Since the beginning of time, honey has been a source of pleasure and enjoyment: it is a traditional ingredient. Gift from nature, that has long been used to treat and care for your skin. Its medicinal virtues are now increasingly recognized and exploited.
What is honey?
Honey is a sugary substance made from flower nectar by bees. Honey can take on different colours: amber, golden or clear, and exists in many varieties. 10 to 15 kilos can be harvested annually from a single beehive. Honey can be considered as monofloral or multifloral depending on whether it has been produced from a single or a number of flower species.
The average composition of honey is:
- 20% flower water
- 75 to 79% sugar, 70% of which is simple sugar and the rest is composite sugar
- 1 to 5% protein, mineral salts, trace elements, organic acids (including formic acid), essential aromatic substances, antibiotic substances (inhibine), pollen grains and pigments.
Honey is a living product, involving over 180 different nutritive elements.
What are the dermocosmetic properties of honey?
Honey has moisturizing, nourishing, repairing, soothing, antiseptic and anti-oxidizing properties.
Thanks to the diligent work of the bees during its production our skin perfectly absorbs the nutritive elements present in honey. It thus effectively repairs our skin and provides the nourishment it needs.
The rich nutrients contained in honey (group B vitamins, amino acids, minerals and trace elements) deeply nourish the epidermis and accelerate repair: it is perfect for treating eczema, skin crevices, burns and all types of skin lesions. Even if its medical use is quite recent, medical professionals and researchers have proved its dermatological properties.
Dr Descotte (head doctor of the digestive surgery and transplant service of the Limoges CHU, and founder of the Association Francophone de l’Apithérapie) has proven the anti-bacterial and repairing properties of honey in a research program involving over 3,000 patients. Beneficial effects were observed in over 97% of these patients.
Who can benefit from honey?
Honey is compatible with all skin types: normal, dry, mixed and oily. Honey nourishes dry skin and regulates the production of sebum in mixed and oily skin types. It is also an excellent friend to “difficult” skin types (acne, blemishes, etc.) thanks to its antiseptic and repairing properties.
Honey also treats ageing skin by protecting it from the damage caused by ultra-violet rays and providing it with everything it needs to cope with deficits.
It also serves to assist the transport of other principal active ingredients: when associated with it, the organic extracts in care products are absorbed more efficiently.
Honey: the essential ingredient of our Bee Nature products
Honey is the most common ingredient in our care products. It has many properties that are beneficial to the skin:
- Moisturizing: its high sugar content assists the fixing of water molecules
Soothing, calming and anti-irritant - Nourishing, regenerating and repairing: being rich in mineral salts, trace elements, B vitamins and amino acids, it deeply nourishes the epidermis and accelerates repair. Its 180 nutritive elements provide what our skin needs to be balanced.
- Sebum-regulator: it regulates the production of sebum
- Antiseptic: its low protein content stops the proliferation of bacteria. In addition to this, some of its ingredients (inhibine) slow down bacterial proliferation.
- Anti-oxidizing: it protects from the damage caused by ultra-violet rays and prevents skin ageing.
Honey’s beneficial properties for the face:
- Deeply moisturizes and nourishes the skin: the skin is thus hydrated and reinvigorated
- Sebum-regulator: it regulates the production of sebum in mixed and oily skin types
- Antiseptic and repairing action: ideal for “difficult” skins (acne, etc.)
- Anti-oxidizing: it protects from the damage caused by ultra-violet rays and prevents skin ageing.
Honey’s beneficial properties for hair:
- Moisturizes and repairs the capillary fibre.
- Sebum-regulator: allowing for less regular shampooing
- Nourishes and cleans the scalp thanks to the mineral salts, trace elements, vitamins and amino acids it contains and its antiseptic properties.
- Increases volume and shine.
- Has a subtle clarifying effect on light coloured hair.
Bee Nature honey
- To respect the biology and the natural behaviors of the insect
- To feel responsible for the bees
- Respect the ethics of fair exchange: honey belongs to the bees and not to the beekeeper who only provides the hive.
- Preserve its environment by protecting biodiversity, forests, honey-bearing and nectariferous plants. This biodiversity is the main source of pollen and nectar reserves for bees.
