Manuka Honey for Skin: Uses, Evidence and How to Try It

The short answer

Honey is a natural humectant: it draws in and holds water, which is why it's a favourite in face masks and creams. Sterilised medical-grade Manuka honey is also used in wound dressings. At home, enjoy Manuka honey as a simple face mask, on a single spot, as a gentle cleanse or on your lips, and it can leave your skin feeling soft and hydrated. Research on acne, eczema and ageing is still young, so think of it as a lovely skincare ritual rather than a treatment. An Everyday grade (under MGO 400) is perfect for skin. Just patch test first, and skip it if you're allergic to honey or bee products.

A spoonful of honey on your face is about the simplest skincare there is, and it's a ritual plenty of us love. Here's what dermatology reviews and clinical trials say about honey and skin, the easiest ways to use Manuka honey on your face, which grade to choose and how to try it safely. At Manuka Hut, every jar we sell is New Zealand Manuka honey from Egmont Honey, Manuka Health and Comvita.

Honey is mostly natural sugars, and those sugars attract and hold water. A 2013 review of honey in dermatology and skin care (Burlando and Cornara, Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology) describes how it's used in cosmetics as an emollient and humectant, which means it helps soften skin and keep it hydrated. It's also sticky, gentle and easy to rinse off, which is a big part of why it works so well as a face mask.

What makes Manuka honey special is methylglyoxal (MGO). MGO is the main driver of its antibacterial activity, though that research has focused on wounds rather than everyday skin. Every graded jar is lab tested and labelled with its MGO or UMF™ grade, so you know exactly what you're getting. For the background on grades, see what is Manuka honey. Manuka honey only comes from New Zealand.

There's nothing complicated about it. Start with a clean face and clean hands, and scoop the honey out with a clean spoon rather than your fingers, so the jar stays clean. Here are our favourite ways to use it.

As a simple face mask

• Spread a thin layer of Manuka honey over clean, dry skin, avoiding your eyes.
• Leave it on for 20 to 30 minutes.
• Rinse off with warm water and pat dry.

Mixed with yoghurt or oats

For a softer, easier to spread mask, mix a teaspoon of Manuka honey with a spoonful of plain yoghurt, or with finely ground oats and a little water to make a paste. Apply, leave for 20 to 30 minutes and rinse. It's a lovely little ritual for your skin.

On a single spot

Dab a small amount onto a single spot, leave it for 20 to 30 minutes, then rinse it off. If you have acne, our guide to Manuka honey for acne explains how it can fit into your routine.

As a gentle cleanse

Massage a small amount over damp skin for a minute, then rinse well with lukewarm water and follow with your usual moisturiser.

On your lips

Smooth a little over dry lips on its own, or try a ready-made balm like Manuka Health Manuka Lip Balm.

Can you leave it on overnight?

You can, but we suggest rinsing it off after 20 to 30 minutes. Honey stays sticky and tends to end up on your pillow, so a 20 to 30 minute mask is the comfier choice. For more everyday ideas, see our guide on how to use Manuka honey.

Honey has a long history in skin care, and researchers are now putting it to the test. Here's what they've found so far.

Wounds and burns

This is where honey shines. A Cochrane review of honey as a topical treatment for wounds (2015) found high quality evidence that honey dressings heal partial thickness burns faster than conventional dressings. Those burns trials used unprocessed honey on sterile gauze rather than Manuka, and the evidence for other wound types is weaker. The dermatology resource DermNet notes that honey is used as an antibacterial wound treatment, and that sterilised, laboratory-tested medical honey should be used for infected wounds. Today's medical honey dressings, many made with Manuka, are sterilised and made for medical use, while a jar from the pantry is a food and isn't for wounds.

For a burn at home, first aid comes first: NHS burns advice is to hold the burn under cool running water for 20 minutes and not to put any creams, oils or butter on it.

