Why Use Bee Products for Skincare?
Jun 26 , 2022
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We continually expose our bodies with chemicals and synthetic compounds, but nature often has the answer to our modern-day skincare problems. Bees and the products they produce in their busy working lives turn out to be just the thing to care for our skin.
Yes, bee skincare really is a thing.
Although knowledge about using bee products in medicine is ancient, scientists are now confirming these compounds do have anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory moisture-retaining properties giving them a role in modern-day medicine. They are, therefore, perfect for combining with other natural ingredients to create fantastic bee skincare products.
“The benefits of beeswax and honey in skincare has been known for thousands of years.”
Our bees produce a wealth of natural products drawn from the Lancashire countryside they forage in. Whenever we rescue a bee colony that has decided to make its home somewhere too close for human comfort, we have extra wax and honey, which we can use as bee skincare ingredients in our cosmetics range.
Why do bees create wax?
Bees create wax to build their honeycomb. It’s the basic building block of the bees home. They use honeycomb to store their food in (honey) and to raise their young. Eggs are laid in the honeycomb to develop into lave and mature into bees. A queen bee will lay up to 2000 eggs per day to maintain a healthy colony during the summer.
Wax is created from natural secretions from glands on the bee’s body. It is natural and has so many beneficial uses. Beeswax is used on some fruits as a coating to prevent moisture loss. Beeswax is a ‘food-grade’ wax, which means you can eat it without any ill effects. Maybe it’s an acquired taste, but for us, beeswax within bee skincare products is probably a better use.
Using beeswax in bee skincare cosmetics
When you apply beeswax to the skin, it works in harmony with your body. It fixes to your skin without blocking pores, meaning that your skin can still breath through it. But, it also acts as a protective barrier layer. Beeswax on your skin's surface stops it from drying out.
Beeswax is perfect to use within cosmetics as it provides a protective layer for your skin. It doesn’t ‘slide’ and it holds the other natural ingredients we put in our bee skincare products in place, so they can play their part in caring for your skin.
Using honey in bee skincare cosmetics
Lovely, sweet, sticky honey, it’s terrific stuff. Bees create honey from nectar and pollen and store it as their food. They make it in the summer when flowers and sunshine supply all their needs. And they store it in their wax comb, so they have something to keep them fed over the winter when there is no food available, and it’s too cold for insects to fly.
But, honey is more than just bee food. When our bees have enough in-storage, we take some, but only what they don’t need. We always make sure they have enough for themselves before we do this. Bee’s, their health, and their survival come first for us.
It was at least 8000 years ago that humans discovered the many benefits that honey gives us. Obviously, we can eat it; we know it’s great for that. But, we found it has excellent preserving qualities too.
Having a source of energy available that will last for years was useful to our ancestors. Did you know there was honey stored in Egyptian tombs still edible thousands of years after the bees made it?
Honey has antibacterial properties. Scientists have discovered it inhibits the growth of around 60 different species of bacteria, some species of fungi and many viruses.
It has now found its way into modern medicine, being used for gastrointestinal, cardiovascular and inflammatory conditions. No wonder it is of use in bee skincare products.
Honey has anti-inflammatory properties which make it helpful in treating a whole host of skin conditions.
Finally, It gives us moisture-restoring properties to our skin. It’s a natural humectant, which means it helps retain moisture and also pulls moisture from the air. So, honey is an excellent moisturiser, and most skin types need moisturising.
Bees give us so much already by pollinating our food crops and giving us honey to put on our breakfast toast. Cosmetics and skincare are another great reason why bees are so important to humans.
Check out the wide range of bee skincare cosmetics we’ve made from surplus wax and honey f