Honey has been used on skin for over 4,000 years. Egyptian medical papyri document it. Ayurvedic texts reference it. Greek physicians prescribed it for wounds. The biology has not changed — but not all honey is equal, and the difference matters when you are putting it on your face every day.
What Makes Honey Work on Skin
Honey does several things simultaneously that most synthetic skincare ingredients do one at a time:
- Humectant effect: Honey’s hygroscopic nature draws moisture from the environment and from deeper skin layers to the surface. This is why it makes skin feel softer and more hydrated without adding water directly.
- Antimicrobial activity: Honey has low water activity (high osmotic pressure) and naturally produces small amounts of hydrogen peroxide, making it inhospitable to most bacteria. This is clinically useful for acne-prone skin.
- Antioxidant content: Flavonoids and phenolic acids in honey fight oxidative stress — the free radical damage from UV exposure and pollution that accelerates skin aging.
- Anti-inflammatory: Multiple compounds in honey downregulate inflammatory cytokines. Clinical studies show benefit for conditions like eczema and contact dermatitis.
Regular clover honey has these properties. Manuka honey has them too — and then significantly more of one specific compound that changes the equation.
What MGO Actually Is
MGO stands for methylglyoxal, a compound found in the nectar of the Manuka bush (Leptospermum scoparium) native to New Zealand and parts of Australia. Manuka honey contains MGO at concentrations 100x higher than most other honey types.
MGO is responsible for what is called the “non-peroxide activity” of Manuka honey — antimicrobial activity that persists even when the hydrogen peroxide in regular honey gets neutralized by catalase (an enzyme present in wound fluid and on skin). This means Manuka’s antibacterial effect is significantly more stable and durable on skin.
When you see ratings like MGO 250+, MGO 400+, or MGO 800+ on Manuka honey products, that is the methylglyoxal concentration in mg/kg. Higher MGO means stronger documented antimicrobial activity.
The equivalent rating system is UMF (Unique Manuka Factor) — UMF 10+ corresponds roughly to MGO 263+. Both are legitimate; they measure the same underlying activity from different angles.
Regular Honey in Skincare: Where It Falls Short
Regular honey is predominantly fructose and glucose. The antimicrobial activity comes primarily from hydrogen peroxide production, which is unstable and gets deactivated quickly on skin. Most commercial "honey skincare" contains highly processed, pasteurized honey that has lost most of its active compounds in the first place.
Pasteurization (heating to 70°C or higher) destroys the enzymes responsible for hydrogen peroxide production. It degrades heat-sensitive flavonoids. It may partially caramelise sugars, changing the osmotic properties. Pasteurized honey in a moisturizer is largely inert — a pleasant-feeling but biochemically inactive ingredient.
Raw, unpasteurized honey retains its enzymes and active compounds. Manuka honey, raw and unpasteurized, retains its active compounds plus the stable MGO that regular honey lacks.
Why We Use Manuka Honey in TallowDermics
We use raw, unpasteurized Manuka honey specifically because of its documented, stable antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties. The four-ingredient nature of our formula means every ingredient needs to do real work.
In combination with tallow, Manuka honey addresses the two dimensions of skin health simultaneously: tallow provides the lipid nourishment and barrier repair that dry, compromised skin needs; Manuka honey provides the humectant moisture and antimicrobial activity that acne-prone, reactive, or inflamed skin benefits from. The two work synergistically in a way that makes them a better combination than either alone.
There is also the simplicity argument. Manuka honey’s antimicrobial activity means our water-free formula is naturally preserved without synthetic preservatives — something a water-based formula with regular honey could not achieve.
What to Look For When Buying Manuka Honey Skincare
If you are evaluating Manuka honey products (ours or anyone else’s), here are the questions to ask:
- Is the MGO or UMF rating specified? If not, there is likely no meaningful Manuka content.
- Is it raw and unpasteurized? Pasteurization degrades the active compounds.
- Is it a primary ingredient or a trace additive? Many products list honey far down the INCI list, below preservatives and thickeners — meaning there is almost none of it.
- Is it authentic New Zealand Manuka? Some products use Australian Manuka or Jelly Bush honey, which is related but different. New Zealand Manuka has the longest clinical research history.
We specify raw, unpasteurized New Zealand Manuka honey as one of our four ingredients. That is not a coincidence — it is the specification that actually delivers the skin benefits the ingredient is known for.
TallowDermics — Manuka honey + grass-fed tallow + two more ingredients. That is the whole formula.