Honey is a common ingredient in skin care products, and honey skincare is popular because honey has many claimed benefits. While some of these benefits are not science-backed, others are supported by science. Honey is primarily made up of sugar, and the high concentration of sugar makes it a humectant and antibacterial. The sugar concentration has to be very high, while the water concentration is very low for honey to be antibacterial. Therefore honey is not an effective antibacterial ingredient in skincare formulations with high water content. However, it can still be a beneficial moisturizing ingredient. The Tony Moly I’m Honey Deep Moisture Rescue Mask incorporates honey extract into its hydrating rescue mask. After using almost the entire jar, I liked this product, and I will tell you why.
Related Post: Honey in Skincare: Should it be in Your Routine?
About the Honey Skincare Product:
The I’m Honey Deep Moisture Rescue Mask comes in a yellow plastic jar. The mask is the color and almost the consistency of honey. The texture is not quite as thick as honey, but the product was formulated to aesthetically remind a person of honey. They even included a fragrance in the formulation to make it smell like honey.
I bought the 3.3 oz jar from Ulta Beauty for $15.00, which is a super reasonable price seeing that it took me about three months to get 75% through the jar. I used the mask two to three times a week at night on the same day I applied my chemical exfoliating serum. Due to the very thick consistency of the product, a little goes a long way. You only need a quarter-sized amount for your entire face. I learned the messy way that any more than that and it would be dripping off of your face and getting everywhere. So let’s talk about the ingredients!
Benefits of Honey Skincare and the I’m Honey Deep Moisture Rescue Masks’ Ingredients:
Bee-Based Ingredients
This product not only includes honey extract but also includes two other bee by-products, royal jelly extract, and propolis. The royal jelly extract is similar to honey because it is primarily sugar. So while there are some claimed benefits of royal jelly, it is most likely very similar to honey. Its primary function in skincare is a humectant. On the other hand, propolis is a mixture of bee wax and other oils that forms a resin or glue-like substance. Bees use it when building their hives to hold all of the individual combs together and preserve the honey until its sugar concentration is high enough to make it antibacterial on its own. In cosmetic applications, propolis has antioxidant properties. Antioxidants make up a large portion of propolis, which could have some antioxidant function in skincare at the right concentration.
Other Great Ingredients
In addition to the bee-based products, there are also other moisturizing ingredients. Since this is a moisturizing product, it is not surprising that water is the first ingredient. It is also not surprising glycerin is the second ingredient. Water provides moisture, and glycerin is a humectant. Glycerin can bind the water molecules and penetrate the epidermis and pull moisture into the lower layers of skin.
Related Post: Using Glycerin for Skin: Glycerin vs. Hyaluronic Acid
Allantoin is another great hydrating ingredient that is in this product. It is an emollient which means it moisturizes and soothes the skin, and it does this by holding moisture onto the skin’s surface. The water is held onto the skin, softening dry, itchy skin and rehydrating dehydrated skin.
Another excellent ingredient in this product is disodium EDTA. Although it is formulated without parabens, it still has disodium EDTA, a preservative to keep the product stable and safe. The other ingredients in the product are polymers. They are included to create the texture, hold onto the water, and serve as film formers to keep the moisture on the skin. This prevents the mask from completely drying during the 10-15 minute application period.
Things I Loved:
- The Cost- I feel like the $15 was well spent, add I got a lot of product and a lot of usages out of the product.
- The Aesthetic- I thought it was cool that the product was based on honey, and they designed it to look, smell, and feel like honey.
- The Moisturizing- After using it, I liked that my skin felt soft and was not red, irritated, or dry like it can be after I exfoliate if I do not follow it up with a moisturizing mask.
Things to Be Mindful Of:
- The Fragrance- Although it is the last ingredient on the ingredients list, which means the concentration is very, very, very low if you have hypersensitive skin, you may want to stay away from this product. I think if you are interested in the product, it is worth buying and giving a try, even if you tend to stay away from products with fragrance.
- The Consistency- As I said before, it is made to have the consistency of honey. If you accidentally get too much, it can make a mess. Additionally, if you get some on the lid when you reseal it, the product will come out of the sides. The mask is not as thick as honey, so you can easily wash and wipe it up.
I would purchase this product again. Especially as we are heading into the fall and winter months, I think this could be a great addition to your skincare regimen. Additionally, if you tend to have dry, dehydrated skin or a damaged skin barrier this could be a nice soothing product. This is definitely a nighttime routine product because it requires you to apply, wait, and then rinse off. However, if you are having a self-care Saturday or Sunday this would also be a good mask to use then.