Bee Venom

*Bee venom, also known as apitoxin, is a bitter colourless liquid extracted from honey bees

*Read TIA's article Bee Venom Beauty: The Truth Behind the Hype and Best Products to Try

*Read TIA's article Nature's Best Ingredients

*Read TIA's article Apitoxin and the Duchess of Cornwall’s Anti-Aging Treatment

*Read TIA's article The Best of 2012 – Best Buzzed About Beauty Product

Functions:

Bee venom has been used in cosmetics as an astringent due to the presence of an enzyme call hyaluronidase (Wikipedia), and as a skin protecting agent due to possible anti-inflammatory properties.

Bee venom has been touted as a wonder of alternative medicine for many years, it having been used for medicinal purposes since ancient times. People have claimed it to be highly effective against such things as autoimmune disease, multiple sclerosis and cancer. Most of these bold claims are based upon nothing more than anecdotal evidence. Based upon research funded by the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America (MSAA), there is no reason to believe that bee venom has a beneficial effect on MS (PubMed), which was further confirmed by a team at University Medical Center Groningen which performed a study using live bees to sting the test subjects, concluded that bee venom ‘did not improve quality of life’ (PubMed). The American Cancer Society has said "there have been no clinical studies in humans showing that bee venom or other honeybee products are effective in preventing or treating cancer."

The main constituent of bee venom is a peptide consisting of 26 amino acids called melittin, which makes up 52% of the mixture. Melittin has been proven as an anti-microbial and anti-bacterial agent, protecting against lyme disease (Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications) as well as Chlamydia (International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents). Bee venom also contains apamin, which can cause burning, swelling and redness in the local area of application. Overall bee venom consists of a mixture of compounds that are known to cause inflammation (apamin, phospholipase A2) (PubMed), as well as protect from it (adolapin, protease inhibitors), but overall is thought to have somewhat of beneficial effect when applied to the skin. The final note worthy component of bee venom is Hyaluronidase is also present in bee venom, contributing between 1 and 3%, it actively dilates the capillaries, increasing blood flow and ‘plumping up’ the skin. A recent study (2014) has also shown that bee venom ointment, when applied to the skin it has an analgesic effect and is effective at relieving muscle tension, which could lessen the appearance of lines and wrinkles (PubMed).

Safety Measures/Side Effects:

Bee venom has shown no evidence of sensitization after a study of topical application on guinea pigs (PubMed). There has also been a study measuring the toxicity of bee venom in rats, the results of which showed that bee venom is non-toxic and is safe to be used as a cosmetic product when applied to healthy skin (PubMed).

Recommended Products with Bee Venom:

Royal Nectar Cream Cleanser ($29 in the shop), Nature's Beauty Bee Venom Eye Serum ($49.95 in the shop), Royal Nectar Moisturizing Face Lift with Bee Venom ($55 in the shop), Avitalin Bee Venom Biolift Complex ($70 in the shop).

As much as possible, products in the Truth In Aging shop are chosen for their safety profile as well as effectiveness.