Speaking of Manuka Honey (There Are Alternatives)

NOTE: Forgive any disjointedness in this post. I had to have help finding and piecing together the information. My brain is worn OUT!

Yes, I did post very recently about the wonders of Manuka honey. It's some amazing stuff. However, I realize I haven't talked as much about alternatives to Manuka. It's not the only honey with superb and varied benefits. When I realized that there were other types of honey that claim to help with various health and beauty goals, I thought I would start looking into some of them. I'll probably have to look into alternatives since Manuka is so far out of my budget.

Medical Grade Honey Is a Thing

To start off, I have to admit that I heard about some alternatives to Manuka a while back. The thing about Manuka is the grading system. The MGO or UMF numbers make it easy to tell what "strength" of Manuka you are getting - or even whether it's authentic. What I did not know about is the term "medical (or medicinal) grade honey". Huh. Who among you did know?

The online Free Dictionary defines "medicinal-grade honey" MGH using Manuka as a standard and actually redirects to "Manuka Honey" for the definition:

Meliponini bee

"A medicinal grade honey applied topically to treat decubitus ulcers or prepare wound beds for skin grafts

Application When compared to standard hydrogel therapy, venous leg ulcers dressed with manuka honey have less slough, better healing and a lower incidence of infection." 

Now, when I try to look around online for more information, I mostly see a lot of scholarly articles that a) I wouldn't understand, and b) I won't pay to read in their entirety. I'm not that nosy.

What I did find when looking for more information on MGH, is that it's also referred to as "Active Leptospermum honey" (ALH). Leptospermum is basically "any of various shrubs or trees of the genus Leptospermum, of the myrtle family, native to Australia and adjacent areas and often cultivated as ornamentals in milder climates." Well, there you go. Leptospermum = Manuka.

So... Manuka is the most referenced of medical-grade honey but it's not the only honey that has medical applications. Right? Right. I think.

Oh boy. Can you see me peeking down this rabbit hole here?

Because I am genuinely interested in being healthier without having to add more artificial concoctions and lab-created prescriptions to my medicine cabinet, I kept going. My brain hurt so bad that at one point, I had to have a neighbor come over and help me. She's a former teacher and loves digging into stuff like this, thank goodness. Also, she never makes me feel self-conscious about my limitations, bless her. She told me that she misses digging into information like this and that it helps "exercise her little gray cells". (Did I mention that we are both fans of Hercule Poirot stories?)

So.

The Healing Part - MGO

Manuka bush

According to what Teach and I read in a couple of places, the healing part of Manuka comes from hydrogen peroxide (that makes sense) and methylglyoxal - or MGO. Scottish Heather Honey has the peroxide but not the MGO. Unlike MGO, the peroxide properties are not as stable against heat, light, and bodily fluids. So Manuka wins the battle there. Remember that Manuka is often labeled by the amount of UMF or MGO present.

MGO is what gives Manuka its particular antibacterial properties. Before that being discovered by some guy (sorry, we took great notes but lost the source page), cocoa and coffee were the only foods shown to have MGO in any significant amounts - and they have nowhere near the amount or level of MGO as in Manuka. 

So...Alternatives to Manuka?

1. Scottish Heather Honey - we see why it's not as powerful as Manuka.

2. Irish Honey - This one seems to be highly antioxidant (because of the "high phenolic content", but I don't see any mention of it having the MGO. Teach did find a source comparing Irish honey to Manuka. This is another source talking up Irish honey.

4.  Meliponini Bee Honey (aka: Stingless Bee Honey) - This is the one I am most excited about because of claims that it can help with eye problems and tooth and gum issues. I am going to do a separate post on this honey at a later time.

And now for a honey that might hold a candle against Manuka:

4. Tualang Honey - We saw more than one article or medical journal citing Tualang as being in some ways more effective than Manuka. WHAT? Yes, ma'am.

Let's Talk About Tualang Honey

This NCBI article we found went into a lot of detail comparing Manuka and Tualang honey. I'm taking Teach's word for it (she really got into reading all the scientific details!) and just say that Tualang can give Manuka a hard run for its money. The information we found was interesting and persuasive enough that I will be pricing Tualang before I spend any more on Manuka. Teach got really excited when looking at the different effects Tualang and Manuka had on certain types of wounds, etc. She told me it's definitely worth at least trying the Tualang and I do trust her judgment here. (And I have to give this other link because I lost track of which NCBI article Teach read...)

