The Benefits of Bee Products in Skincare!

The Benefits of Bee Products in Skincare!

Honey and beeswax are the two most common bee products you will find in skincare products. Let’s look at why and what some of the benefits are for the skin. First, we will look at beeswax.

Benefits of Beeswax

Beeswax is an excellent natural emollient and skincare product. But of course, with any product it is best to know its strengths and weaknesses so that you can use it optimally. So, what are the benefits of beeswax for skin care?

1. Beeswax is a great skin protector perfect for problem spots such as cracked heels, psoriasis, and eczema.
2. It contains vitamin A which is great for aging skin and wrinkles, and stimulates collagen production.
3. Beeswax relieves inflammation, and has antimicrobial and regenerative effects due to the flavonoid chrysin.
4. Beeswax also has an antiseptic effect due to the Sterols it contains.
5. Beeswax contains natural sunscreen properties that can help to protect the skin from the sun’s harmful rays. When applied to the skin, beeswax forms a barrier that helps to reflect UV rays.

Things to consider when using beeswax:

1. It may not allow the skin to breathe if it is not removed.
2. It may require an oil-based cleanser to remove beeswax from the skin.

Beeswax is very supportive of wound healing, is anti-aging, retains moisture , relieves diaper rash , and eczema. Regarding diaper cream and diaper dermatitis, beeswax provides the skin barrier that is required for a wound to heal especially when a diaper is often creating a wet environment. If you would like to try making a diaper cream try this recipe:

Diaper Cream recipe

A glass jar you don’t mind throwing away
Disposable spoon
⅛ cup Beeswax
¼ cup of extra virgin olive oil
2 TB of bentonite clay
Small sauce pan
Water
Small 2-4oz glass jar

Put your olive oil and beeswax in your jar. Place your jar in the saucepan and put water in the pan around the jar. Turn your stove on low heat, and stir the oil mixture occasionally until the beeswax is fully melted. Add bentonite clay until the desired consistency is reached, stirring to ensure complete incorporation. Pour the cream into a small 2-4oz glass jar to use after it cools. Note: Keep in mind that the beeswax will also solidify the diaper cream once it reaches room temperature.

Perhaps you are wondering why the other ingredients were chosen to go with the beeswax. And as always a lot of thought was put into the selection of these ingredients. Olive oil has been shown to be effective in wound healing. If you would like to learn more about olive oil, check out our Instagram post here.
The benefit of bentonite clay is its drying effect for the moist environment a diaper creates. All of these benefits combined promote wound healing and a barrier to the moist environment a diaper creates.

Benefits of Honey

Now let’s look at honey and the benefits that it provides for skin care and even hair care. Whether it be wound care, a nourishing moisturizer, or a cleaner,  honey is multifunctional. But why is honey such a powerhouse ingredient? Let’s take a look:

1. Honey contains the vitamins: thiamine, riboflavin, pyridoxine, p-aminobenzoic acid, folic acid, pantothenic acid, and vitamins A, C, E. Honey also contains the following minerals: phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulfur, iron, copper, manganese, and zinc. Although there is only a small amount of trace elements in honey, they are highly bioavailable. It was reported that copper, calcium, zinc, iron, manganese, and magnesium from honey are characterized by a bioavailability of 80–90%. It’s like a multivitamin!
2. Honey’s glucose oxidase produces hydrogen peroxide which is one of the responsible substances for the antibacterial activity of honey.
3. Pinocembrin and lysozyme that honey contains are responsible for antifungal properties. Lysozyme even inhibits the growth of yeast-like fungi.

Honey is an apitherapeutic agent in topical wound treatment due to its ability to kill bacteria, its ability to penetrate bacterial biofilm , it lowers wound pH, reduces pain and inflammation, promotes fibroblast migration, and closes keratinocytes, and promotes collagen deposition. Some of the benefits of honey in skincare include: toning, relaxing, sun protection, preventative to skin irritation, and conditioning.
Additionally, honey has hygroscopic properties, absorbing metabolites, and causing detoxification of the dermal tissue. This results in an increase in the skin tension, improvement of its elasticity, revitalizing its color, and smoothing out wrinkles.

These two powerhouse ingredients are used in many of our products at Dandelion Naturals. Specifically to support wound healing, skin irritations, , dry skin, or eczema. Check out our All Purpose Salve:

For cleansing and dry skin support check out our Raw Milk, Oats, and Honey Bar Soap: 

For sunburn recovery, problem spots, minor wounds, chapped lips, and sunburn care check out our Honey Lip Balm:

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