Humectants draw moisture from the surrounding air. If you have a humectant, such as honey or vegetable glycerin, on your skin, it will help the skin to retain water. Bathing with a humectant in the drying winter months is a great way to protect your skin.

Basic Honey Bath
This formula makes enough for one bath.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons honey 1 cup very hot water Combine the ingredients in a non-breakable measuring cup. Stir to blend. Pour into the filled tub just before entering.

Deep Winter Honey Bath
If the combination of cold outdoor weather and indoor heating systems is drying out your skin, bathe in this delight for skin renewal.

Ingredients
1 teaspoon oil (almond, apricot, or avocado for dry skin)
2 tablespoons honey
1 cup very hot water

Combine the ingredients in a non-breakable measuring cup. Stir to blend. Pour into the filled tub just before entering.

For more, see the eBook Beauty and the Bath, by Annie B. Bond (Green Chi Cafe, 2009).

By Annie B. Bond, the best-selling and award-winning author of five healthy/green living books, including Better Basics for the Home (Three Rivers Press, 1999), Home Enlightenment, Clean & Green (1990), and most recently True Food (National Geographic, 2010 and winner of Gourmand Awards Best Health and Nutrition Cookbook in the World). She has authored literally thousands of articles and was named “the foremost expert on green living” by Body & Soul magazine (2009).