Raw Honey That Heals: A Bold, Soap-Free Ritual for Radiant Skin

🎙️ Mini Pod Series Intro: Raw Honey That Heals: A Bold, Soap-Free Ritual for Radiant Skin

Hey sweet friend, welcome to the Soap-Free Skin Series—a special set of mini episodes here on Becoming Natural. If you caught the full-length episode at the end of last week, you already know we took a deep dive into the dirty truth about body soap: the harmful ingredients, the damage it does to your skin barrier, and why scrubbing away your natural oils might be doing more harm than good.

Now, I know that episode stirred up a lot of questions—mainly:

“So… what do I use instead?” 👀. And I left you hanging over the weekend, completely soapless.

There are more options than you might think so instead of giving you a giant info dump in one go, I decided to break it down into short, sweet, mini pods over the next few days. These are like little audio devotionals for your skin—practical, faith-rooted, and totally doable. Each mini episode will spotlight a natural, effective alternative to soap that actually respects your skin.

We're talking God-made ingredients like:

Oil cleansing

Raw honey 🍯

Apple cider vinegar 🍎

Clay and herbal powder pastes 🪨

Salt and magnesium soaks 🧂

Tallow and healing oils 🐄🌿

And yes—we’ll unpack how to use them, why they work, and what science + Scripture say about giving your body what it truly needs.

So if you're curious, overwhelmed, or just tired of buying “clean” products that still leave your skin dry, red, or irritated… these next few episodes are for you. 🫶. Sometimes getting “clean” still spawns products loaded with ingredients you cant pronounce. So why not use the core ingredients to begin with?

Stay tuned each day for a new episode in the Soap-Free Skin Series.

And remember: your skin was designed to heal. Let's stop fighting it and start partnering with it.

Mini Pod 2: Ep 49 Raw Honey That Heals: A Bold, Soap-Free Ritual for Radiant Skin

Hey friend, welcome back to another mini episode in our Soap-Free Skin Series. I’m Penny, your host turned crunchy rebel. Today we’re about to get kind of sticky—in the best way possible.

We’re talking honey. Raw, golden, gooey honey. The kind that smells like sunshine and somehow ends up on your elbow no matter how carefully you spoon it out. Isn’t that the truth?

But did you know honey might just be one of the gentlest, most powerful cleansers you’re not using on your skin?

Why Would Anyone Wash Their Face with Honey? Because that sounds like a disastrous breakout and toddler mess to me.

Let me take you back to the day I first smeared honey on my face.

I was skeptical. But I was looking for more natural products for my skin. I had tried everything except this and full transparency, I found a product WITH honey in it. I didn’t start out with simply honey alone.

I kid you not, the first night I used it, I had to look up what was in it. My skin got warm to the touch, I could feel the heat. My skin was calmer, more hydrated, and visibly less inflamed. I went from crusty to dewy without the $90 serum. The main ingredient was HONEY.

So, what’s the deal?

The Science of Honey on Skin (Sweet and Legit)

Raw honey isn’t just for sore throats. It’s loaded with natural properties that make it an ideal cleanser:

Antibacterial: Thanks to enzymes like glucose oxidase, raw honey produces low levels of hydrogen peroxide. It kills acne-causing bacteria without harming your skin’s good flora.

Humectant: (fancy word for hydrating) Honey draws moisture into the skin like a magnet—so you’re cleansing and hydrating at the same time.

pH Balancing: Honey’s natural pH of ~3.5 to 4.5 helps keep skin slightly acidic, which protects your microbiome.

Wound Healing: Studies show it can speed up tissue repair, reduce scarring, and calm inflammation. (Looking at you, hormonal chin flare-up.)

This isn’t woo. This is God-made, research-backed, skincare found in your pantry. Or better yet, your backyard if you are lucky enough to have bees.

How to Use Raw Honey to Cleanse Your Face

Here’s how to do it without feeling like you got in a fight with a beehive:

Start with raw, unfiltered honey (local is best)

Optional: Wet your face with warm water

Apply 1/2 tsp of honey with fingers and gently massage

Leave on for 1–3 minutes

Rinse with warm water and pat dry

You don’t need to follow with a harsh toner. Your skin will feel soft, clean, and balanced.

But… Honey Makes My Skin Feel Warm. Why?

Great question—and you’re not alone.

Honey has vasodilating properties. That means it makes your veins larger, allowing more blood to flow to the area, which increases the temperature of your skin as your cells become more active. With more blood flow to the area and more active cellular turn over, you get more healing and repair.

Always do a patch test

Avoid if you’re allergic to bee products

Always Choose raw over processed (the latter is often stripped of enzymes). If you can’t find raw, then skip this option.

A Note on Manuka Honey

Is Manuka the gold standard?

It’s great—super antibacterial—but it’s pricey. For most people, any high-quality raw honey will do the job beautifully. Don't let a $40 jar stop you from starting.

Faith Reflection: Milk and Honey for the Skin

Scripture describes the Promised Land as one flowing with milk and honey (Exodus 3:17). It was shorthand for abundance, nourishment, and goodness.

I like to think that if raw honey was mentioned in the Bible in such a positive light, it has many benefits to our body, including our skin. letting something created in nature nourish and restore me. I don’t know about you, but I am so tired of spending oodles on skin care products that either don’t really work OR they “work” using ingredients that could strip the paint of a Coke can. Do you really want that on your skin?

Maybe what you need isn’t another bottle from the skincare aisle—but a reminder that God has already given our bodies, skin included, what we need.

Can’t wait for tomorrow to share the next non-soap option! Check out your pantry tonight to see if you have some raw honey and give it a shot.

I hope you are enjoying this little mini pod series. Im a big follower of “how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” These days I feel like I am eating an elephant around the clock. Baby steps my friends. But this whole non-soap discovery has really affected me. I think its worth digging a little deeper into each idea to see what you like best. And for the record, I am a huge fan of continuing to switch it up. Maybe you pick and choose ideas and use one one day and another the next. I only wish that I have been keeping a list of all the money I have saved using simply ingredients to show my husband :) Don’t we all….

See you tomorrow!