Column20 unusual ways to use honey, from food to facials.

It was brought to my attention last week that September is in fact National Honey Month. Honey gets an entire month all to itself? Why yes, it certainly does.

Turns out that Americans consume 1.5 pounds of honey per person annually, and there are more than 300 types of honey in the United States alone. That’s impressive, and we figured that if honey gets to be honored all month long, the least we could do is give you 20 different uses for it. Enjoy!

1. Put it on your lips

Did you know that making your own lip balm is as easy as tracking down some almond oil, beeswax and honey? Sure is. Makes you feel a little guilty about that $10 version you picked up at the health food store yesterday, doesn’t it?

2. Make your own honey moisturizer

If you’ve got a handful of sweet smelling herbs – think lavender - laying around and ready to be used, why not use them for your own homemade honey lotion? Warm honey over a saucepan until it gets to a liquid consistency. Pour honey over herbs and cap tightly; the ratio you want to use is 1 tablespoon of herbs per 8 ounces of honey. Let sit for a week and then mix 1 teaspoon of liquid into an 8 ounce bottle of unscented lotion.

3. Eat it with goat cheese

In need of a classy hors d’oeuvre but lacking in the time department? Try this: put a round of goat cheese in a ramekin, sprinkle honey and chopped walnuts on top and place in oven at 350F until honey and cheese are both soft. Serve with baguette or crackers and you’ll be the life of the party.

4. Prepare for the end of the world

You never know what’s going to happen, so stock it. Now.

5. Drink it

We all know a drop of honey in tea is good for a sore throat, but you can add it to most drinks for an extra energy boost. And simply because it’s a whole lot better than tossing in a few Sweet ‘N Lows.

6. Make a salad

One of my favorite and easiest fruit salads uses just a touch of honey to enhance the sugars in the fruit, and it’s a perfect late summer dessert.

• 1 cantaloupe, chopped
• 3 nectarines, chopped
• 4 tablespoons chopped basil
• 2 tablespoons honey

Mix together and enjoy!

7. Give yourself a facial

Honey is a natural humectant with antimicrobial properties, which means your skin will be happy when you give it some sweet honey love. Try a basic honey wash by mixing a dollop of honey and two tablespoons of warm water and massaging the mixture into your skin. Or you can go all out and try the Cucumber Honey Facial.

8. Go the extra mile

Forget energy bars and shots, just pop a tablespoon of honey before your next workout. Seriously, it has been proven to boost athletic performance.

9. Remove parasites

Got a post-Southeast Asia backpacking trip bug that just won’t leave you alone? Mix up a good blend of honey, water and vinegar and you’ll quickly be on your way to being parasite free.

10. Clean your cuts and scrapes

Honey can actually be used as an antiseptic, like a natural Neosporin. Because of its many antimicrobial properties, it can be used to treat wounds and even burns.

11. Get rid of your hangover

Forget a morning of popping ibuprofen, spread some honey on your toast or add some to your tea. Because honey is loaded with fructose, it will help speed up the metabolism of alcohol.

12. Clear up your dry elbows

Nothing’s worse than scratchy elbows (no really) so next time, after you’ve washed and scrubbed, rub some honey on to soften the skin. Leave on for 30 minutes then wash off.

13. Soften your skin

Honey is an excellent exfoliant. You can pair it with ground almonds and lemon juice for a killer homemade facial scrub.

14. Mix a drink

After you’ve been busy reaping all the health benefits that honey has to offer, it’s time to celebrate, and what better way than with a good ole cocktail. Honey Gin Cocktail? Bring it.

15. Eat the honeycomb. No really, just do it. 

Yes, it can be done! One of our fave food bloggers Clotilde Dusoulier, of Chocolate & Zucchini, put the ingredient to her readers and got some fun responses. The best sounding one? Mix it with crunchy peanut butter on toast.

16. Get an energy boost

Feeling a tad lethargic? Skip the coffee and go for the honey instead. Mix a tablespoon into a cup of tea and you’ll be feeling better in no time.

17. Beautify your hair

In the shower, after you wash your, coat the ends with a bit of honey. Let it sit for a few minutes before rinsing out and you’ll find that your hair is less frizzy and extra conditioned. Or make your hair shiny and bright by adding one teaspoon honey to one quart of water, and after washing your hair, pouring the mixture over your head. Let dry and enjoy your new-found shiny do.

18. Preserve fruit

Jam is so five years ago; show you’re truly cutting edge by preserving your fruits in a honey sauce. All it takes is one part honey to ten parts water and then covering your berries. Pretty much the closest you’re ever going to get to bottling up a little bit of summer.