Another Honey to Consider

I found another type of honey to check into when I have time. Teach was gone when I found these so I'm not going to deal with it right now. It's called Kelulut honey and I saw somewhere (don't ask where) that it's close to Manuka as far as being medicinal. I did find one page to check out and it lists some information and benefits of Kelulut.

For now, I have a serious headache, no joke, and will have to do the separate posts on Tualang, Meliponini, and Kelulut honey later. Teach has offered to come back and help me again. Sick puppy, she loved doing all this research! LOL

Peace

--Free

UPDATED **REVIEW** Mira Nova Creamed White Honey (& Arashan Brand)

UPDATE:
The original review was only for the Mira Nova brand. See the bottom of the post for a tiny review of the Arashan brand of honey. Both brands reviewed are wildflower varieties.

Mira Nova Creamed White Honey

Y'all know how I love honey. Floral, bush, Manuka, etcetera. I like putting honey in my tea, smearing it on bread, or just eating a little spoonful.

Since so much of the honey on grocery store shelves is fake or diluted (or even possibly polluted), I try to buy local or look for organic and trusted brands. I like unprocessed honey and raw (with pieces still in it), but I really like creamed honey. I've been wanting to try white creamed honey and I finally got some courtesy a gift from my public wishlist. (That's a hint for more of my family!)

This is the one I tried and it is so good that I cannot stop eating it. It is a "creamed wildflower mountain honey from Central Asia".

I've got some loaf-sliced brioche from Aldi's that's been sitting on top of the fridge for a minute. I have been spreading it with cream cheese topped with some of this honey for my breakfast or a mid-day snack. It's been tough but I limit myself to 1 (maybe 2) slices a day. When I was a little queasy last week, I had nothing for a couple of days but the cream cheese & honey brioche and tea with honey. I could live off the stuff if I had to.

I was impressed at how well the seller packed the jar for shipping. Also, I like that the jar was sealed with safety tape.

I've never had the Mira Nova honey before and it was just on my Wish List because I was curious about it. Now I am a little bit hooked.

The consistency is about that of processed peanut butter and just that spreadable. It's quite a bit sweeter than Nate's raw and unfiltered honey, which is what I typically keep around. In my opinion, there is a slightly milk-cream undertaste to it. (By the way, for more daily-use and "regular textured honey, Nate's is awesome.)

It has a very smooth texture

This Mira Nova would be too pricey for me to buy for myself on a regular basis but it's a beautiful thing to have around to treat yourself. I can't even explain how good it is. I am going to have to get some regular creamed honey to see what else I have been missing.

Arashan White Honey

This product description of this one reads: "Wildflower/Clover Honey From The “Mountains Of Heaven”.

Of the 2 brands, I have to admit that this is the best. It's even smoother in texture (which I didn't think was possible) and it's less sweet. I cannot get over how this one will run - even after being refrigerated. That makes it easier to spread on bread and to mix into smoothies. Before I did refrigerate this, I could literally pour it from the jar and spread it with a plastic knife. When I refrigerated it overnight, it took on a slightly - very slightly - thicker texture. But, get this, it still spread almost as easily as when at room temp.

This is video of the honey's viscosity straight out of the door of the fridge:

And this is the same honey after warming on the counter for about 30 minutes:

As I mentioned, this one is not as sweet as the Mira Nova. If on a sweetness scale, this would be a 5 compared to Mira Nova's 7. Also, the Mira Nova was so much thicker that I didn't even bother filming it.

The Arashan one is also not as pale. It's not even what I would call "white" honey.

Even though I chose the wildflower variety in both brands, there are options for the Arashan brand.right on the product page; you have to visit the Mira Nova storefront to view their options. Arashan has only a couple of other items that I randomly found on Amazon.



Peace
--Free

P.S.: I am not a person who is fearful of the future or for society but... If people start panicking and cleaning out the food aisles the way the did with toilet tissue, I will be glad that I always have honey around. It does not spoil or go bad. Ever. It's nutritious and, if you have some that is of good quality, it's healthy and can be used on wounds and to deal with sore throats and coughs.  Maybe I do need to stock up on more of nature's medicine.