Acne and pimples

Lots of people reach for honey when a spot appears. The main trial so far, a 2016 randomised trial in BMJ Open, gave 136 adults with acne a medical-grade kanuka honey product (kanuka is a different New Zealand tree that looks similar to Manuka) on top of antibacterial soap, and found no clear extra improvement compared with the soap alone. Manuka honey itself hasn't been trialled for acne yet, so enjoy it as a gentle mask or spot dab because you like how it feels. See our full guide to Manuka honey for acne.

Eczema and dermatitis

Here there's an encouraging early result. A small 2017 study (Alangari and colleagues, Immunity, Inflammation and Disease) applied Manuka honey overnight for seven days to eczema patches on one side of the body in 14 adults, and the treated patches improved compared with the untreated side. It's early research: a small 2014 New Zealand trial of medical-grade kanuka honey found no difference compared with a plain cream, so larger trials are the next step.

Rosacea

A 2015 New Zealand trial in BMJ Open found that a medical-grade kanuka honey cream helped about twice as many people with rosacea as a plain cream over eight weeks. It's one trial, and of kanuka rather than Manuka honey, but a promising one.

Wrinkles and fine lines

Because honey helps skin hold water, a honey mask can leave your face feeling soft and hydrated. Manuka honey hasn't been tested for wrinkles or collagen in good clinical trials yet, so pair your mask with the anti-ageing step that has: sunscreen. A large randomised trial published in the Annals of Internal Medicine (2013) found that daily sunscreen use slowed visible skin ageing.

Scars

Honey dressings have been studied for healing wounds, but there are no good studies yet on Manuka honey for fading old scars or acne scars.

Dark spots and pigmentation

There's no good evidence yet that Manuka honey lightens dark spots or pigmentation. Here, sun protection is your best friend: the British Association of Dermatologists calls it one of the most important things you can do to stop melasma getting worse.

A few of our favourites make Manuka honey easy to use on skin:

• Manuka Health Manuka Lip Balm: a smooth, Manuka honey based balm for dry lips.
• Egmont Honey Manuka Honey On The Fly Sachets UMF 10+: single serve 10g sachets, about the right amount for a face mask, with no fingers in the jar.
• Manuka Health MGO 115+ On-The-Go 12 Packets: single serve packets of an Everyday grade, handy for travel.
• Wooden Honey Spoon: a clean way to scoop honey from the jar. Our article on whether a metal spoon affects honey explains why we like wood.

For skin, an Everyday grade is all you need. The skin studies above used medical-grade honey products rather than jars of high MGO honey, so there's no need to splash out on a higher grade for your face. We group our jars into three tiers by MGO:

• Everyday (under MGO 400): a good fit for face masks, spot use, lips and a daily spoonful.
• Premium (MGO 400 to 799): for those who want more MGO per spoon.
• Superior (MGO 800 and up): our strongest grades, for those who want the most MGO per spoon.

Higher grades are rarer, cost more and taste more intense, so we'd save them for eating rather than putting on your face. Our Manuka honey price guide explains why, and our MGO and UMF converter shows how the two scales line up.

Good Everyday jars for face masks

Try Manuka Health MGO 263+ (UMF 10+), Egmont Honey MGO 265+ (UMF 10+), Comvita MGO 263+ (UMF 10+) or Egmont Honey MGO 85+ (UMF 5+).

Honey is gentle for most people, though DermNet notes that some feel a little stinging when it's applied. A few simple tips:

• Patch test first. Put a small amount behind your ear or on the inside of your arm, rinse it off and wait 24 hours before using it on your face.
• Allergies. If you're allergic to honey, bees or bee products, don't use Manuka honey or products made with it. Stop and rinse it off if you get stinging that doesn't settle, redness, itching or swelling.
• Keep it away from your eyes.
• Wounds and burns. Honey from a jar isn't sterile, so keep it for eating and face masks, not wounds or burns.
• Skin conditions. If you use a treatment for acne, eczema, rosacea or another skin condition, keep using it, and check with your GP or dermatologist before adding honey.
• Babies. Never give honey to babies under 12 months, and don't put it on their skin, where it could end up in their mouth. Honey of any kind, including Manuka, can contain bacteria that cause infant botulism.