DIY Beauty: Audie’s Manuka Honey and Lemon Blemish Elixir
We are dying to try this genius, simple recipe from Audie. We’ve talked a lot about honey in these parts: It’s naturally antibacterial, and manuka honey in particular has been studied for its usefulness in treating and healing acne. Lemon, we’ve also learned, can work well to fade scars—which anyone with acne knows is 50% of the problem with problem-prone skin: Your skin finally clears up, and you’re stuck using concealer on your scar, which is annoying and may cause even more problems, depending on what you’re using. Here’s her recipe! Will you be trying it?
Name: Audie
Current hometown: Boise
Product name that I made up: Manuka Honey & Lemon Elixir
Ingredients list: Manuka honey and pure lemon juice
How I made It: I measured 1/4 tsp. of honey and a little less than 1/4 tsp of lemon juice. A little goes a long way since I just apply it to my face.
How it smelled, felt, worked: After using this mixture a few times a week for the last 2 weeks…
I have noticed my acne spots are lighter and any existing acne heals a lot quicker. My congested skin is also clearing up!
Why I will or won’t do this again: I have already seen improvement in my skin and I know with continued use I am going to see greater results.
Manuka and lemon are amazing! One of the best things I’ve ever done for my skin is is to squeeze a little bit of lemon juice on a cotton pad and using it as a toner at night. My face is so much more clear and glowy now! I just wouldn’t use this in the morning- lemon can make your sin more sensitive to sunlight.
Interesting! I’ll have to give it a try!
♥Sarah♥
theantiquepearl.blogspot.com
Are you using this as an overnight spot treatment, or rinsing it off right away?
Thanks goodness I have both in the house well regular honey and lemons so I will be mixing this up right now! Well first, I’m going to try egg whites and tissue paper as a pore mask and fallowed by this. I really hope it will help with my acne scares and tiny acne on forehead! Aveeno scrub is working but not as fast as I would like. Thanks for sharing!!
How do you apply it? Like a mask and let it sit for a bit, or like a moisturizer and don’t rinse it off?
Is this a dumb question? Do you just rinse it off right away?
So, that looks like a good Manuka in the picture. Can you suggest where to buy a good Manuka Honey?
Just FYI: Honey is ONLY antibacterial because it’s a hypertonic solution and bacteria is unable to grow in its midst. The second you dilute it with anything -be it water, lemon juice, glycerin, aloe vera…WHATEVER- it loses its antibacterial action.
Then lemon as a toner first, and then honey when it’s been absorbed (: I will try this, lovely!
@B, it’s not just the hypertonicity, there are other factors that make honey antibacterial. It is true that the high concentration of sugars makes it hard for bacteria to grow, but that’s not all there is to it. Honey is even being used in modern medicine against antibiotic resistant bacteria – if honey were simply hypertonic, then why not just use any hypertonic gel or solution? It must be raw, unfiltered honey to maintain all the properties and manuka is supposed to be very rich in the antibiotic components.
I’ve learned that lemon is really irritating to the skin and can make your skin worse? Be using pure lemon juice on skin can only be good to really oily/acne skin or am I wrong?
Hi girls, this is a great post! Seeing as I also suffer from acne and scars I will definitely try this technique! I have two questions though, is it okay to use lemon with clay to form a clay mask and will using straight lemon as a toner be as effective as using it with honey? Thank you.
I would also like to know whether you’re supposed to leave it on or rinse it off after a bit like a mask? That’s what’s confused me and has deterred me from using honey on my face in the past..
I love this thanks for sharing! It is such a great remedy try adding some brewers yeast and/or bitters for even better results.
<3 Nicole
Honey is also sometimes used as wound bandage in hospitals because of its anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. It’s not quite as effective as many modern treatments are, but you can’t beat it as home remedy..
I’m not sure when lemon is added, but I wash my face with raw honey every night and sometimes I just rub my face for 30 seconds and rinse and sometimes I let it sit. I add cinnamon and nutmeg to honey for a mask and I have let that sit on my face before till it literally started melting off. I can’t imagine it would be any different with lemon since, when using lemon for toner, it sets on your face.
Also, @Amy, it’s important that you use raw honey, the other kind is stripped of the enzymes and goodness that clears up your face.
