LEWIS COUNTY BEEKEEPERS' ASSOCIATION                                                          

Click here for toner & lotion recipes that use honey ~ or scroll down to read the text:

Beauty Recipes That Use Honey

By Jamie Allwine

Cucumber-Honey Toner:

Puree 1 cucumber in a blender and drain away the liquid. Add 2 teaspoons of honey and mix. Apply on the face and neck area with a cotton pad. Air dry it and rinse clean.

Honey-Apple Toner:

In a blender or food processor, combine 1 peeled, cored apple with a tablespoon of honey and pulse until smooth. Apply mixture to face and allow it to stay for 15 minutes, then rinse.

Honey-Oats Face Scrub:

Combine 1 tablespoon honey, 1 tablespoon finely-ground almonds, 2 tablespoons dry oatmeal, and some lemon juice or yogurt to a luxurious and exfoliating facial scrub. Massage mixture gently onto face, then rinse with warm water.

Gentle Honey Cleanser:

 Mix 1⁄4 cup honey, 1 tablespoon liquid soap and 1⁄2 cup glycerin (found in drug stores). Apply gently on to face using a face sponge. Rinse with warm water and pat face dry.

Hot Honey Bath:

 Perhaps the easiest beauty recipe related to honey and skin care -- Add 1/4 cup of honey to your hot bath water for silky and luscious skin.

Honey Hair Conditioning Treatment:

For lustrous, silky, healthy hair and scalp, simply combine 1/2 cup honey and 2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup olive oil. Massage scalp with this conditioner, then put on a shower cap for 30 minutes. Shampoo and rinse as usual. 

Below, Jamie's soap recipe (see right hand column in action at Dec. 2010 LCBA workshop:

Click here to learn how to make soap with milk & honey ~ or scroll down to read the text:

Milk & Honey Soap Recipe

By Jamie Allwine

48 oz. olive oil (preferably pomace)

18 oz. goat milk

6 oz. lye

2 Tablespoons Honey

Equipment needed: stainless steel bowl & cooking pot, pyrex measuring cup for lye, scale, thermometer, and stainless steel spoons or silicon spatulas.

Take frozen milk out of the freezer for about 30 minutes to partially thaw (soften).

Heat oil to 90 degrees F.

Using an ice pick, break froze chunk of milk into smaller chunks.  I usually mash so milk is still frozen but approaches a “mushy” sate.

Add lye to milk and stir continuously until dissolved.  I use a stainless steel bowl.  Lye, in its raw state is corrosive nature.  Be careful not to splatter it on skin, countertops, etc. 

Gradually add the dissolved milk/lye solution to the oil.  Both should be near 90 degrees.  Stir continuously until the soap lightly “traces”.  To test for trace, dip a spatula or spoon into the mix and dribble a bit back into the bowl. If it leaves a little "trace" behind, you're there. Once your soap "traces", the mixture will not separate into the original oils and lye-water.  At this point, you no longer have lye, liquid and oil—the mixture has saponified or become soap.  At this point, add honey and stir thoroughly.

Pour the mixture into molds.  You can use specialty molds, or simply line a cardboard box with sheets of garbage bags, fitted tightly.

Allow to sit for 24-48 hours—longer for larger molds.

Remove from molds.  Let the soap cure or harden for 2-3 weeks before using.  There may be a light layer of ash on the exposed surfaces of the soap.  This doesn’t hurt the soap, but you can trim it off if you’d like.

Note:  if you prefer to use water rather than goat milk, combine the two the night before.   Be VERY careful.  There will be fumes and the mixture will immediately heat up to nearly 200 degrees.  I use a large canning jar and set the mixture aside.  I allow it to cool overnight.  When you are ready to make your soap, place the water/lye solution in a sink of warm water to raise the temperature to 90 degrees.  Proceed as with the goat milk soap above.