**FOLLOW UP** Honey as a Healing Agent

It's not often that I get to come back and give details of dramatic results about products I've reviewed. It's an awesome feeling.

Back in April, I was posting about the different types of honey. My main interest was in the great taste and the natural healing powers of the different varieties. I've been using honey for a long time - adding it to my beverages and cereals, and just taking a little bit by the spoonful when I'm not feeling well. Honey is a great throat soother and, because of the sarcoidosis, I tend to cough. Sometimes, I cough so much that I get hoarse, and all my life I've been prone to laryngitis. Honey has become a regular part of my natural medicine cabinet.

In the past several weeks, I've broken out with a rash. It started like a minor dry-skin problem but it was isolated to small sections on both ankles and in minute patches on my palms and fingers. My hands healed rapidly and the rash never even really developed past the minor stage. I suspected I was suffering from a lack of iodine and, since I have some J. Crowe's, I took a few drops every day. The dry spots on my hands healed up, but my ankles got worse. I stopped taking the iodine and contacted my doctor. It's possible that my meds (chemo and an infusion treatment) may be the cause, so I have an appointment coming up to check on that. In the meantime, I tried using a hydro-cortisone cream. Moisture is not my problem, though, and the cream wasn't helping much.

I know that doctors must hate patients who go all renegade with their own healthcare and, because I trust my specialist more than he will ever know, I usually don't do anything without checking with him first. That rash was driving my nuts though! It is dry and ugly and it was starting to itch. Of course, you know me...

I woke up last night because the rash was feeling itchy. I went straight to my natural medicine shelf. I still don't have any of the whole manuka honey, but I do have an antioxidant honey blend that has some manuka in it. ----->>>>>>>>>>

















This is what the rash looked like yesterday (and this doesn't even show how scaly and dry it was!)

This is how I dressed it after applying a good dollop of honey with a Q tip:

This is what the rash looked like once I washed off the honey with a warm wet towel:

To be fair, the lighting and color from the camera seems better, but the difference really is this startling.  Best of all, the itch is gone. I am probably never going to be able to afford a decent amount of Manuka honey, but that might be all right. I'm hearing more and more about Scottish heather honey. Because the price is affordable ($17/12-oz jar), I've ordered some from Amazon using my saved up reward points. Another bonus: a high iron content in the heather honey.

For now, I'm just excited about how the honey blend I used has helped with this rash. I can't wait to tell my doctor. Well, I can kind of wait because I know he'll probably give me one of those looks!

You have to admit that this is pretty impressive. It proves to me what I've heard for years - from my mother and all those old ladies from my youth. Honey can be a natural healing agent.

Like I said, it's not often that I can come follow up with such dramatic results, but honey really, truly did do the trick for me. I still need to see what caused this, but I'm hoping that, until I see the doc, the honey continues soothing the itch and moisturizing the dry patches.

I'm not recommending that anyone substitute honey for medical care - I'm certainly not doing so. I just wanted to share my personal experience in this one instance. By the way, I did double check some references once more before I actually applied the honey to the rash on my foot. I found some sources that back up what my mama taught me about honey and healing:

• This, from a wound care journal, about using honey in dressing wounds, and
• an overview of honey uses from Web MD (yeah, yeah, yeah...).
• Some background about the use of honey in healing.
• Here is more objective (and scholarly) info on the subject from the NIH Library of Medicine.

Peace
--Free

**REVIEW** Super Enriched Honey

My brother and I were having a discussion about this one the other night:

We both like honey, but he is allergic to bee stings. I know that he eats honey, but I wanted to ask if he knew about any of the other by-products (?) of honey and if he uses them. He told me that he still loves and eats honey (and even has a friend who is a hobbyist beekeeper!). He did not know about any of the stuff that is in this product: pollen, propolis, and royal jelly.