19. Relax in the tub

Add a few tablespoons of honey to your bath, for sweeter smelling, softer feeling water. Pure bliss.

20. Lose weight

Well, what were you expecting? With a list this long it had to be pretty apparent that honey is in fact a wonder food, and as it turns out, you can even make it part of your next weight loss plan. Honey is an excellent substitute for sugar and it also helps speed up metabolism. Just remember: all things in moderation.

ALSO CHECK OUT:

20 Unusual Uses for Wine

20 Unusual Uses for Baking Soda

20 Unusual Uses for Salt

20 Unusual Uses for Garlic

Editor’s note: This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’s weekly column at EcoSalon, Foodie Underground, discovering what’s new and different in the underground food movement, from supper clubs to mini markets to the culinary avant garde.

Images: Don Hankins, land_camera_land_camera, BotheredByBees, left-hand, brockvicky

Remember the teen years, when chocolate meant sugar meant zits meant caked-on cover-up? Get ready to laugh in chocolate’s face, (and then consume it wildly like some mythical monster out of Lord of the Rings.) Now chocolate (can be) good for us! Okay, perchance not in the way of Willy Wonka-style gorge-fests swimming in chocolate lakes or stuffing éclairs down our throats. But the sweet stuff is better for your skin than you may think.

And why is chocolate awesome, besides the fact that it’s a scientific fact that women who consume it regularly have a better sex life? One study showed that women who ate chocolate had “the highest levels of desire, arousal and satisfaction from sex.” (In your face, broccoli!) But as any nutritionist will tell you, dark chocolate is stocked full of antioxidants that are great for your skin. And the darker the chocolate, the higher the levels of the good stuff. This means you have to chow down on the dark stuff – as in, 35 percent cocoa – to get the benefits. Unfortunately, the only benefits milk or white chocolate are going to give you is a sugar high.

So why is dark chocolate so magical? First, the nutritional aspects of chocolate are going to rock your skin. Its high levels of antioxidants help to protect your skin’s collagen, which will help to keep you looking younger, sweeter, and healthier. Mauro Serafini, PhD, works with Italy’s National Institute for Food and Nutrition Research in Rome. As Dr. Serafini reports, “antioxidants gobble up free radicals, destructive molecules that are implicated in heart disease and other ailments.”

Second, you don’t have to actually eat it to get the benefits. (Though, of course, why wouldn’t you?) Chocolate contains cocoa butter, which is extremely softening to the skin and can be an effective anti-inflammatory. Some chocolates contain Shea butter, which is also a great moisturizer. Another study showed the topical application of cocoa plant extracts prevented wrinkles from forming in lab rats exposed to ultraviolet light.

This means one thing – we can smear chocolate all over our faces and justify it in the name of beauty, not because we’re having some kind of weird Joan Crawford-style breakdown! Check out this fun recipe for a chocolate facial which is softening and exfoliating.

One organic dark chocolate bar (Make sure it is at least 35 percent cocoa.)
5 tablespoons of salt
2 tablespoons of oatmeal
1/5 cup organic milk

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler, letting it cool until it is pleasantly warm. Mix salt and milk in another bowl. Combine all ingredients. Work into your face with circular motions, allowing it to harden. Turn on Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory while resisting the urge to eat your face. Wash off with warm water.

Image: peter pearson

So you’re green. You care about trees. Yet you care about your complexion. I get it! I’ll pick through my trash sorting plastic from tin from things drenched in rancid goo – but I’m not going to go to bed without washing my face. Maybe it’s residual trauma from too many teenaged breakouts – skim through old issues of Seventeen Magazine and I am sure you will directly connect disfiguring acne to that time you skipped washing your face because you were too tired from screaming your head off at the Depeche Mode concert. Or not.

Kaia Naturals is offering up an H20-free solution. Recently, I checked out their Bamboo Facial Cleansing Cloths, which are designed to cleanse, tone and remove makeup without water. They are made from 100 percent soft, sustainable bamboo that feels like cashmere. (They call it cashmere soft – and yes, folks, it is.)

The unbleached bamboo fiber cloth is biodegradable and the ingredients are dermatologist tested and non-irritating. It contains no alcohol, synthetic fragrances, parabens, or sulfates. It is not organic, but it is cruelty free. Here is a complete list of ingredients.

How do these sustainable cloths work? Well, you really have to scrub to get heavy makeover off – but it does take off a lot of layers. It has a nice, fruity smell and leaves your face tingly and clean-feeling. You are left feeling nicely hydrated and yes, like you washed your face with water. Also, I have extremely sensitive skin and even the most organic products can sometimes leave my face red. This did not.

