Starting as flower nectar collected by bees, which is then broken down into simple sugars inside the honeycomb, honey is then collected from the honeycomb before it is strained and bottled. According to honey.com, a bee hive will produce approximately 65 pounds of surplus honey each year. Honey is amazing on so many levels—not only is it a healthy and tasty treat to snack on, but it’s also a popular ingredient in beauty products.

READ: We Tried Hotel Bel-Air’s Bee-Inspired Facial

With natural antibacterial properties and antioxidants, honey helps treat acne, slows down aging, clarifies pores, and gives skin the ultimate glow. It’s also incredibly hydrating, making it the perfect moisturizing treatment. Read on to discover the best honey beauty products for hair and skin and their sweet benefits:

Bath & Body Works CocoShea Honey Soothing Body Butter ($16.50)

Instantly soothe and hydrate parched skin with this moisturizing body butter, which blends two of nature’s most nourishing ingredients: vitamin-packed cocoa butter and rich shea butter. Leaves skin smelling like delectable, creamy honey!

Beekeepers Naturals B.Powered Superfood Honey ($39.99)

Featuring a rich blend of royal jelly, bee pollen, propolis and raw honey, this delicious and unique formula helps energize your body, promotes optimal performance, improves your complexion, activates the mind, and fights off the damaging effects of stress. Drizzle over toast, granolas, smoothies, etc. or simply enjoy by the spoonful. Bonus: Mix one spoonful with a splash of water to make the ultimate restorative face mask. Wash off after 15 to 20 minutes and bask in the glow!

Blossom Essentials Honeybutter ($39.99)

Featuring a nourishing blend of organic Manuka honey, beeswax, coconut oil, tea tree oil, sweet almond oil, and vitamins A and E, this helps repair and restore damaged, rough skin; speeds up the creation of new healthy skin; and prevents future irritation and itching through continued nourishment. It’s safe on hands, feet, the fact, scalp, underarms, eyelids, and even lips!

Cinq Mondes Intense Comfort Cream ($71)

This ultra-nourishing cream combines the effective action of avocado and organic sesame oils with organic myrrh and honey extract to nourish and provide long-lasting hydration. Can also be used on lips as the ultimate winter-time hydration!

Comvita Premium Grade UMF Manuka Honey ($23.99-$69.99)

This premium grade raw manuka honey comes from the nectar of the manuka flower in the forests of New Zealand. Every batch is independently tested and certified by the UMF Honey Association and it offers a range of benefits including a unique range of beneficial oligosaccharides and prebiotics, amino acids, polyphenolic, and other plant-derived compounds. Enjoy alone or add to your morning tea, oatmeal, yogurt or smoothie as a tasty and healthy treat. Can also be used as a skin-brightening face mask! Comvita offers a range of Manuka Honey in UMF® in grades of 5+, 10+, 15+ and 20+, indicating the highest level of beneficial compounds.

Dial Manuka Honey Enriching Body Wash ($3.99)

This rich body wash formula leaves skin healthy and energized thanks to its Skin Therapy Complex, while the refreshing sweet, floral scent of real Manuka Honey will get your senses buzzing.

Earth Therapeutics Radiant Rejuvenating Honey Gold Mask ($4.99)

Specially designed with a premium shimmering sheet that offers close coverage and intensive hydration, this sheet mask is generously infused with a natural therapeutic serum that efficiently delivers the rejuvenating benefits of gold and honey to the skin. Gold extract helps to stimulate cell renewal—revitalizing and rejuvenating the skin; while honey, enriched with propolis and royal jelly, nourishes the skin to restore and lock in moisture.

Eczema Honey Original Natural Healing Cream ($29.95)

This soothing cream is made from 100% organic ingredients including intensely moisturizing organic beeswax, organic pure honey, organic almond oil and organic sunflower oil. It provides immediate relief and long-term results to reduce irritating eczema flare-ups and annoying redness. For those with nut allergies, the Eczema Honey Nut-Free Healing Cream is also available.

Elemental Herbology Vital Cleanse ($70)

Dramatically improve the texture, tone and radiance of skin with this refreshing cleanser. Natural botanicals, including Manuka Honey with Malic Acid work together to stimulate cell turnover, minimize breakouts, and protect skin from environmental damage for a healthy complexion.

beautyprophet.com

Farmaesthetics Midnight Honey Body Buzz ($39)

This luscious at-home treatment is comprised of two products, a body scrub and body oil, to deliver a rich body exfoliating experience. It also makes for an amazing pedicure treatment to remove callouses and soften feet and nail beds.

