The Honey Mask - Ambrosia

I have been wanting to create a honey mask for a very long time. Beautiful memories are connecting me to the bees and the honey. When I was growing up my parents kept bees. Well, actually it was my father's hobby that he enjoyed a lot and took very seriously. At one point he had more than 100 bee hives. Even when he met with my mum it was their shared interest in beekeeping that brought them together. So me and my brother were growing up around bees and when the acacia blooming season came my father followed the flowers and moved the bees from home to another place where the booming started a few days later and could spin acacia honey twice. We always accompanied him. Camping with the bees next to the woods and meadows. These are some of my favourite childhood memories.

Discovering the beekeeper lady from whom I am buying the lavender honey for the mask is similarly magical and shows that everything is connected. I actually found her through my lavenders. She also has her own lavender field and a mutual friend who helps me distilling my lavenders introduced us. Not far from my studio there is a part of Hungary that we call Zselic. This area is consists of rolling hills and valleys with beautiful dense forest. And that is where the honey comes from. Actually when I first visited the beekeeper lady where she lives with her family, bees and lavenders it felt like I went off the map. By the way, have you seen the little bee on the label next to the rose?

Honey itself is an ancient remedy. Raw honey contains a large quantity of sugars which captures water molecules and protect the skin from drying out. Also rich in enzyme. Its high concentration of minerals and vitamins deeply nourish and regenerate the skin. While the amino acids in honey help cleanse the skin and accelerate the process of scarification. Honey is also an excellent base that absorbs, preserves and transmit the properties of plants. So it does in this mask too. Absorbing the properties of the beautiful damask rose petals, nettle leaf, al-hojari frankincense and wild harvested pine pollen and making their properties more available for our skin.

I wanted this mask to be very active, hydrating, nourishing, regenerating and of course thats how I chose the ingredients.

Damask rose petals work wanders with sensitive, weakened and mature skin. High in astringent tannins, it gently refines the skin's grain and tightens its pores. Rose essential oil can help boost skin tone, rich in antioxidant, and protects the skin from exposure, nourishing it and preventing it from drying out, while fosters the process of skin cell regeneration.

You know that I chose the best quality I can, luckily I found the most exquisite gold dust-like Al-hojari frankincense. It has a delicate citrusy, balmy scent and stimulates cell repair and balances pigmentation.

The simple stinging nettle has a long history of use and it is a classical herb with rich mineral content. It is anti-inflammatory, astringent, anti-bacterial, and healing. Also, nettle is cleansing, clarifying and soothes sensitive skin. So no matter how humble, it is a power house in plant form.

Creating the right synergy is one of my favourite thing, as well combined ingredients complement each other. A good example in the Ambrosia Honey Mask is the rose hip oil that is in itself an exceptionally active oil for tissue regeneration but combining it with Centella oil makes their properties more powerful.

As you can read here and hopefully see when using the Ambrosia Honey Mask, it is a power house of exceptional natural ingredients. That is designed to repair, nourish, hydrate and regenerate.

And finally, a bit more about using it. For someone who have never used a honey mask it can be a bit strange, too sticky and just not sure where to start with it. Let me help you. I love to use this mask twice a week usually before I wash my hair, so I don't worry about getting it everywhere. First dampen your face with some water. Although I prefer to use a hydrosol, or the Flowery Face Mist, that could give your skin even more active care and love. Then take about a teaspoon of the mask or less, and massage it all over your face. Leave on for 20-30 minutes then rinse. It could help to moisten your hands too before applying and warm the Ambrosia Honey Mask in your fingers, so it softens and glides on easier. Be gentle with your skin do not pull it.

I wish you will enjoy every drop of this beautiful mask. And as always I hope it makes your skin healthier and your soul happier.

Zita

Photographs: Szendeff Lőrinc