June 29, 2004

By: Ester Moses
Website: http://www.1st-in-cosmetics.com

Milk and honey baths and honey-kissed facials

From the days of Cleopatra and her milk and honey baths to Jennifer Lopez and her honey-kissed facials, all-natural honey has long been the ingredient of choice for the world’s great beauties.

Honey has been used for centuries to as part of a healthy skin care regimen and it continues to be used today in manufactured and homemade products for skin and hair care. The National Honey Board has partnered with celebrity esthetician Christopher Watt to share the secrets to the beauty of honey.

Christopher Watt, owner of Christopher Watt Esthetics in West Hollywood, Calif., has rapidly risen to fame as a top-notch skin care expert to the stars. His client list includes Jennifer Lopez, Halle Berry, Rose McGowan, Ricky Martin, and Melissa Joan Hart. As a skin care specialist, Watt has long been an advocate of honey. Whether blending it into a luxurious milk and honey bath soak or a creamy honey and soy face cream, Watt knows that honey is a key ingredient to soft and supple skin.

Many of my clients come to me wanting the newest creams and toners, but I tell them that it’s the age-old ingredients like honey that often work best, said Watt.

I like mixing honey into toners because of its antimicrobial properties, and in creams and lotions because it really does a great job of softening the skin and locking the moisture in.

Watt has created several honey-based beauty recipes exclusively for the National Honey Board. Honey is the key ingredient in everything from his rejuvenating Aloha Honey Hawaiian Delight to his enriching Green Honey Glow Mask.

Honey’s Beautiful Properties Honey is a humectant, which means it attracts and retains moisture. Many moisturizing products such as cleansers, creams and shampoos contain honey because of its ability to seal in moisture and keep skin soft.

Honey also acts as an anti-irritant, making it suitable for sensitive skin and baby care products. A recent review of research documents honey’s effectiveness as an antimicrobial agent.

Antimicrobial agents inhibit the growth of certain bacteria. Honey is antimicrobial for many reasons, including its high sugar content, which limits the amount of water available to bacteria for growth; its relatively high acidity.

The Origin of Honey A hive of honey bees must tap 200,000 flowers and travel over 55,000 miles to gather enough nectar to produce just one pound of honey. In fact, a worker honey bee will make only 1/12 teaspoon of honey in her lifetime, making honey a truly precious natural commodity.

Honey is harvested in more than 300 different varieties throughout the United States, and the flavor and color of each variety depend upon the blossoms or nectar source that the honey bees visit. Typically, lighter honeys provide a more delicate and mild flavor, while darker honeys offer a strong, bold taste.

Based in Longmont, Colorado, the National Honey Board provides consumers with honey information and recipes at www.honey.com, and serves honey producers, packers, and importers around the world through generic honey research, promotion and marketing.

About The Author:

Ester Moses is a successful author and regular contributor to http://www.1st-in-cosmetics.com.  Tips on skin care, hair care and beauty products to bring out natural beauty.