Hey! Do you know that the healing and beauty properties of bees products have been known since prehistoric times? In today’s post, let me tell you about the beauty benefits of honey, beeswax, propolis and other ingredients found in the hive. Curious? Read on!
It’s time to dispel the myth that honey is the only thing produced by bees. Yes, they gift us with this quite tasty product but there are more substances they produce: royal jelly, beeswax, propolis and pollen. Interestingly, all of them are common ingredients of beauty products. Why? I think it’s mainly due to their properties. In the article, I take a closer look at what’s inside bees products, how they work and how to make use of them in the beauty care routine.
HONEY
It’s a basic product that you take out of the hive. Honey can be nectar, honeydew or mixed. The types have a different color, taste and aroma and slightly different qualities. Various kinds of honey contain over 300 ingredients, including carbohydrates and simple sugars (glucose and fructose).
Honey in beauty care
Beauty uses for honey result from its diversity of vitamins, micro-nutrients, enzymes and acids (their type and content depend on the type of honey). Nevertheless, every high-quality honey is rich in group B vitamins (B1, B5, B6, folic acid), a well-known vitamin E, vitamins D and K, pro-vitamin A. If we were to mention minerals that are most common in honey, these would be manganese, zinc, copper and cobalt. No wonder honey is more and more popular ingredient of skin and hair care products. It’s a very interesting and widely-available substance which:
- soothes and prevents inflammation;
- enhances the repair of the epidermis;
- restores the protective, hydro-lipid coat;
- illuminates, smoothes and beautifies the skin;
- makes the skin resistant to the action of harmful factors.
PROPOLIS
Another ingredient produced by bees. It’s most common in natural medicine. What is it actually? Propolis is a tacky substance which looks like resin. It has an intense aroma and a yellow, green or brown color. It comes into being when plant substances are mixed with the substances produced by bees. Propolis is necessary for bees as a building block for the hive.
Propolis in beauty care
You should know that propolis has far more benefits. Its effects result from its ingredients: flavonoids, vitamin B1 and B2, enzymes, proteins, amino acids, carbohydrates, carotenes. Thanks to them, propolis:
- supports the treatment of the skin inflammation,
- has anesthetic properties,
- is an effective antioxidant,
- prevents acne and controls sebum secretion.
ROYAL JELLY
Using a visual explanation, royal jelly is the food for bees larvae. This secretion has a creamy color and is fed to tiny bees. That’s why the main ingredients of royal jelly are proteins, sugars, organic acids, hormones, enzymes, etc. – substances that are essential for the growth. Royal jelly expires quickly.
Royal jelly in beauty care
Why is royal jelly used in cosmetics? Mostly because the product is rich in vitamins and mineral ingredients. It contains, among others, copper, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, iron, sulfur, manganese, cobalt, silicon, chlorine, bismuth, arsenic and nickel. On the other hand, keep in mind that royal jelly may trigger allergic reactions so it doesn’t work for everyone. Thanks to the diversity of ingredients, royal jelly:
- tones the skin;
- normalizes the functioning of sebum glands;
- maintains the hydration;
- delivers skin elasticity.
BEESWAX
Another apian product. It’s produced by melting honeycombs after purifying them. Natural beeswax is fragile and granular. It has a light yellow or dark brown shade, depending on the bees food. Its aroma is similar to the scent of propolis and honey. Beeswax also includes around 300 compounds e.g. alcohols, fatty acids, carbohydrates and flavonoids.
Beeswax in beauty care
It’s mostly added to emulsions as a stabilizer. Beeswax is used as an ingredient of creams and soaps, too. Why is beeswax so popular in cosmetics? Most of all, it’s full of vitamins (A, B1, B2, B3, E, C, B6, PP, D, H, B12), biotin, folic acid, pantothenic acid and minerals (potassium, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium). Thanks to these components, beeswax:
- deeply nourishes the skin;
- boosts the hydration;
- protects from the external substances.
POLLEN
The durable pollen comes in form of tiny seeds. It’s produced after picking the plant pollen by the bees, mixing it with the nectar and moving it to the hive for further processing. Pollen may contain up to 250 organic compounds and elements as well as around 30 enzymes – it depends on the source plant.
Pollen in beauty care
Pollen is mostly used as a natural medication. It’s rich in beneficial group B vitamins, vitamin C, micro-nutrients, amino acids, sugars and protein, therefore it’s getting more and more popular as an ingredient of creams, masks and lotions. Used externally, it:
- provides the skin with nutrients;
- has anti-aging properties (rejuvenation);
- has detoxifying qualities;
- reduces the harmfulness of chemicals.
I encourage you to enrich your beauty care routine with bees products. Let’s appreciate the gifts of nature. Ingredients, such as honey, wax or pollen, are all-natural and offer a huge diversity when it comes to nutrients. Remember, bees products don’t just heal – they beautify, too!
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