Sweet Like Sugar

Honeybees are the hardest-working bugs in show business. They go right to work as soon as they mature, changing from larvae into the yellow-striped, fuzzy-suited fellows I know and am vaguely scared of (bad stings in childhood, long story). Bees are creators and perpetuators of the ecosystem wherever they live, pollinating fruits, vegetables and flowers as they drink up the nectar.



Then, they bring back the yummy nutrient-rich plant juice to the hive to nourish their brood, not to mention every living creature in their midst, since they are providing nutrients and life to the plants they pollinate, which virtually every animal eats. It is a perfect machination of nature.

Raw honey does amazing things for humans' bodies, inside and out. It carries a wealth of enzymes, minerals and vitamins. It lightens skin discoloration as well as exfoliating, and raw, unpasteurized honey's antibacterial properties make it an effective wound dressing.

Manuka me crazy. Photos, Plantogen.com

 Manuka honey, indigenous only to certain parts of New Zealand and Australia, is the product of bees that pollinate the Manuka, or Tea Tree bush.
Tea Tree oil has long been used as an antibacterial agent, and honey that is produced by bees who nosh on Manuka blossoms in a pure, unpolluted environment is positively turbo-powered. To wit: a ratings system devised solely for Manuka honey, called the UMF (Unique Manuka Factor-I am not making that up). UMF ranges from ten to 16 and higher in some instances, 10 being the minimum amount of antimicrobial activity. Not all Manuka honey has the super powers, though; according to Healing Honey's Web site:

"The reason why only some Manuka honey has the unique UMF antibacterial property is not yet known. It coud be from a subspecies of manuka plant or due to some environmental factor such as soil type."

There's that magical element I like so much in my beauty products.



Well, whatever it is and however it works, I'm in Honey Love.  I have seen actual evidence in Manuka honey's astonishing antibacterial power since beginning to use pure Manuka honey as a facial mask and in my tea, and that's only got a UMF of 10, the minimum amount of antibacterial activity. Not only do I feel fantastic, but my skin really responds to the honey as a mask; I am markedly smoother and more even than before I started my new honey regimen. Convinced that there is something to this, I've now used Plantogen Purifying Cream Cleanser for a week, and during a time of year when I usually break out, I am all clear, but not a bit dry or irritated.

To schedule a facial or body treatment right here in Baltimore using Manuka honey, please call 410-383-7272.

Topics: honey , manuka , bees , facial mask