Farmhouse Fresh Honey Heel Glaze ($26)

This honey-based moisture serum seals in moisture and brings rich color back to tired feet. Simply brush on and rub into feet with this indulgent formula that is fragranced with velvety cinnamon notes, sweet cloves and honey. Includes the finest of moisturizing elements such as aloe leaf juice, pineapple and papaya fruit extracts. Includes application brush.

Fleur’s Supreme Moisturizing Creme ($63)

This sense-seducing nectar provides intense and long-lasting hydration featuring the moisturizing properties of Buckwheat Flower Honey. The soft texture and delicately fragranced scent envelope skin with supreme comfort, revealing a radiant complexion and beautiful skin.

Fountain of Truth Honey Glow Mask ($60)

This luxurious face mask enhances and hydrates skin for a dewy, youthful appearance. It features an intensely moisturizing trio of nutrient-rich Certified Organic Honey, restorative Propolis Extract, and amino acid-rich Royal Jelly Extract. The mask warms when massaged for the ultimate relaxing experience.

Jergens Nourishing Honey Moisturizer ($7.79)

With honey and orange blossom essence, this formula hydrates and smoothes to help reveal deeply nourished, visibly softer skin. The unique formula contains the illuminating Hydralucence blend for luminous skin.

Josie Maran Divine Drip Honey Butter Balm ($42)

This indulgent body balm combines two ancient holistic ingredients—honey and 100% pure argan oil. These two natural skin nourishers are whipped and churned into a decadent, nutrient-dense concentrate that creates a protective barrier on the skin to seal in moisture and ward off signs of environmental aggressors. Available in three scents: Pure Honey, Honey Peach, and Honey Fig.

L’Elixir des Glaciers Masque Majestueux Votre Visage ($425)

Valmont’s luxurious Essence of Bees skin care range is formulated with raw materials from the hive: moisturizing honey, purifying propolis, and regenerating royal jelly. With its changing texture, this universal beauty balm creates a rare sensory experience and infuses the skin with precious ingredients from the hive. Formulated to be deliciously massaged, it reveals nourished, revitalized skin of exquisite softness. Use once or twice a week.

Lapcos Honey Nourishing Mask ($17)

This nourishing mask is made from a lyocell sheet drenched in honey extract, which aids in antibacterial protection, has anti-aging properties, and gives skin a complexion boost. The honey extract infuses skin with nutrients, helps with elasticity and moisture retention. Also contains Centella Asiatica, which is full of natural antioxidants and anti-inflammatory benefits.

Mahalo Skin Care Petal Mask ($95)

This luxuriously-gentle beta-hydroxy treatment mask is formulated to provide deep hydration and improved texture for a glowing, plump complexion. Skin feels soft like a petal thanks to the mask’s 28 active ingredients including Amazonian white clay, bio-active Hawaiian and Manuka honeys, low molecular weight hyaluronic acid, and more.

May Lindstrom Skin The Honey Mud ($90)

An exquisitely distinctive union of raw honey, white halloysite clay, silver, and aromatic plant oils marry to envelop you in an intoxicating and highly addictive ritual. This silken, pudding-like treat infuses skin with active enzymes while restoring your optimal hydration and individual rhythm.

One’n Only Wholesome Plus Oat & Honey Nurture Line ($9.59)

The newest line from One ‘n Only, Wholesome Plus is a haircare range enriched with wholesome ingredients to maintain optimal hair health. The Nurture Regimen includes a shampoo, conditioner and rich treatment formulated with honey and a complex of oat and quinoa proteins to nurture dry, damaged strands while providing color protection.

Perlier Honey Nurturing Body Balm ($30)

This intensively moisturizing cream provides long-lasting softness. An extraordinary recipe nurtures, hydrates and softens the skin thanks to its emollient and nurturing properties formulated with honey nectar, avocado oil and milk proteins. 

perlier.com

Spongelle Honey Blossom Gift Set ($40)

This indulgent body care set comes with a built-in body wash + buffer in two different sizes, and a hydrating body lotion. Perfect for travel and offering time released lather, these dermatologist-tested, cruelty-free products infuse skin with fragrant notes of musk, lavender and creamy vanilla.

The Body Shop Honey Bronze Bronzing Powder ($20)

For your most natural looking tan, dust on this sun-kissed bronzing powder enriched with community trade honey from Ethiopia for a luminous golden glow, year-round. With shades to suit even the palest skin tones, it’s the effortless way to fake that 'holiday glow.' The shimmer-free, pressed powder creates an even, bronzed, matte-finish.

[Images courtesy of brands]

Kamala Kirk is a University of Southern California graduate and has been an editor/writer for more than a decade. She has written for E! Online, Total Beauty, TravelAge West, Malibu Times Magazine, and many more. She resides in Los Angeles and is a proud pug mom. Follow her on Instagram: @kamalakirk