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Magic Manuka Balm

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The story behind our Magic Manuka Balm

Exciting news here at Bee Sensual. We have a new and amazing product – Magic Manuka Balm!

How it came to be?

The owner of Kauri Cliffs wanted to meet with me last year to develop a range of manuka products for their spa. He had used manuka honey with great success on a wound on his leg and is now a firm believer in it’s amazing properties.

I played around with ratios of honey to my organic balm and eventually settled on the perfect blend – 15% 10+ manuka honey with organic beeswax, organic almond oil and vitamin e oil.

He loved it and when I trialled it on myself it left my skin feeling AMAZINGLY soft and hydrated. I fell in love. Since it has such a high manuka content I decided it must be good for all sorts of things and I set to work testing my theory. Not long thereafter I fell off my bicycle and grazed my elbow well and truly on rough tar (long and not so lady-like story) – great testing opportunity!

manuka-magic-balm-bee-sensual-nz

1) 30 September 15 – 2) 11 October 15 – 3) 04 May 16

I know, elbows aren’t that sexy, but hey we’re all about self love here, and these pictures really show you the amazingness of what the balm did. The balm is literally all I ever used on it. I taped it up every morning and evening with a gauze and a good helping of the balm and it never scabbed, dried up or got infected! I was sold.

magic-manuka-balm-bee-sensualI’ve used it on pimples with great success and one of my friends loves using it as a deeply nourishing cleansing mask. It tastes amazing too (I know from making it), but I didn’t say that 😉 I also recently heard it did great things for someone’s eczema. So I’m looking forward to more stories!

Basically the balm is wonderful for pimples, scars, wounds, rashes, eczema, massage and pretty much anything else. If you would like to read more about our magic manuka honey collected by our bees from the many stands of native bush in the beautiful Far North, head over to our Ingredients page.

To purchase – head over to our shop 🙂

Turmeric sunshine on my face!

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topical turmeric treatmentA DIY Turmeric Face Mask:

I look a little funny
My face is kinda sunny
 This mask is pretty runny
Yum! That must be the honey…

I’m a firm believer in turmeric’s amazing healing abilities when taken internally, especially for its incredible anti-inflammatory effects on the gut. That is a story for another time though.

A while ago I went hunting for a DIY face scrub to help with pigmentation and came across a recipe with turmeric powder in it. One of my favourite pastimes is researching, so I took the opportunity to read more about the topical use of turmeric and of course create a mask for myself.

All you need is 3 basic kitchen ingredients (with the option of sandalwood powder if you have or otherwise almond meal is perfect):

  • DIY turmeric mask1 tsp turmeric powder (I like to use organic)
  • 1 tsp plain yoghurt
  • 1 Tbsp honey (raw of course, and luckily in NZ a lot of the honey is)
  • Optional – 1 tsp sandalwood powder or almond meal

Mix the ingredients together in a clean container until you have a smooth consistency and then gently and lovingly massage your face with it. Turmeric of course stains everything, so please be careful of your clothes and favourite tea towels etc. ‘Will my face stain yellow?’ you may well ask. It must be the combination of goodies, but no it shouldn’t. Mine doesn’t anyway 😉

Leave it on for at least 10 minutes while you do something nice for yourself, like relax with a magazine or soothing cup of tea. The first time I did it I ended up listening to an inspiring talk on managing our beliefs around health and 30 minutes later I rinsed it off with warm water. My skin felt amazing!

Turmeric process

The mask’s benefits

Some of turmeric’s many properties are anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal, which is why it is incredible for treating acne and pimples. It also regulates sebum production and therefore is a wonderful skin balancer if your skin is too oily/dry.

Yoghurt has high-levels of lactic acid, which means it gently exfoliates and hydrates. It is also very soothing and being high in zinc is healing for all number of skin conditions.

Honey, well honey is magic 🙂 And besides it makes the mask taste delicious and clean up is a treat 😉 Read more about it here.

Almond meal is a rich in essential fatty acids and vitamins, so while it gently exfoliates it is giving back nutrients and moisture to the skin.

Most importantly, create and apply with cupfuls of self-love and gratitude. I would love to hear how you enjoy this, and if you’re brave enough to share some yellow sun-face pictures here or on our facebook that would be great 🙂