Okay, these before-and-after pics are insane.
If you've ever dealt with breakouts, or skin
rashes, or dermatitis—basically, anything even slightly annoying on your
face—then you know how frustrating the process of curing it can be.
Either you spend a bunch of money and time on dermatologist
appointments, or you spend a bunch of money and anger on drugstore
"miracles," or you give up and hide in a pit of self-loathing under your
bed.
No? Just me? Cool. Welp, what if I told you
that the fix for your skin woes is found in that sticky plastic bear in
your cupboard? Because according to one woman who just posted an insane
before-and-after photo on Reddit, the cure for her skin was a few
dollops of good ol' honey.
In a post titled, "I cured facial sebhorreic [sic]
dermatitis using a raw honey mask!" one user uploaded four photos of
her skin before treatment, after one week, after two weeks, and after
four weeks, with a hugely noticeable difference in each picture.
"I've struggled with an outbreak of facial sebhorreic [sic]
dermatitis since April," the user writes, explaining how even multiple
dermatology appointments and steroid cream prescriptions weren't giving
her relief for her itchy, peeling seborrheic dermatitis, which is caused
by an "overgrowth of yeast that's already naturally on all of our
bodies," says dermatologist Mona Gohara, MD.
So when the Reddit user found a small study
that showed "30/30 patients had their condition disappear after using a
raw honey mask for three hours every other night," she tested it out on
herself. "After washing with mild cleanser, I massaged a thin layer of
raw honey into the affected area and left it for three hours, simple as
that," she writes. "I cannot believe how quickly and relatively
painlessly this worked. I plan to continue the treatment every other or
every third day until all traces of seb derm are gone, and then to
continue weekly for six months, as the study indicates, to prevent it
from coming back."
And if this sounds like
complete bullshit to you—I get it. But there's actually some scientific
proof of honey's magical powers for not only dermatitis, but for acne, too:
"Honey does have known antibacterial properties," says Gohara, noting
that although she usually treats seb derm with antifungal creams
combined with intermittent cortisone cream, "honey could have an effect
on yeast as well."
Of course, as with all
medical and non-medical skin advice, remember that your mileage may
vary, and though this user cleared her skin with a few dabs of honey (Nature's Nate's Honey,
to be exact), you may need some stronger ammo to treat your acne and
rashes. Still, if you're not feeling the prescription life, try this
easy DIY at home, first.
