Homemade Honey Antibacterial Balm to the Rescue!

My kids love getting scrapes and bruises. Well, more like they love to PRETEND they get scrapes and bruises and ironically all of them require a band aid and some of our homemade honey antibacterial balm (or “lotion” as my daughter calls it). I swear we go through a box of band aids every week and my environmentally conscious self feels terrible about it. But it’s hard to reason with a 5 year old when she’s SURE her fake cut needs to be covered to prevent a “pretend” infection RIGHT NOW!

So I just let them cover themselves in band aids and balm. It’s not a fight I’m willing to fight at this point in motherhood.

In the event that one of my kids gets an ACTUAL cut or scrap, here’s our standard protocol… First, the world stops (cue dramatic music), and then we use our homemade honey antibacterial balm instead of an over-the-counter antibacterial cream. Many common antibacterial creams contain ingredients that people react to. Surprisingly, reactions to these creams are often worse than the initial injury and reactions increase if the product is used repeatedly. So we skip them altogether and make our own bacteria-fighting homemade honey antibacterial balm instead.

Why we use manuka honey for cuts and scrapes.

My honey antibacterial balm uses manuka honey, an age old natural medicine known for its antibacterial properties. Many hospitals are looking into using manuka honey as an antibacterial agent because it’s more effective on antibiotic-resistant bacteria and is also non-toxic. How cool is that? My kids don’t care about manuka honey healing benefits though, they just think it’s cool to spread honey on themselves. To choose a manuka honey with more healing properties, make sure you buy one with a UMF (unique manuka factor) of over 10+.

To make this honey antibacterial balm travel-ready, I pour the mixture into lip balm tubes that I buy for about 10 cents each (or I recycle old tubes we already have in the house) and keep them in my purse for the occasional scrape at the park. This recipe is extremely easy to make and will keep for about 6 months. I hope this honey antibacterial balm soothes your children’s cuts and scrapes (real or fake) too!

Homemade Honey Antibacterial Balm

Ingredients:

3 tablespoon beeswax, grated and very loosely packed

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1 tablespoon raw manuka honey

Optional: 4 drops tea tree essential oil or manuka essential oil

Directions:

In a double boiler, melt the beeswax and coconut oil over low heat to combine.  This can take about 10-15 minutes over low heat.  Remove from heat, let the mixture cool slightly.  To retain the healing properties of both the essential oils and the honey you want to add them when the mixture has cooled but has not set.  Stir in the honey and tea tree oil (if using). Pour into lip balm tubes and let them set in freezer for 10 minutes until solid.  Remove and keep at room temperature.  This recipe makes about 10 lip balm size tubes or fills a 2 oz glass jar with a lid. I’ve also used larger lip balm containers with good success.

SHELF LIFE: 6 months.

For anyone who isn’t interested in making their own honey antibacterial balm, I’ve used this product with good success.