Question: Using honey as a humectant

I'm asked all the time about using honey as a humectant in our products. Is it possible?

Honey is a good humectant, which is why we want to use it in our products, but this is also where we run into problems. Honey is self-preserving - to a certain extent - when there's no water around due to the high levels of sugar. Add some water, and fermentation begins. So if you're using honey in a product that contains water, like our lotions, the fermentation can begin quite quickly.

Honey can also be considered an anti-bacterial ingredient, but only for itself (meaning it won't behave as a preservative for our products). Some honeys are considered more anti-bacterial than others, like Manuka honey, and there are suggestions that honey might help heal wounds faster (although this is in dispute at the moment).

So to answer the question "is it possible to use honey in our products?", the answer is a yes with a but. Yes, it could be a good addition as a humectant and possible wound healer, but it's going to be more difficult to preserve, so a good broad spectrum preservative used at the maximum usage amount is required if you want to use it in your water containing products.