Some of the world’s top beauty ingredients aren’t made in a lab — they’re found in nature in plants, fruits, and herbs.
Many natural ingredients are packed with healing properties and healthy benefits. But even natural ingredients can have side effects. Just because something is natural doesn’t mean that it can’t harm you.
Honey and lemon are both popular natural ingredients that can be found in various beauty and health products. But are they safe to use on your face?
In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the benefits and possible risks of using honey and lemon on your face, and when it may be best to use alternate ingredients in your skin care routine.
Cultures around the world have used honey on their skin for thousands of years. According to research on honey, this natural ingredient has several beneficial properties:
There are many types of honey you can buy. Some of the best options for your skin include:
Although honey is usually safe to use on your face, some people may be allergic to it or its components. You may be more likely to develop a reaction to honey if you have a known allergy to pollen or celery.
If you’re unsure about your sensitivity to honey, you may want to do a patch test on your skin before using it on your face. To do a patch test, follow these steps:
Due to its stickiness, honey can be more difficult to get off your skin compared to other ingredients. Be sure to wash your face thoroughly, without rubbing or pulling your skin. Be gentle and wash your face several times with lukewarm water to get all the honey off your face.
Before getting into the purported benefits of using lemon on your skin, it’s important to note that lemon contains natural fruit acids that can sting, irritate, or burn your skin.
That’s why many skin care experts are wary about using lemon on the face, and some believe it has more drawbacks than advantages. We’ll discuss more about the potential side effects in the next section.
According to research, lemon juice has the following properties:
Lemon has a very low pH level, which makes it very acidic. Applying it to your skin can cause several side effects. Some of the possible side effects include the following:
If you have sensitive skin, skin care experts recommend not using lemon on your skin, especially on your face.
Some natural ingredients that may be a safer option for your skin than lemon include:
If you aren’t sure how your skin will react to the acidity of lemon, you may want to do a patch test on your skin before using it. To do a patch test, follow the same steps as outlined above for a honey patch test.
Honey and lemon may be safe to use together if:
If you have oily skin, the ingredients in this face mask may help absorb excess oil and tighten pores.
You can use other combinations of lemon juice and honey to create face masks for different skin conditions. You’ll follow similar steps to the mask recipe listed above, just with different ingredients.
Both honey and lemon are natural ingredients that have many healing properties. Of the two, honey is typically safer to use on your skin than lemon. It’s gentler, more nourishing, and less likely to cause a reaction.
Lemon is highly acidic and can cause skin irritations, dryness, and sun damage, especially if you have sensitive skin. They key to using lemon safely is to only use small amounts on your skin.
Also, be sure to do a patch test on a small area of your skin before applying either lemon or honey to your face. Do not use either ingredient if your skin becomes red, swollen, or itchy from the patch test.
Last medically reviewed on November 22, 2019
OUR BRANDS
Categories