improved tone and coloring
  • Reduced pores (and fewer blackheads)
  • Wrinkles are still there, but I don’t mind them. The acne on the other hand? Going, going, gone! (Except for the rapidly fading red marks that were left behind.)
  • Increased brain function (I had the idea to move to the other bathroom, where the lighting is better.)
  • Greater confidence (in my ability to take a photo of myself – look out facebook!)
  • Nicer looking, blow-dried and brushed hair.

Hurray for honey. I wish I could hug a bee.
Are you ready to give this honey thing a try? Here are some reasons why it works so well, courtesy of Crunchy Betty.

    1. It is antibacterial and antimicrobial. It will get off any lingering nastiness that’s thinking about setting up camp on your face and creating pimples.
    2. It is slightly drying which means it helps soak up any pimples or oiliness.
    3. It is also incredibly moisturizing. Seems like a double standard, doesn’t it? But it’s true. Honey sinks into your skin and moisturizes like you wouldn’t believe. (Remember Cleopatra and her honey baths to look young?)
    4. It imparts all kinds of beneficial enzymes that work at scrubbing your face for you, as well as perform a little anti-aging action.
    5. It’s great for acne, aging skin, normal skin, dry skin … honey loves EVERY SKIN TYPE.
    6. It is healing and helps repair acneic sores and scars.
    7. It’s 100%, absolutely, positively natural, great for your skin, and such a SIMPLE addition to your routine!

One more reason, courtesy of me – I threw all of these in the garbage today:
honey challenge
They have been replaced with these:
Honey Challenge
The honey you already know about.
Edited to add: Ok, maybe you don’t all know. Sorry! Washing with honey is really easy. Just pull your hair back (hair gets sticky), wet your hands, pour on some honey, rub it together and smooth it on your face. If you have time, you can leave it on for awhile as a mask – if not, just rinse.
Wet hands make it go on really smooth, and it rinses both easily and cleanly. I had a friend over the other day and I made her wash her hands with it to prove how easy it is.
Raw honey is best, but I believe even regular honey will work. Raw means unpasteurized. This is good because the pasteurization process kills some of the beneficial parts of the honey. Your local grocery may carry raw honey (the label must say raw). If they have a natural foods aisle, that’d be good bet. Other than that, check health food stores or farmers markets. It is more expensive than regular honey, but far cheaper than most cleansers.
Check out these Crunchy Betty posts for more info:
Honey Challenge
Honey Guide
End edit.

I mix a pinch of baking soda in with my honey in the evenings – it’s exfoliating and it removes makeup (though I’m not wearing much these days). After rinsing, I follow with an apple cider vinegar toner (moisten the edge of my washcloth with water and add a few drops of ACV).
Maybe I should hug a bee, an apple, and a… baker? A, um… soda?

Other news
I spent Saturday on the golf course, helping Walt. He put on a charity tournament to benefit two of our local police departments. I pretended to know what was going on while I answered questions about shotguns starts and four person scrambles. All the while I was thinking, all I really know about golf is this: Try to get your ball past the windmill blades and into the clown’s mouth.
Two more things about the tournament:

  1. I never drove a cart before today. Neither had Newt, but we both thought it was fun.  Anyone want to buy us one to play with?
  2. Did you ever have a friend that was willing to put all of her plans on hold and come help you with something? Even when you didn’t ask? I have one of those. Thanks again, Michelle.

Earlier this week –
Me: Newt, you’re so smart. I’ve decided to keep you.
Newt: That’s good, since it’s too late to get your money back.
I love that kid.

I may or may not be hosting a fun little giveaway here tomorrow.
Is the air of mystery intriguing?

*The author denies making any claim on the effectiveness of honey on the following: bathroom lighting, photography skills, and/or the foresight to dry and brush one’s hair before engaging in portrait taking.

11 Comments

  1. You look great! This is something that I’ve considered trying because I’m allergic to so many things! Thanks for the tips.

    Reply
    • Thank you!
      Try it. I think you’ll like the results.

      Reply
  2. The whole time I was reading through this, I was assuming honey was a product name, or code word for some homemade concoction… But nope, just honey huh? I’m intrigued! I must try it!
    Also – your post made me giggle several times. 🙂

    Reply
    • Hee. Nope just local raw honey. Thanks for the compliment. Now i want to hug you, too. Did things just get awkward? Shoot…

      Reply
  3. Your skin looks great! I haven’t tried it with the baking soda or ACV, but maybe I will.

    Reply
    • Thanks! My skin feels great too. I don’t think it has been this good since I hit puberty. 🙂
      I really like the exfoliating properties of the baking soda, but apparently is changes your skins PH a bit. ACV balances it back out.

      Reply
  4. Okay, your blog is hysterical! I love the disclaimer at the end! I’m also very interested in this honey idea – never heard of it. But…the entire time I was reading through the blog, I was secretly hoping you’d explain how to cleanse your face with honey. I picture a gooey mess on my fingertips, slapping it on my face and rubbing, then rinsing – sort of…does honey rinse? – it off my face. Am I picturing this correctly?? Do I massage it in? Is it sticky? Is RAW honey different than what I find on the store shelves….ahhhhh, I’m getting overwhelmed. HELP!

    Reply
    • I’m so glad you left this comment! I edited my post to answer your questions. Have a great weekend!

      Reply
  5. Great natural skincare tips! Thanks for sharing with Healthy 2day Wednesdays! Hope you’ll participate this week!

    Reply
  6. I dye my hair. Baking soda & acv are no good. Too dry & strip colour. I cannot find any no poo suggestions on the web for dyed hair. Any suggestions?

    Reply
    • I wish I had a good suggestion. I color my hair too, but just do it more often.
      I have considered trying Castille Soap instead of baking soda. If I do, I’ll report how it goes.

      Reply

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