
Hey, friends! Today we’re talking about honey, but not the kind you put in your hot tea. Today we’re talking about a New Zealand skin care essential: manuka honey! Chances are, you’ve seen manuka honey buzzing a bit these past few months as it’s made it’s way into the U.S. skin care scene.
So what exactly is manuka honey? Manuka honey is derived from bees who pollinate native manuka plants in New Zealand. This type of honey has been used for health and skin care purposes for over 2,000 years in New Zealand.
What’s in manuka honey? What makes it a noteworthy skin care ingredient, is its antibacterial properties. Manuka honey contains both hydrogen peroxide and methylglyoxal, which are known for fighting acne and their anti-inflammatory properties i.e: redness, exema, and dryness.
What are the benefits of Manuka honey? Manuka honey is known for improving skins texture and tone while greatly increasing hydration and producing nourished, balanced and purified skin. It’s a great natural exfoliator that gets rid of dead skin cells leaving your skin its brightest and most glow-ey. It works well on sensitive, dry, oily or acne prone skin types.
A Manuka Honey Cleanser You Can Pick Up From Walmart for Just $10: Kiwi Botanicals Brightening Honey Melt

I’ve kept up with the manuka honey buzz for a couple of months now, but never pulled the trigger due to the fact that I’ve been really happy with my Tula cleanser. Why change when what I’m already using works? However, I recently was able to find a new clean beauty line at my local Walmart called Kiwi Botanicals, whose products all contain manuka honey and the cleansers are only $10! Plus, they are made with no parabens, phthalates, mineral oil, silicones, gluten, triclosan, and aren’t tested on animals. I then did a little research and saw that Allure Beauty awarded it a “Best New Skin-Care Product” At this point, I had no excuse not to try it.
I chose to try the Brightening Honey Melt because bright skin is very important to me right now as we are transitioning from Winter to Spring. I’m ready to shed this dull Winter skin! If brighter skin is not a concern for you I would suggest trying out the Purifying Honey Melt with charcoal if you are looking for a deep pore clean or the Nourishing Honey Melt which is good for dry skin skin.

I’ve Used the Manuka Honey Cleanser for 2 Weeks
These are my Thoughts:
To apply, you mix a small dollop of the Brightening Honey Melt with warm water. This transforms the melt into a milky cleanser that feels so soft and luxurious on your skin. It makes you feel like it’s really doing something! The melt itself reminds me of the consistency of honey, only less sticky.
Results: Immediately brighter, very exfoliating, skin was very soft and smooth after, immediately felt very hydrated and nourished (you know how your skin feels dry sometimes after you wash it? my skin feels so balanced and hydrated after using this!), skin was less red and irritated after a few days, no breakouts have appeared (could be because of other products i’m using though, just wanted to note it), is not irritating, works well with my other skincare products.
Cons: While this product is only $10, the jar is not large. It will probably only last me 4 to 5 weeks if I use it everyday.
I’m actually loving this so much that I’ve put my other cleanser on the back burner for a little while. I might rotate it back in and switch back and forth as time goes on, but I’ll keep you updated on that! Next, I will definitely be trying out the eye cream and night cream.
Do you think you’ll give Manuka Honey a spot in your skin care regimen?
xo, Rach
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