5 DIY Beauty Recipes You Can Make with Honey

We’ve always taken honey in our tea and our oatmeal, but it took us a while to figure out what a beauty powerhouse it actually is. Honey is a natural antiseptic, as well as a humectant, which means it traps the moisture into your skin and hair, so it hydrates while fighting bacteria. Pretty cool, right? Full disclosure: It can be a little slimy to handle, but hey, we’ll accept it. These 5 easy recipes, all starring honey, will help to ease your every hair and skin woe, from dryness to acne. Who knew?

Photo by Tiffany Hagler-Geard; Graphic Design by Rolando Robinson

Hydrating Hair Mask

Ingredients:
1 ripe avocado, half
2 tablespoons of coconut oil
1 teaspoon of honey

A good deep conditioning mask is necessary for every hair type from time to time, and these powerfully nourishing natural ingredients tend to have far more benefits than your average fancy product. The healthy fats in avocado and coconut deeply hydrate the hair, while the humectant properties of honey help your hair to retain moisture. Place your liquefied coconut oil in a bowl with the honey and microwave for about 20 seconds, then mix the two together with a spoon. Add your avocado (use a fork to mash it!) and blend until the three ingredients are combined smoothly. You can place the bowl into the microwave for a few more seconds to keep the mixture warm, which helps to penetrate the hair follicle. Coat your hair from the ends all the way up to your scalp and let sit as long as you can stand, for at least 30 minutes, then shampoo out.

Photo by Tiffany Hagler-Geard; Graphic Design by Rolando Robinson

Blemish-Fighting Face Mask

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of nutmeg
2 tablespoons of honey
1/2 teaspoon of lemon

It can be hard to find a DIY face mask that fights acne yet isn’t drying, but this one sure fits the bill. Honey fights bacteria naturally while helping the skin to retain moisture, cinnamon acts as an antiseptic and gentle drying agent (and encourages better blood flow to the skin), and the finely milled texture of nutmeg combined withlemon exfoliates even the most sensitive skin without irritating. Blend the mixture in a bowl, then apply it to your skin for as long as desired.

Photo by Tiffany Hagler-Geard; Graphic Design by Rolando Robinson

Split End Treatment

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon coconut oil

Putting egg yolk in your hair—or anywhere on your body, really—sounds fundamentally gross, but egg yolks are packed with protein, which makes them perfect for adding strength and shine to compromised strands, especially when it comes to frazzled ends. Add your ingredients to a bowl and use a whisk to blend, then go ahead and apply the mixture from the mid-lengths down (it’s a little too heavy to put on your roots, and may weigh down the hair), ensuring that you really work the ingredients into your ends to saturate them. Leave the treatment on for 20 minutes to an hour, then use lukewarm water in the shower to shampoo and condition as normal.

Photo by Tiffany Hagler-Geard; Graphic Design by Rolando Robinson

Foaming Bath Soap

Ingredients:
1 cup sweet almond oil
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup liquid hand soap
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Even if DIY isn’t exactly your niche, this super easy recipe is totally doable, and makes a great gift—consider it “semi-homemade.” Mix the oil, honey, and vanilla extracts into a bowl together, ideally using a whisk, before adding your liquid hand soap. (Our pick is Dr. Bronner’s Unscented Baby-Mild Castile Liquid Soap, as it’s fragrance-free and formulated with olive oil.) Once they’re fully blended, you can funnel them into a bottle or mason jar for future use, or go right ahead and pour it under running water in your next bath. Soaking in warm water can be incredibly drying, but the hydrating oil and honey in this recipe will undo the damage.

Photo by Tiffany Hagler-Geard; Graphic Design by Rolando Robinson

Soothing Face Mask

Ingredients:
1/2 cup of oatmeal
1/2 cup of milk
1 tablespoon of honey

This simple, straightforward recipe is one of our favorites, as it’s naturally soothing, gently exfoliating, and easy to make with ingredients you already have in your kitchen. Simply cook your oatmeal, and while it’s still warm, gently stir in the milk. Add in the tablespoon of honey and smooth onto your face. This treatment is ideal for dry or easily irritated skin, but thanks to the antibacterial properties in honey, it makes a great treat for oily and acne-prone skin as well.