Honey in dermatology and skin care: a review

Abstract

Honey is a bee-derived, supersaturated solution composed mainly of fructose and glucose, and containing proteins and amino acids, vitamins, enzymes, minerals, and other minor components. Historical records of honey skin uses date back to the earliest civilizations, showing that honey has been frequently used as a binder or vehicle, but also for its therapeutic virtues. Antimicrobial properties are pivotal in dermatological applications, owing to enzymatic H2 O2 release or the presence of active components, like methylglyoxal in manuka, while medical-grade honey is also available. Honey is particularly suitable as a dressing for wounds and burns and has also been included in treatments against pityriasis, tinea, seborrhea, dandruff, diaper dermatitis, psoriasis, hemorrhoids, and anal fissure. In cosmetic formulations, it exerts emollient, humectant, soothing, and hair conditioning effects, keeps the skin juvenile and retards wrinkle formation, regulates pH and prevents pathogen infections. Honey-based cosmetic products include lip ointments, cleansing milks, hydrating creams, after sun, tonic lotions, shampoos, and conditioners. The used amounts range between 1 and 10%, but concentrations up to 70% can be reached by mixing with oils, gel, and emulsifiers, or polymer entrapment. Intermediate-moisture, dried, and chemically modified honeys are also used. Mechanisms of action on skin cells are deeply conditioned by the botanical sources and include antioxidant activity, the induction of cytokines and matrix metalloproteinase expression, as well as epithelial-mesenchymal transition in wounded epidermis. Future achievements, throwing light on honey chemistry and pharmacological traits, will open the way to new therapeutic approaches and add considerable market value to the product.

Honey, a Gift from Nature to Health and Beauty: A Review

“…On the other hand, manuka honey is more popular from a dermatological aspect, especially in wound healing, as it has significant antibacterial activity (Molan 2002). The differences between these honeys are not only composition-wise but can also been seen through micrographs as they have different shapes when observe under microscopes as well (Burlando and Cornara 2013).…”

“…There are three main factors that contribute to the antibacterial property which are osmotic effect, acidity and hydrogen peroxide (Burlando and Cornara 2013).…”

“…However, each different type of honey depends on the floral source from which the bees collect the nectar (Burlando and Cornara 2013;Singh et al 2012). Different types of honey include acacia, manuka and buckwheat (Ranzato et al 2012).…”

“…These patterns were then interpreted as the life cycle of the bee in a honeycomb (Crane 2013). Uses of honey during that era there were as a natural sweetener, to treat wounds (Ajibola et al 2012), to use its wax for painting (Petukhova and Bonadies 1993) embalming bodies, binders for ships and boats (Hajar 2002) and cosmetics (Burlando and Cornara 2013).…”

Aging Skin: Nourishing from Out-In. Lessons from Wound Healing

“…For example, honey, one of the oldest known wound dressings, is a bee-derived supersaturated solution composed mainly of fructose and glucose, also containing proteins and amino acids, vitamins, enzymes, minerals, antibiotics, and other minor components. The renewed interest in the use of honey for topical wound care is probably because it combines low-cost antimicrobial properties with the maintenance of hydration and the presence of nutrients useful in tissue protection and regeneration [37]. More recently it has been suggested that beneficial action of honey in wound care could be explained, at least tentatively, by the production of lactic acid by microbiota and by the presence of active compounds such as proteins, fatty acids, anesthetics, organic acids, volatiles, and hydrogen peroxide [38,39].…”