I never knew I suffered from mild dandruff until I stopped dying my hair. I naturally have dark hair, but for years, I was a not-so-natural blonde. Over the past two years or so, I have made dramatic changes to my overall lifestyle — from the foods I eat to the products I use. Our household is as natural as possible.
If you too have dandruff, don’t be embarrassed. Not only is it a common scalp disorder, but it’s treatable. In my case, my scalp was sensitive to the hair products I was using — especially dye. Whether you have dry skin or seborrheic dermatitis, raw honey will be your new best friend.
Save the bees — and your scalp
If you eat honey, then thank the almighty honey bee, an insect that is near and dear to my heart. I have done a lot of research in the past few years, focusing on declining populations of not just honey bees, but bees in general. Amazingly, there are more than 20,000 species of bees, each offering their own unique characteristics. I often work outside, watching them dance around flowers in my yard.
Sadly, bees have been dying off at alarming rates due to neonicotinoid pesticides. It’s important to be aware of this issue — especially due to the impact declining populations have on our current food system. Bees transfer pollen from one flower to another, essentially fertilizing the plant, resulting in food production.
This is what’s known as cross-pollination, helping at least 30 percent of the world’s crops to grow and 90 percent of wild plants. Sadly, since 1990, over 25 percent of the American bee population has disappeared. If bees were to die off, this would affect everything from almonds to cucumbers, berries to apples.
If you want to do your part, make your garden bee-friendly. David Suzuki offers some great tips here.
Dandruff and raw honey, what’s the connection?
So, back to that dreaded dandruff — what the heck is it anyways?
Dandruff is simply small pieces of dead skin that flake away from the scalp. As mentioned, there are a number of causes. Surprisingly, dandruff is not generally caused by dry skin — it’s actually caused by too much oil. More specifically, dandruff often results from an overgrowth of harmless yeast.
Related: 8 Natural Remedies For Itchy Scalp And Dandruff
For me, my “dandruff” was caused by the chemicals I was applying to my hair. My skin was more than likely inflamed and overly sensitive to the products I was using — but not anymore. For starters, I eliminated the cause, and secondly, I soothed my scalp with raw honey.
Raw honey hasn’t been processed like the most common brands of conventional honey. It’s thicker and differs in color. Offering an incredible source of antioxidants, raw honey offers antibacterial and antifungal protection, soothes sore throats and digestion, heals wounds, reduce inflammation and much more.
When it comes to dandruff, a weekly application of raw honey can treat itching, scaling and even hair loss. Within one study published in the European Journal of Medical Research, when patients were treated with raw honey once weekly, their skin lesions healed, itching and scaling disappeared, and best of all, none of the patients treated weekly relapsed.
Raw honey has long been used throughout history based on its powerful benefits. In ancient Egypt, it was the most popular “drug” of choice — being mentioned 500 times within 900 remedies. It really is a remarkable food and natural medicine. From curing acne to improving symptoms of asthma, you should always have a jar on-hand.
Find raw honey at your local farmers market or health food store and start utilizing its properties both internally and externally — you won’t regret it. Just remember, honey is still high in sugar, so do not eat it by the spoonful. Although delicious, only consume when needed.
Fight dandruff today
If you are sick of little flakes falling on your desk, then you need to begin this all-natural remedy. Like me, you’ll need to eliminate any products that may be harming your scalp — hair dyes, harsh shampoos and any other hair product high in chemicals. You’ll also want to address your diet.
If you apply this treatment once weekly for four to six months, you will significantly improve control over dandruff and bacterial growth. Within the study mentioned above, results were experienced within one week, however, prolonged application will ensure that the initial issue is under control.
Ingredients
- Jar of raw honey
- Water
Instructions
1. Simply mix 90 percent raw honey and 10 percent water.
2. Massage the diluted solution into your scalp and allow to sit for two to three hours.
3. Apply once weekly.
— Krista Hillis
