There’s no doubt about it:
Manuka honey is a fantastic natural skin care ingredient.
This is because of the impressive range of protective and beauty enhancing benefits it has for the skin
It helps to moisturize, soothe inflammation, heal skin conditions, and keep acne at bay.
And the best part?
The powerful antioxidants it contains protect the skin from aging, reducing the appearance of lines and wrinkles.
So, its inclusion in a face cream is a guaranteed winner.
It makes it easy to get all the goodness of its application on a daily basis. And without the mess of using raw honey.
In this review, we’ll take a look at the best manuka honey face creams that are available on the market today.
And in our buying guide, we’ll show you the important things to consider when making a selection.
Our top picks at a glance:
* All links lead to Amazon
Buying Guide: The Things To Look For
There are a few important things to consider when looking for a high-quality product:
Is It UMF Certified?
It’s important to know that not all manuka honey is equal.When buying a face cream that says it has manuka honey in it you want to make sure that the honey is UMF certified and rated.
The UMF (Unique Manuka Factor) rating of a honey proves that it’s been tested in an authorized laboratory. This confirms that it’s real manuka honey from New Zealand. It also provides a measure of its antibacterial activity (1).
This is important because when you’re paying good money for a skincare product you want to be sure that it’s made with the real thing.
Unfortunately, there’s a lot of so-called manuka honey sold on the world market that isn’t genuine. Instead, it’s a blend of other kinds of honey (2).
There are many products that claim to use manuka honey, but very few of them state a UMF number. Which makes the source of their honey dubious.
The only way to be certain that the honey used is real manuka is if it’s UMF certified.
How Much Manuka Honey Does It Contain?
You’re looking for a face cream that contains manuka honey because you’re very interested in the benefits of honey for your skin.But, different products will contain different amounts.
It’s hard to determine the exact quantities used in a moisturizer. So look at its place in the list of ingredients to get a rough idea.
It’s no good buying a cream that has a long list of ingredients with a trace of manuka towards the end of the list.
You want it to be one of the top ingredients in the cream.
What Added Ingredients Does It Contain?
All face creams contain a number of added ingredients in the formulation.Most of these are natural with benefits for the skin. Which is what we want to see.
Unfortunately, it can be hard to find products that are all-natural. Most contain at least a small amount of synthetic chemicals which are often added as preservatives.
And some face creams seem to be mostly made up of these chemicals!
That’s definitely not what you want.
Not all chemicals are bad and need to be avoided. But I prefer them to be kept to a minimum.
Having said that, there are some things to look out for that you want to avoid:
- Parabens
- Phthalates
- Fragrances
- Silicones
- Sulfates
- Mineral oil
These ingredients have a bad track record of causing skin irritation and other problems.
Finding products that don’t contain any of these ingredients can be difficult, and it often rules out some of the biggest brands.
But you’re looking for the best, right?
All of the products listed below are free of these additives.
The Top Manuka Honey Face Creams
There are a number of manuka honey skin care products on the market. This is a selection of our favorite brands:
Manuka Secrets Day Cream
This product contains certified UMF 18+ honey. This means that it has a very high level of antibacterial activity.
It’s also listed as the second ingredient in the cream after water. Which makes it the main active ingredient.
It also contains:
- Hyaluronic acid, jojoba oil, almond oil, and shea butter. These further help with moisturizing your skin.
- Coenzyme Q10 and vitamin E to provide extra protective antioxidants.
- Licorice and narcissus tazetta bulb soothe irritated and dry skin
Pros
- Great for dry skin
- Removes fine lines
- Reduces dark spots
- Skin looks radiant with regular use
- Makes skin feel soft
Cons
- Noticeable floral scent. Some people might prefer a lighter scent
GoodOnYa
This skin cream from GoodOnYa contains UMF 12+ honey. It features in a prominent 4th place in the list of ingredients.
Made in the USA, it’s an animal cruelty-free product and is suitable for vegans.
The following natural ingredients are also included:
- Aloe vera gel to soothe inflammation and moisturize
- Coconut oil and cacao seed oil for further moisturization
- Vitamin E and vitamin C that work together for enhanced antioxidant protection
- Cehami, a botanical extract that helps with skin regeneration
- Retinyl palmitate (vitamin A) for cellular regeneration
Pros
- Helps with skin conditions like eczema and rosacea
- Doesn’t feel greasy
- Smooths skin
- Leaves skin feeling well hydrated
Cons
- Some people don’t like the thick consistency
Wild Naturals
It’s listed in 4th place in the ingredients, so it’s one of the major ingredients.
This face cream is very similar to the one by GoodOnYa. In fact, the ingredients list is identical. So the same pros and cons apply.
It also contains aloe vera gel to soothe the skin, vitamins C and E to provide antioxidant protection. A blend of natural plant oils provides extra help with moisturization.
Conclusion
Manuka is considered by many to be the best honey for face care.
So using a manuka honey face cream can be great for your skin.
It has natural moisturizing and anti-aging benefits. And is well known for its ability to keep your complexion free of acne and pimples.
It’s actually quite hard to find good manuka honey face creams that fit our buying criteria. Most of them fall down on at least one of the key points.
So our recommendation is to stick with the three listed above.
Our top-rated Manuka honey face cream is Manuka Secrets. This high-quality product contains a large amount of UMF 18+ manuka honey.
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