Honey

There are few substances in this world I love as much as honey.  I love honey so much I am seriously considering keeping bees.  I will eat almost anything if you put honey in, on or around it.  I consume honey straws, whipped honey, honey comb, chunk honey, raw honey, crystallized honey... You get the idea.  The nice thing about honey is that while is primarily carbohydrates and water, it also contains small amounts of several vitamins and minerals and has antimicrobial aspects.  So when your mom gave you a spoonful of honey to soothe a sore throat, she was also helping to cure it!  Honey can also be used to dress minor scraps and burns and it is a humectant making it suitable for beauty products.  Since honey is an anti-irritant it can be used for sensitive skin and baby products as well.  There is anecdotal evidence that eating raw honey from your geographic region can help to reduce hayfever by acting as a vaccine to the local allergens.  Think of it like taking allergy shots that taste good.

I obviously love eating and drinking honey, but one of my favorite uses for it is as a beauty product.  I have been known to spend truly inappropriate amounts of money on skin care products and that is one of the first places my frugal habits started.  It is so much more economical to make my own luxury items at home than to pay someone else to make them for me.  Granted I can't replace everything I use with a home made product, but I can certainly do some of them.

I mentioned before that I love long hot baths.  Now with V I take not so long, not so hot baths, but just because I'm sharing the tub with a baby doesn't mean it can't be a beautifying experience.  And since honey can be messy, using it in the bath is ideal. Here are some of my uses for honey as a beauty product. (Disclaimer: I am not a health professional, these are my uses and experiences ONLY.)

• Moisturizer:  Used all by itself, honey is a humectant with anti-irritation and anti-bacterial properties.  Simply smooth on skin (all over is fine) and relax for ten or more minutes.  Rinse off and enjoy very soft skin.  Can be used as a cleanser this way too. 
• Face Mask: For when my skin is really irritated and broken out, I'll pulverize a few tables of vitamin C and blend that with a few teaspoons of honey and a small amount of jojoba oil.  I dab that heavily on my warm water washed face and relax for about ten minutes then rinse.  I always feel incredibly smooth after that. If I don't have vitamin C, ground cinnamon works as well, but can be irritating and doesn't stay on as long.
• Face Scrub: I don't use scrubs very often because I wash my face with a wash cloth and that works very well to gently exfoliate.  There are times though when I just feel like truly getting all the dead skin off and starting from scratch. Crystallized honey (got too cold in the jar) with a bit of warm water to soften the edges of the crystals, used very gently, works well. It is also great on feet and dry rough hands. 
• Hair Conditioner: Honey melted into warm water and rinsed through hair works very well as a conditioner in a pinch.  Let sit for a little bit and rinse. 
• Bath Softener: 1/4 cup of honey in a bath will get you soft and smooth all over.  Cleopatra bathed in milk and honey and was renown for her gorgeous skin. 

So how do we make the frugal part of using honey also eco?  The best answer is buy very local.  That isn't always possible though, so when buying your pound of honey (anything less is just silly) try to make sure it is produced in your country, preferably in your geographic region.  Or if you want to be super green, become a bee keeper yourself!