Ingredients

Each of those things is in this enriched honey, but I wanted to break down what they are and how I could use them so I did some online research:

pollen

• Bee Pollen (according to WebMD) is basically pollen that collects on the bodies of bees and might also include bee saliva. I was surprised to learn that honey, honeycomb, royal jelly, and bee venom don't contain bee pollen. It is known to be used in skin-softening products and dietary supplements. It's not safe for pregnant or nursing women and, of course, could cause severe problems for people with pollen allergies. (I'm going to mention something about that in a bit.) Other sources mention that bee pollen is rich in amino acids and protein. (Here are some more claimed benefits.) 

propolis

• Bee Propolis (and, again, I'm going to steal straight from the info source) "is a resinous material that bees use to seal small cracks and gaps in the hive (beeswax seals the larger gaps). It’s made when bees collect resin from trees and other sources and mix it with a little bit of honey." Wow. I recently saw something about propolis being used to "accelerate" hair growth.

royal jelly

• Royal Jelly, according to WebMD, "is a milky secretion produced by worker honey bees." The "royalty" comes from the fact that it's used for the queen bee.

I find all that very interesting. One thing that alarms me a little is that I hear so many people talking about treating their pollen allergies with these bee products. I'm all about going natural and earth-central for healing and sustenance, but I also believe in caution and common sense. 

My brother is going to be checking this blog and doing some of his own research, but I have no known allergies, so...

Since I do care lots about my health, I budget out each month to purchase things that might be good for me. This enriched honey was one such purchase, but I almost got this one too:

The reason I decided not to get that one is because I can manage with the enriched honey for now. Maybe I will try that extract later. This is a comparison of nutrition labels:

propolis
extract

enriched
honey

Taste

Of course, nothing good for you will work if you can't stand using it. Good thing that I like the taste of this. 

mix of smooth and gritty

It's sweet, but not sugary-sweet. I'd say it's a nutty-flavored sweetness. The texture is a bit rough and gritty-like at first contact. Not bad, just not smooth like plain honey normally is. 

In general, I try to take in at least 1 tsp, three times a day. I'll generally do this just before I drink a lot of water.

Effects

Honestly, I thought that it would be a week or so before I would feel any of the energy I've heard other people talk about. That energy came on the first time I tried it. Maybe because I was a little bit tired when I took it? I probably wouldn't have noticed the added energy, but I was tired and dragging. I took about a teaspoon and a half, then drank some water. I'm not sure exactly how long it was - maybe half an hour - before I noticed that I was back up to speed. Actually, regular honey will give me a little boost, but this was a bit more intense. A nice surprise. 

I'm only on Day 3 with this, so I'll have to come back and update on whether or not the longer term effects are different. 

Because I have used honey on my skin (as a rinse-off mask) and hair (to heal damage), I want to try this out that way. I'm still debating with myself on that. The jar cost me about $11 at the local store. I'm not sure how much of this it would take to treat my face and neck. If I do try this out as a topical beauty treatment, I will sure post about it! LOL

I think I've hit my limit for honey products. I've tried it all at this point. Well, I haven't tried the Manuka honey and probably won't be able to afford to for a while, so... Maybe I will check to see if I can find the Manuka sold in tiny quantities. Oh well.

Peace

-Free

Disclaimer: I am not, of course, a medical professional of any sort. You should communicate with your healthcare providers and practice common sense and safety when using natural products. 

**REVIEW** Buram Flower Honey (with the comb!)

Okay, I have to admit that this isn't the usual type of 'review' but, since I do love honey, I had to share with you guys.

How can you not love this? I mean, if you like honey as much as I do.

Two things I don't know about this honey is what type of flower(s) it's from and how processed it is. I do know that this is an import from Turkey. From what I can tell from other online reviews, the brand is respected. From my own experience, I can definitely tell you that this tastes soooo good. (So, yes, +J.D. Hughes, I am eating the honeycomb! LOL)

You might remember that I talked about how super sweet Tupelo honey was. I only use it for certain things because of that. Funny thing is, this honey is just about as sweet as Tupelo, but it's a different type of taste. Tupelo is almost sugary-sweet and, to me, it has a wine-like taste. This one has a mellower sweetness. It's perfect for my honey-water drinks. Also, I finally tried it with some cheese. Nice. (I haven't done so yet, but can't wait to try this with goat cheese. Shout out here to one of my nieces-of-the-heart, Jamie!)

The whole reason I wanted to try this honey - because, Lord knows, I have enough stocked for now - is that it contains a piece of raw honeycomb.