Would I forgo a nightly water rinse for the rest of my life? Probably not – it leaves your face with a little bit of a slick that does make you want to wash with water. But for around $12 for 30 cloths, I could spare 40 cents a pop here and there for a three-in-one water-free facial.

Want to see for yourself? Check out this video from Kaia.

You know the times you’ve run a fingernail down the side of your face and small bits of face have rolled off with it? The ick factor is huge, right? And most of that ick is dead skin.

Sure, you can moisturize with the best organic lotions out there. (And for the best green lotions to use, click here.) But those dead skin cells have to absorb the lotion before it can penetrate the skin underneath.

No amount of organic skin lotion is going to raise your skin cells from the dead. But before you conduct a green funeral for your face, try sloughing off with your best tool of choice – a scrub.

Bringing out the healthy, alive layers of skin on your face will improve your skin immensely. You’ll be less prone to break outs. Your skin will be smoother and have a healthier glow.

Pick a scrub that can make best friendsies with your skin. It is possible to over-exfoliate so be forewarned! If you over scrub, you can sand paper away the natural, protective barrier of your skin.

For sensitive skin, you’ll want a gentle exfoliating scrub. If your skin can take a sand blasting, go for the deep pore scrub. Depending on age and sensitivity, some people scrub daily, some only once or twice a week.

Best Scrub to Lessen Your Carbon Footprint:

Pangea Organics Facial Scrub ($32.00)
This gentle scrub is organic and, even better, fair trade. It contains Egyptian geranium with adzuki bean and cranberry. The smell is interesting – a combination of mud with bits of fruit buried in it. It’s light enough to use daily but strong enough to feel like you’re getting a good exfoliation. It is free of parabens, sulfates and any synthetic preservatives.

Best Scrub to Brighten Your Face:

John Masters Organics Jojoba and Ginseng Exfoliating Cleanser ($28.00)
This fantastic product contains certified organic jojoba beads (to exfoliate!) and ginseng (to revitalize!). And the best part? It will leave your face noticeably brightened. It seems to contain almost light-reflective properties that sit atop your skin and make it glow.

Best Scrub to Pretend You’re at the Beach:

Juice Beauty Exfoliating Cleanser ($22.00)
This is another gentle cleanser/scrub that has a rich pineapple base. The fresh fruity scent will bring you back to the beachy memories of childhood or that vacation you once went on where you blacked out from pineapple margaritas. It also contains certified organic extracts of white grape and aloe vera.

Best Scrub for Your Buck:

Noah’s Naturals Face Scrub with Jojoba Beads ($7.99)
This is a great, all-around scrub. You’ll feel like you’re getting a good wash while scrubbing out the baddies. It gives off a pleasant, old-school scent that’s almost floral, without being perfumey. It contains no parabens or sodium lauryl sulfate. It’s not organic, but it’s a good choice if you want an affordable, natural cleanser.

Best Scrub to Love Your Sensitive Skin:

Avalon Organics Exfoliating Enzyme Scrub ($16.95)
This product offers up a light, lavender scent. I used it daily for about a week and my skin did feel smoother after a couple of days. It’s free of parabens and preservatives. It is 100% vegetarian, and contains certified organic ingredients.

Best Scrub to Blast Your Skin:

Burt’s Bees Peach and Willowbark Deep Pore Scrub ($7.99)
If you’re looking for a scrub to really tear it up, this is the product for you. It has a fresh, peachy smell but it does leave a bit of a waxy, leftover feeling. It’s made from ground peach stone to exfoliate and also contains willowbark, a natural source of salicylic acid. 98.45% natural, it is free of sodium lauryl/laureth sulfates, parabens and phthalates.

Best Scrub to Use Daily:

Aveda Tourmaline Charged Exfoliating Cleanser ($29.00)
This product works really well as a cleanser, but if you want a vigorous scrub, look elsewhere. It is not organic but it does contain “naturally-derived” exfoliating beads and certified organic lavender and geranium oils. And it’s tourmaline charged. What, pray tell, is tourmaline charged? Tourmaline apparently “acts as a conductor for the plant energy and the crystalline energy, while energizing the skin and boosting it with moisture and vitamins.”

Best Scrub to Simply Wash Your Face:

Exfoliating Wash by Kiss My Face ($15.00)
This scrub”¦er, wash got high marks for smell. It reminds me of lime and mint, and really makes me want a Mojito. It’s clean and refreshing, but doesn’t feel like a scrub.  It works more like a gel and feels gentle on your face. It’s not organic, but does contain several “certified natural” ingredients.