@Cara-To help with acne scarring you can try manuka honey, a few drops of magnolia flower essential oil, and pure barbary fig seed oil. Mix it and use it every night on clean skin before bedtime. I’ve been using this for a year on a very, very old chicken pox scar and it is looking pretty great. Barbary fig seed oil contains a huge amount of Vitamin E and zinc, helps with blemishes too.
@Cara, it depends on your skin. Straight lemon juice on your skin, or to mix up a clay mask, may be too irritating for some. But if you aren’t sensitive it might be great – or try diluting the lemon juice to make the mask. I actually like the idea of a honey mixture because I think the honey would counteract the harshness of the lemon while still letting it do its job.
@Alisea, I use honey either as a wash (when I’m in a hurry) or preferably as a mask/wash. I put it on and massage it in, then do whatever for 5-30 minutes and wash off in the shower. It’s great on my sensitive skin. No lemon for me but that’s something I’m interested to try.
Hi everyone! For those who have asked, I leave the mask on for about 20 minutes and then rinse off. I have read that manuka honey (without the lemon) can be used as a spot treatment but you would want to put something over it like a little round band aid or something similar so you don’t get honey everywhere. @Kristie…I bought mine at our local Co-op. @B…I had researched that a bit and found that some said you can dilute while others said not to. I figured I would experiment with it and it worked for me. @Moa…Lemon can sting. I never use it after exfoliating. It stings more! The sting doesn’t last long and when mixed with the manuka, I barely feel it.
I have also applied the lemon juice for about 10 minutes and then put the honey over it for another 10 and then rinsed it off. And when I’m too tired at night, mom to 3 little ones, I will use a squirt of Josie Maran argan cleanser mixed with my manuka and let that sit for a few minutes then rinse. Play around with manuka and see how you like to use it. I love the stuff!! It’s helped my skin in so many ways!! Thanks NMDL for posting this. It made my day!
@ Victoria, please share where do you get your pure barbary fig seed oil… I’ve been looking for that one but so far, nothing.
Thank you in advance
@Nancy, my brand La Bella Figura sells barbary fig seed oil and if you’ve never tried it, you’re in for a treat! Follow the link for more information. Thank you!
http://labellafigurabeauty.com/products/organic-barbary-fig-seed-oil
can you also use organic raw honey? I don’t know where to get this manuka honey, it is a bit more expensive.
YES!!
I adore manuka honey! I get Manuka honey and essential oil sent to me from a friend in NZ.
Manuka is actually the Kiwi equivalent of tea tree (there’s also another one called Kanuka), but manuka has this rich, earthy scent that I just adore (it’s really strong, though!).
Manuka honey doesn’t retain much of this odor, but it does have a different taste, colour and texture than the local honey I get here in Montreal.
I wrote a little post about it last year, here:
http://blog.starkskincare.com/2011/05/02/whats-the-deal-with-manuka-honey-ill-tells-ya/
@annie, you can order manuka online or something like Whole Foods should have it. I normally just use regular (raw, unfiltered) honey. I keep some manuka around for occasional use, but I think it’s better for younger or less sensitive skin than mine. My opinion is that if you need to dry some pimples out, use manuka, if you are sensitive or need something more moisturizing use regular raw honey. All honey is different – I have a couple favorites and I recommend trying a few different things to find your preference. If you go to a farmer’s market you can probably find small containers of local honey to try.
@Victoria, do you think this might be helpful for acne pitting? And where do you find your magnolia flower essential oil?
Manuka honey is GREAT for both spot treatment and facial wash. For spot treatment I put on a dollop and cut a band-aid to fit around it and by the next morning the blemish is invariably much, much smaller and not infected.
For a mask I always make sure to massage it into the skin and then leave it on for about 20 minutes. For a facial wash just put it on and wash off with luke-warm water ( don’t use cold water, it won’t dissolve the honey). Manuka is also GREAT to eat a spoonful of it you’ve got a sore throat or upset tummy. Really, I can’t say enough good things about manuka honey. Raw honey is great too though, but perhaps not quite as efficient on spots and the brands I’ve tried were so sticky, compared to the manuka.
Has anyone tried Thyme oil for their acne? If so, did it help and which did you use? I think there is a red and a white thyme. I was using lavender, but found out that lavender oil and tea tree oil are both endocrine disruptors.