From doing some general study, I know that honeycomb can be good but has to be eaten with some moderation. If you guys actually read my past posts, you know about the raw honey, honeycomb, and propolis.

I've had bits of honeycomb that come in the Really Raw honey that I buy, but I really love being able to break off a little gob of the comb and just.... Oh! It's tastes so good.

Some people in the Amazon reviews, questions and forums have talked about eating it all the time (and even swallowing it). I'm going to be more careful about that because of what I've mentioned before. What I've done since I got this comb is to chew all the flavor out of it, chew on the wax for a while (like gum), then spit it out.

One thing I've noticed since looking for honeycomb is that it can be pricey. That alone will keep me from eating too much. Plus, even a little piece of it is good enough. The fact that you get that crunchy bit of flavor is a nice morning pick-me-up. Chewing on the wax is soothing and I'm sure it's healthier than chewing regular gum. Since honey is so "anti" (anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-oxidant...), I think of chewing on the comb and the wax as being really healthy for the mouth. Maybe? Probably?

At any rate, if you like honey - or have been wanting to try honeycomb - I can tell you that I am in love with this one. For price-sake, I think it's better to purchase honey with some comb in it instead of buying just the comb. I don't think that I will be going through the comb that fast.

Like I said, this isn't a typical review, but I had to share it.

Peace
--Free

P.S.: You all should know that you should never give honey to kids under a year old. I was taught by my mom that you didn't give honey to kids under TWO years old. I only recently learned the reason for that. It can cause infant botulism. So do be careful. Also, if you are allergic to bees or bee products, stay away from pollen, propolis and other products of that nature. Just saying.

**ApothaCare** The *Other* Honeys

When I started looking into the various types of honeys, I had no idea how far down a rabbit hole I was sliding. It's a nice slide. I'm learning more than I expected to.

Last post, I mentioned how pricey Manuka honey can be. I wanted to look at some other types of honey that might be just as healing.  One of the sites where I found so much good information is called Benefits of Honey. It's a pretty amazing source of information and it's where I first heard of these "medicinal grade" honeys:

• Tualang  (what it is, and compared to Manuka)
• Sidr (is apparently more difficult to find; this is a video comparison)
• Honeydew

I haven't found any of those at my local health food store, but I will mention them to the folks there. What I can find there is pretty varied, some of which are mentioned a lot in the online health communities:

• Neem (scroll down for it)
• Buckwheat
• Tupelo
• Sage
• Wildflower

And lots more, including those made locally (Fireweed is one I want to try).

Soon, I will get the chance to try out some actual raw honeycomb and even some Propolis Extract. Neither of them cost me anything due to a gift card, so... I can't wait to let you guys know all about that.

To close out this post, let me tell you how I have been experimenting with using honey lately:

• As a face wash: Mix a little bit of honey with a 1 or 2 drops of water. Rub between palms to warm. Apply to face (avoiding eye area). Let rest for 5-10 minutes. Rinse and use your usual moisturizer. I've done this for  about 3 days now after seeing it on Crunchy Betty. My face always feels good when I do a honey mask, but doing this every day gives some really good results. Don't know why I only ever did this on an every-now-and-then basis!
• As a lip healing salve: I get cold sores. Always have. I swear I think someone with a cold sore infected me as an infant! Mostly happens when I am stressed. I've been using really expensive (but highly effective) Abreva,, which I always keep on hand. The last time that I felt that itchy little tingle that indicates a sore coming on, I dabbed on some honey with a Q-Tip and just let it sit there like a sugary mole. Guess what? I never did have to pull out the Abreva as a backup. Hmmm.
• For intermittent/alternate day fasting: As I said recently, I need to fast more often. Since I got back to using the honey-water on a more regular basis, I discovered that I can fast for up to 18 hours every other day as long as I nourish myself with a little bit of honey. This is great because I had been fasting off and on, but never more than once a month (truth be told!). I guess all this discussion of my love of honey has inspired me. After the first couple of times, it gets easier to go for longer and longer periods. I started with 10 hours, then 15, then 18. Think about it, for around 6 hours of that time, I'm sleeping anyway. (I'll make sure to post more about this after I've been doing it for a while.) By the way, some people opt for setting aside days for "calorie restriction" instead of total fasting. Since I have, on some fasting days, ingested some light broth (in addition to my honey-water drinks), I guess I'm riding in the "calorie restriction" lane. You'll have to get in where you fit in, healthwise.

