Honey (raw, manuka and medical-grade)

What it is

Honey is a concentrated sugar solution that bees make from nectar. Its high sugar content pulls water out of bacteria, its natural acidity discourages growth, and an enzyme releases small amounts of hydrogen peroxide; manuka honey, from the New Zealand manuka tree, adds methylglyoxal, a more stable antibacterial compound⁴. "Medical-grade" honey is sterilised by gamma irradiation and supplied as gels, ointments and dressings for wounds¹; the jar in your kitchen is not.

What the evidence says

Evidence: limited for everyday skin care and acne; stronger for sterile medical-grade honey on minor burns, which is a clinical use rather than a home remedy.

The wound evidence is real. A Cochrane review of 26 trials with 3,011 people found high-quality evidence that honey dressings heal partial-thickness burns about four to five days faster than conventional dressings, and moderate evidence that they help infected surgical wounds; for most other wound types the evidence was low quality or unclear². Those trials used sterile medical honey under supervision.

Acne is a different story. In the best trial so far, 136 people washed with an antibacterial soap and half also applied a 90% medical-grade kanuka honey product twice daily for twelve weeks. Only 4 of 53 in the honey group improved meaningfully, against 1 of 53 without it, a difference that could easily be chance³. Small studies on seborrhoeic dermatitis and eczema from one research group were positive, but they are tiny, the eczema one mixed honey with olive oil and beeswax, and a later controlled kanuka honey trial in eczema found no benefit¹. Honey's cosmetic value is as a humectant and emollient⁴, which is why a mask feels calming. See natural acne care for options with better evidence.

How people use it

• A thin layer of raw or manuka honey on clean skin for 10 to 15 minutes, rinsed off with lukewarm water, once or twice a week as a soothing mask.
• Mixed with plain yoghurt or finely ground oats for a gentler, less sticky mask.
• For a cut, graze or burn that needs more than a plaster, ask a pharmacist about sterile medical-grade honey dressings rather than kitchen honey.

Cautions

• Patch test if you are allergic to pollen, bee stings or propolis.
• Keep raw honey off broken skin and burns; it is not sterile.
• Honey has not been shown to clear acne. Do not let a pleasant mask delay a pharmacist's advice about persistent spots.
• The botulism warning is about eating. Honey can contain spores that are dangerous to babies under one year, so no honey, in food or on a dummy, until 12 months⁵. Spores on an adult's skin are not a concern.
• A wound that is deep, spreading or not healing needs medical care; see when to see a dermatologist.