Hi @Daisy! I wish I could say that barbary fig seed oil would indeed be helpful as an acne pitting treatment, but it would depend on how deep and old the scarring was. Severe acne pitting where the puncture is deep into the the skin can be treated by new procedures from your dermatologist and some of the procedures (while expensive) work wonders. More mild and less deep scarring can definitely benefit from Vitamin E, zinc and betalain rich barbary fig seed oil. One common cause of acne pitting is stubborn blackheads the embed into the skin and by the time some people try to extract them they will cause the pitted looking holes that can permanently scar. If you have been able to get this under control and no longer get blackheads or continued pitting, I suggest you try bfso to reduce scarring and smooth out deeper scars. I can personally attest to this working for me on a scar I had since childhood. While is has not disappeared it is not as noticeable as it once was. I actually use bfso for little wounds, as a blemish treatment or bug bites that I may scratch to treat and cure. I also suggest you try herbal facial steaming treatments before exfoliating skin to continue to loosen blackheads and dirt and bacteria that may get trapped in your pores. You can do this at home and purchase your ingredients from Whole Foods or your local health food store. Our magnolia flower oil that we purchase to use in formulations is pricey, but you can try http://www.mountainroseherbs.com or go online to find some. You can also try magnolia leaf oil, which is less expensive.
Hope this helps a bit and if I can help further I would certainly love to! Best to you Daisy. xo
@ Victoria, thank you. You will be seeing me around soon.
@Erin, I know there was a bit of a thing a while back about some EOs like lavender. Of course there are plants that have effects on our endocrine system, which is why we can use them for help with PMS or perimenopause, etc. In my opinion, it’s really different to have a synthetic chemical that affects our hormones vs. a natural plant in a relatively unprocessed form. Lavender in particular is a favorite of mine, and I encourage you to dig a little deeper if lavender or tea tree are something you’d like to use. I just started trying thyme in an Evan Healy hydrosol, and have not formed an opinion on effectiveness yet, but I am not particularly fond of the smell.
okay, and why does my computer want to change “hydrosol” to “hydrofoil” all the time? is that seriously the more commonly used word?? ; )
I tried red thyme the way I use tea tree – mixed with aloe gel on clean skin. It stung SO bad I haven’t tried it since! Still using it in a steam bowl but not enough to notice any benefits or otherwise
@erin, i bought some thyme extract after those reports came out about it’s effectiveness on acne- and i was not impressed :( firstly it smells disgusting to me, and turned my skin a gross color of green so i pretty much just used it at night. i applied it nightly for about a month, and i tried using it straight, diluted with water and diluted in aloe and i really didn’t notice any improvement whatsoever. in my experience honey seems more effective.
Daisy I recently purchased the eye serum from la Bella figura and received a sample of the Barbary fig and omg it’s incredibly hydrating and blends so well into skin you don’t feel any oiliness at all! If you ask la Bella figura for a sample they will send a generous amount. I want to try the renewal serum next.
I also have used manuka honey for treating acne and it really work.Helps also skin regeneration and kills many bacteria.Manuka is good in treating digestive or respiratory infections also.I recommend this to everybody who wants to have a better health.
I use lemon juice as toner, wipe that off. Then I dab cotton wool in milk, wipe that over my face as it’s reputed to whiten the skin (cleopatra bathed in it, so it’s ok for me!) and then apply the manuka honey on top like a mask while doing something else, after at least 15 mins I wipe it off. I’m pretty sure if you wipe the milk over your face on a cotton pad you can leave it on as the skin soaks it up.
I have found out since that Manuka Honey may even work better if diluted but I haven’t tried that yet!
Oh and i’ve also found that what I eat and put in my body is much more important than what I apply topically – for all other skin sufferers!
I have been using honey & lemon as a spot treatment for my random pimples for the past few months now. Except that I don’t use Makuna Honey and instead, $3 Pure (not raw organic) honey from Target. I was told it doesn’t have the same effect as Makuna or Raw/Organic honey but it still gets the job done. If Target honey and pure lemon juice work for me, imagine using the real stuff! This is my routine:
1. Wash face with normal, light cleanser @ night
2. PAT DRY face to avoid irritation
3. Using a q-tip, apply pure lemon juice onto my trouble areas
4. Let it sit in for a minute or two
5. Apply honey onto cotton pad/other end of qtip and apply on affected areas, gently doing circular motions to really let the honey settle
I leave it in 30 min MINIMUM before rinsing off with cold water. I usually leave it on overnight, and rinse off in the morning. I have noticed a significant color-fade on my acne spots and diminished pimple size overnight. I also apply this on pre-pimple bumps and the pimple never comes and only diminishes. Love this stuff.