I'd love to hear from anyone who's been lucky enough to try some of these honeys. 

Peace

--Free

**ApothaCare** For the Love of Honey: Manuka Mania

In the last post, I talked about my love of honey and the various favorites I have. This post, I have to talk about one that I would just love to try:



Manuka honey is a prized type among honey lovers. While I do think it's a very potent honey (as far as its healing benefits), I've learned about other honey types that may be just as good. I'll be talking about those later. For now, on to Manuka and why it's such a big deal.

By the way, there is a bit of Manuka honey in the Antioxidant blend that I mentioned in the previous post, I don't know how much is in the blend, or how "active" it is. And by "active" I mean- Well, just keep reading and it will start to make sense.

The first place I looked for some info on Manuka honey and other types was WebMD, and this is what they had to say in part:

Looks like peanut butter, huh?

"But not all honey is the same. The antibacterial quality of honey depends on the type of honey as well as when and how it's harvested. Some kinds of honey may be 100 times more potent than others." (source)

Basically, it goes on to say that where most honey types are known for being protecting against bacteria and infection, as well as being anti-inflammatory,  Manuka honey (MH) and some other types of honey have multiple components that are beneficial.

As I mentioned in last post, I learned that one of the key components in honey is hydrogen peroxide.

Since I do love honey so much, I really wanted to see if I could find some that I could afford (like maybe in a sample size), and I did find some. One Seller on Amazon lists a reasonably-priced jar of Manuka, but... something about the wording on the label made me hesitate.

When I doubt, read the reviews! I'm really thankful to the other people who take time to review products online (whether "in exchange" for a product or not). When I checked reviews for the brand of Manuka I was thinking of buying, I noticed one that stood out. It was very informative and detailed. I'm not kidding when I say this reviewer did an amazing job of listing some things to look for when buying Manuka honey. I sure hope he/she doesn't mind my copying his comments to share because I love their reviews on the site (my emphasis on certain points).

1. It says UMF, MGO, or OMA clearly on the front of the jar
2. It says “Active” on it
3. It is packed into jars and labelled in New Zealand
4. It’s from a New Zealand company that is licensed to use the name UMF (which is actually a trademarked name), OMA, or MGO
5. It has the UMF, OMA, or MGO licensee’s name on the front label
6. It has at least a rating of UMF or OMA 15+ or more, or if it is MGO, then at least 250+
Apparently 16 is the highest rating that is naturally found. While there are manuka honeys rated above 20, I've heard that some companies artificially reach this lofty rating for marketing purposes, so I’m sticking with 16 and probably wouldn't go lower than that.
0 – 10 is pretty much just normal honey, and while ratings 10 – 15 are less expensive and have some beneficial properties, they don’t have as much as we’d like. I figure that if I’m going to shell out for honey that’s pricier than normal, I may as well go ahead and get the real good stuff!

 Now that is a super helpful review. It sure saved me from possibly adding the wrong item to my Shopping Cart.


You should definitely check out the full article on WebMD if you've been interested in trying (or learning about) Manuka honey. It even explains something else I was wondering about: what's up with the different types of ratings I've been seeing while browsing for Manuka honey. Remember what that reviewer mentioned about the ratings? Well, here's some clarification on that:

• MG =  methylglyoxal  which is an  found in most types of honey, but usually only in small quantities.In manuka honey, MG comes from the conversion of another compound -- dihydroxyacetone -- that is found in high concentration in the nectar of manuka flowers.The higher the concentration of MG, the stronger the antibiotic effect. 
• UMF = "Unique Manuka Factor" . To be considered potent enough to be therapeutic, manuka honey needs a minimum rating of 10 UMF.  (my emphasis)
• "Active" = Honey at or above the 10 UMF level is marketed as "UMF Manuka Honey" or "Active Manuka Honey."

When I checked around. I went back to the best source to explain the grading system for Manuka honey. If you're super-vigilant (or just nosy like me), you can go in and search for one of the many, many papers and reports written by researchers.

Of course, I can look lots of places for the claims about the power of Manuka honey, like here, but I'm still educating myself. I've contacted the UMF org for more information since using their search system for licencees was tricky. I'll keep you posted.

