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

Full lips are hot, and we can thank Angelina Jolie. Sure, women were concerned about lips before Brad Pitt’s leading lady hit the scene. But were they injecting fillers into their pout before Mother Jolie came into our consciousness? Were terms like celebrity pout, trout pout, and “For the love of Pete, someone stop that woman before she can blink her lips?” part of our consciousness? Not so much.

So women want full smackers, and they are going to great lengths to get them. (White women, we might add. Women of African descent generally have the genetic advantage.) Lindsay Lohan famously pouted up before her last rehab/jail stint. Jessica Simpson admitted that she looked like a blowfish after injections. Jennifer Garner is known for her “natural” work. Lisa Rinna, lip pioneer extraordinaire, recently admitted to silicone injections in her upper lip – which she has since had surgically repaired.

Wanting fuller lips isn’t so bad – just turning them into floatation devices can be problematic. After all, our lips are an erogenous zone and va-va-voomy smackers go a long way on the evolutionary train. But a little bee-stung look can go a long way in working a lipstick. And here are some natural ways to get a temporary pouty pucker.

1. Moisturize, you say?

If you lips are cracked and dry, they aren’t going to shine with health and beauty. Keeping your lips moisturized will reduce fine lines and let them look fuller. Recently, we checked out hellomellow’s Lip Butters, which offer up a natural hydration for under $10. Made from avocado and mango butters ripe in fatty acids, they are also free of parabens, sulfates, phthalates and other synthetic ingredients. Do they hydrate well? They do indeed, as well as any petroleum-based product.

2. Apply a lip hydration mask.

Did we mention you need to keep your lips moisturized? We may have mentioned that. For the ultimate way to pamper up your pout, whip up a homemade lip mask. Check out a “Just Juicy Red” mask courtesy of Narine Nikosian’s Return to Beauty.

Ingredients: 1/2 teaspoon cottage cheese, 1/2 teaspoon sour cream, 1/2 teaspoon beet juice, rose oil.
In a small bowl, combine the cottage cheese, sour cream, and beet juice, Mix well. Pat over the lip area with your fingertips. Relax for 15 minutes. Rinse with warm water and smooth a few drops of rose oil over your lips to seal in the moisture.

3. Brush your lips.

Your lips respond to mild irritation by swelling. But keep it light. As one expert noted, “mild irritation does not mean you scrap off layers of skin.” One way to achieve this is to mildly brush your lips after brushing your teeth. Then, as the same expert noted, be sure to apply a good lip balm. You’ve just exfoliated – the last thing you want is to dry out your pout.

4. Get spicy with cinnamon or peppermint oil.

Cinnamon or peppermint oils can increase the blood flow to your lips, making them appear fuller for a short period of time. Pick up a bottle of organic cinnamon or peppermint oil. Starting with just one drop, mix it in with your lip balm of choice and apply. But be careful not to apply the oils directly to your lips, as the oils can sting in concentrated doses.

5. Line your lips.

Yes, simple makeup can go a long way in making up luscious lips. For a more natural look, apply a subtle, natural lip liner just outside your natural lip line. Make sure the pencil is sharp so it gives a more natural look. Then apply a sheer gloss in your natural color. Your lips will look larger. Unless you went too far over your lip line. Then you will look like a pretty Bozo the Clown.

6. Face yoga. Yes, face yoga.

Some suggest daily exercises to promote your pout, such as puckering your lips and blow a kiss. Don’t believe us? Click here.

FTC Compliance

Image: gageskidmore

What’s not to love about lip balm? In fact, a girl’s love affair with lip balm often starts very young. You were probably given a clear Chap Stick to soothe your dry lips, and naturally you pretended it was bright red lipstick.

Regardless, you got used to the feeling of soft, moisturized lips.

Cut to a couple decades later, and you’re frantically flipping through your organic cotton clutch for the lip balm you know is in there…somewhere. No one likes dry lips. Of course, we can technically live with dry lips, but who wants that?

Chap Stick was invented by Dr. C. D. Fleet, who decided that petroleum jelly would be the best short-term fix for dry lips. But petroleum doesn’t absorb into the skin, so it prevents the skin from breathing and makes your lips more chapped in the long run.

But not to worry! There’s a whole wide world of natural and organic lip balms out there, and we recently applied our lips to the best of them.

Here’s a look at our favorites, styled by category. It’s like a high school yearbook for lip balms! (They grow up so fast, don’t they?)

Most Likely to Be Tasty
Organic Root Beer Lip Balm by Bubble and Bee
This balm goes on smooth and yes, tastes exactly like root beer. The moisture lasts – a few hours later and my lips were still fully hydrated. (And tasty!). It’s made with organic beeswax, sunflower oil and cocoa butter. The flavoring is Stevia-based and all organic.

Pineapple Quench Lip Balm by Alba Botanica
This delicious lip balm tastes like a pineapple margarita over and over, but without the brain-crushing hangover. It does a great job keeping your lips initially hydrated, however you should keep it hand because the need to reply will arise in an hour or so. It’s made with organic coconut oil and apricot kernel oil.

Most Likely to Last at the Beach
Peppermint Vanilla Liplux SPF 15 by Coola
This light, peppermint-y balm goes on silky smooth, and one application lasts a long time. It has an SPF 15 which explains the slight sun block aftertaste. They also have an SPF 30 version for you serious sun worshippers! It contains certified organic flavors and is paraben free.

Lifeguard’s Choice Weatherproofing Lip Balm by Burt’s Bees
From what I can tell, this product does not contain an SPF but it goes on white and therefore acts like the old-time zinc lotions that reflected sunlight. It has a high menthol taste too, but that’s a good thing. It’s recommended for both “sun and snow” and contains a large amount of Vitamin E.  95.20% natural, this lip balm is made with coconut and sunflower oils.

Most Likely to Replace Your Lipstick
SPF 8 Lip Moisturizer by Juice Beauty
This lip balm offers a fantastic, subtle touch of color – a pretty hint of makeup beats lipstick, any day! However it fells slightly drier than some of the other balms and drags on your lip a bit when being applied. It may not be as silky as some, but the trade-off is color. It contains certified organic oils and natural fruit essences.

Mostly Likely to Make You Hungry
White Chocolate Lip Protector by Terressentials
This lip balm tastes exactly like white chocolate. Yum! It goes on silky smooth and provides excellent hydration, but you’ll need to reapply after a while. The ingredients are simple: certified organic cocoa butter, beeswax, vanilla and coconut oil.

And Finally, for the Best All Around”¦
Natural Beeswax Lip Balm by J.R. Watkins
This balm has a strong peppermint taste and really hydrates in all its good, silky smoothness. One application lasts a long time. It’s 100% all-natural (not organic) and contains premium beeswax, vitamin E and shea butter.

Organic Lip Treatment by EO Organics
Another outstanding lip balm, this one tastes great, goes on light and silky and leaves your lips hydrated for a really long time. While writing this article, I had all eight lip balms on the table in front of me, and this is the one I kept reaching for. It’s made with certified organic cold-pressed safflower and sweet almond oils, beeswax, vitamin E and more.

Find your favorite and pucker up!

Image: Aleera