Home >> Honey Articles >> Facts About Bee Venom Masks
Posted September, 2012 by Aliveplushoney
Once the Royals and Celebrities endorse a product a buying frenzy often ensues, this has certainly been the case for Bee Venom ever since Kate Middleton, Camilla and Danii Minogue became advocates of the Bee Venom Mask.
Bee Venom has been used since ancient times to treat arthritis, back pain and skin diseases. The old approach involved bees being coerced into stinging affected areas. Alternatives to this hardcore type of bee venom therapy were introduced once modern technology allowed for the extraction of the venom so that it could be added to creams, tablets and other products.
Before Bee Venom Masks were endorsed as the "natural alternative to Botox", most bee venom products were designed to treat joint conditions such as arthritis and rheumatism. The reason that Bee Venom is effective for these conditions is that it is said to reduce inflammation and provide pain relief.
Those anti-inflammatory properties are what have led beauty therapists such as Deborah Mitchell to create creams for bee venom masks. Since the hype with the royals and celebrities, many other bee venom masks and creams have sprung up and these days they are perhaps more well-known than the medical bee venom products.
Bee Venom Masks are said to fool the skin into thinking it has been stung, which stimulates the production of collagen and elastin, natural chemicals that have a tightening and smoothing effect on the skin.
After looking long and hard we can't find any studies that backup these statements. It is well established that bee venom has an anti-inflammatory effect, and many customers report positive results, but more studies need to be done to confirm that the masks actually do have a tightening effect on the skin.
We would advise that you check any bee venom creams to see they actually have a significant amount of bee venom, and where that bee venom came from. Was it handled properly? With many other bee products, such as Manuka Honey, there are certification standards that must be met, bee venom masks don't offer the same guarantee of quality. If you are paying good money you want to be sure you are actually getting a significant amount of bee venom in your mask, not just a whole lot of other ingredients.
The New Zealand company ApiHealth are pioneers in the field of Bee Venom extraction and state that their apibeaute bee venom masks contain venom in safe but potent concentrations. They have a lot of experience in the field of bee venom and because of this experience we recommend their masks.
The other important thing to consider is your potential for allergic reactions. A significant number of people are allergic to bee stings and if you are one of those people bee venom masks may not be for you.