Now that thing is, I was really wanting to try the Manuka honey. Until I saw those Manuka prices at local health food stores and online. Yikes. If that honey really is as healing as is claimed, I'd need it to heal my pocketbook after buying any of it. I saw prices from $49 to $112 for anywhere from 4 to 8 ounces. Whenever I found a jar that was more in my price range (I saw one jar for around $30), I noticed that the rating was low (in the 5+ range).

I will wait until I can find a decent jar of Manuka that doesn't require me to go without any other groceries for a month! Probably, I will go ahead and get the same brand pictured at the start of this post. For one thing, I was able to check that Y.S. is one of the suppliers that is actually licensed and legit. For another thing, the price was decent for the 15+ rated honey.

Next post, I will talk about some of the honeys that might be as potent as Manuka honey. Stay tuned.

Peace
--Free

Hair and Face Smoothie

At the end of this last week, I was feeling less than joyful. No particular reason, just a case of the blahs. To lift my spirit and do something nice for myself, I had a little solo 'Spa Day' without, you know, actually going to a spa.

I gave myself a mani-pedi, and I also gave made and used a nice hair mask and facial treatment. To further keep down my costs, I used only what I had on hand:

• Coconut milk
• Greens Plus Superfood Raw (link to blog post I did)
• Avocado
• **Desert Cactus honey (made from agave cactus)

Note that I left the Greens Plus out of the mix that I used on my hair. This is what the 2 different mixes look like (pardon my crappy photography skills). 

Lots richer colored with
Greens

Minus Greens

All the ingredients fit with my recent opinion about beauty products which is: If it's not safe for my insides, why put it on my outsides? Anyway, I assume you're probably too lazy right now to go back and read (or re-read) the post on the Greens Plus, so here are the ingredients again:

Other than the Stevia Leaf, the ingredients are all something I'd eat regularly. (I try to stay away from Stevia just because of the taste, but everything else in this Greens blend masks it from the taste buds!)

Still, I wasn't sure what would happen with all those greens when applied to my face. For all I knew, I was going to end up looking like an alien. That's one reason I did my 'spa' treatment on a Friday. I'd have all day Saturday to fix any mistakes and still make it to Sunday church service on time. 

As far as the hair mask, the results were not as moisturizing as I expected. In hindsight, I'm thinking that I could have added more honey and maybe a little bit of coconut or olive oil. What I did like is how clean my hair felt. I only did a really good rinse (not a shampoo) before and after applying the mask. Also, I think that a full hour might have been too long for leaving it on. (I got involved in a phone convo...). Like I said, my hair did feel really clean, and I didn't get any breakage. Afterwards, I went ahead and used a little bit of Aussie Moist conditioner to get some softening.

The 'green mix' went on my face like any other facial mask and I let it rest for 20 minutes. It was thicker than the hair mask because of the added Greens powder. (I like that for the face because it helped it stay in place, but wouldn't like it that thick for my hair. Just a little note in case you decided to try this.)One pleasant surprise in using the Greens in the facial is the very gently exfoliating effect. I generally only use super-fine grained things to exfoliate with because I don't want to damage my skin. The greens were so fine that I enjoyed massaging the problem areas of my nose and chin. There was no irritation at all. The mask rinsed well and left my skin feeling super clean and, I think, more toned. This was almost like a really gentle clarifying facial. After rinsing, I added a tough of Jojoba oil while my skin was still slightly damp. Wonderful!

Next time, the only thing I will change is the hair mask. I will definitely add something for softening. I'm thinking that a little bit of Coconut or Marula oil will do the trick. 

If you've been keeping up with the blog, you'll know that I'm taking a few tablespoons each day of blackstrap molasses. I can tell now without a doubt that this is helping my dark hair hold its color. My hair isn't growing much faster than usual, but it is thicker at the roots. I'll take it.

Peace

--Free

** Since I don't know much more about Desert Cactus Honey (other than that it comes not from bees but an agave cactus), I'm not sure if that affected the hair mask. Maybe I will do a comparison with some 'regular' honey next time. Notice there's not a lot of info about desert cactus online. I am seeing that it's a 'thing' to mix either types of honey with EVOO as a shine treatment. Hmmm...