Honey and Lavender as a Facial Cleanser

Cetaphil, Deep Clean Neutrogena, Clean and Clear foaming, Clean and Clear deep action, Clean and Clear Advantage are just a FEW of the many facial cleansers that I have used in my early teen years.  My acne never improved.  In fact, over the years it actually got worse.  Why?  Because all of these "facial cleansers" have nothing but garbage in them.  Chemical and chemical after chemical.  It's no wonder I had all the skin problems I did.  I tried all of the kits with the cleanser, black head scrubber, toner, and moisturizer and that made problems worse.

In my teen years, I figured out that I was allergic to perfumes and artificial fragrances.  I eliminated all of that out and tried a few natural facial cleansers at my local health food store.  Nothing was as effective as my honey/lavender mixture.

I have found all natural RAW honey mixed with a good quality of essential oil to be an amazing facial cleanser.  Make sure it is local.

For a toner I use Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar.  It is raw and unfiltered and definitely better than the cheaper apple cider vinegar you would find on the shelf.

I did actually hear that you need a moisturizer to train your skin to produce the right kind of oils.  It also protects your face.  I have always hated the way moisturizer felt on my face, but the natural moisturizer is definitely the way to go!  For a moisturizer I use a little bit of coconut oil.  You really don't need a lot, because a little goes a long ways!

So there you have it- a great facial treatment for any skin type is honey/lavender as a cleanser, apple cider vinegar as a toner and a coconut oil as a moisturizer.

I have noticed great improvement in my skin's appearance in just a short amount of time with this method.  I still do have skin problems including acne, but it is much more controlled now that it ever has been.

Lemon Honey Throat Drops

I've been sick these last few days with a miserable sore throat and a stuffy nose.  It is awful.  I made my own throat drops instead of relying on Halls and they work fabulous.  They give me relief so I'm not constantly coughing.  You probably know that honey has great medicinal benefits for you, however, in this case it is really not about that.  In this recipe you have to bring the honey to a boiling point and when you do that you take out all the medicinal value of the honey.  It still has great flavor though and is very soothing.

You will need a half cup of honey, 2/3 cup of sugar (I used xylitol to help with my teeth) and 2 tablespoons of water.  You will also need the zest of one lemon.  Be sure when you are skinning the zest off that you only get the yellow lemon skin and not the white part of it because it will be bitter.

Mix the three ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil.  Remove from heat, cover the pan and wait until the mixture reaches about 265 degrees.  If you have a candy thermometer, great!  If not, you can look up how to do the cold water test, which is what I did.  I would recommend a candy thermometer as it is more accurate though.  Once it reaches this degree, remove the cover and allow it to cool down for about five minutes.  This will give the mixture time to thicken.

Drop dab of this mixture onto your wax paper and allow to cool and harden for about 20 minutes.  They turned out great and have a bit of a lemon and honey flavor to them.

Sorry about the poor image quality.  My kitchen lights burnt out so I had to make this under my microwave light and a lantern :)