Manuka Honey Is Packed With Skin-Care Benefits — Even More Than Regular Honey

As the beauty industry continues to move toward clean formulas and transparency with ingredients, you're going to start seeing more words listed on your product's packaging that you associate with food, not skin-care, because they're packed with beauty benefits. Manuka honey is one of them.

Manuka honey, which originates from Australia and New Zealand, has started popping up in more skin-care products, like moisturizers, cleansers, and face masks, because brands are catching on to the power of this natural ingredient. While regular honey boasts soothing, brightening, and moisturizing properties, manuka honey packs a perk that makes it more unique.

"It is made by bees that pollinate the flower Lemtospremum scoparium, which is also known as the manuka bush," Shari Sperling, board-certified dermatologist and founder of Sperling Dermatology, told POPSUGAR. "The honey's antibacterial properties make it distinct from regular honey."

This key difference between the two comes from an enzyme in the manuka, or tea tree, bush. "The nectar from Tea Tree Bush flowers creates an extraordinary enzyme called methylglyoxal (MGO), which gives manuka honey more antimicrobial properties than any other variety of honey," said Barbara Close, the founder of Naturopathica with a masters in therapeutic herbalism. "Traditionally, it has a long history of use by the Maori people of New Zealand for its wound-healing abilities, but it's grown in recent popularity for its ability to reinforce the skin's lipids (hydration) while also clarifying and soothing the skin — an ideal combination for use in skin-care."

If you want to start incorporating the powerhouse ingredient into your routine, try one of the manuka honey skin-care products ahead.