Medicinal Honey Blend Used in New Body-Care Line

Body Care Goes Organic with a Sweet Approach
By Elaine Walker, The Miami Herald (USA), 3/15/2007

''The natural foods skin-care industry has to really clean up its act,'' Julie Gerber said.

That realization launched the Gerbers on a new mission and the creation of BeeCeuticals Organics, a project more than three years in the making.

The Fort Lauderdale company's line of nine body-care products includes creams and shampoo, ranging in price from $9.95 to $22.95. BeeCeuticals products feature organic ingredients, without many of the chemicals, synthetic fragrances and preservatives found in other products. They don't use sodium laureth sulfate, parabens or hydrosols.

Instead, everything is made with a 100 percent organic honey blend, featuring medicinal honeys that have been used for centuries to heal the skin. Plus, a percentage of company profits go back to help save the bees, whose numbers are declining worldwide.

Richie Gerber proudly shows off the quality of his raw ingredients, which he sources from as far away as New Zealand and Africa. The BeeCeuticals honey is a dark cloudy liquid that is unfiltered and nonirradiated, compared to the white powderized honey Gerber claims many companies use or the clear golden yellow honey found in the supermarket.

It was the Gerbers' partner Jon Guerra, a Fort Lauderdale chemist, who turned them on to the benefits of medicinal honey based on his own experiences with a wound that didn't respond to traditional medicine…

Meanwhile, the BeeCeuticals line is already drawing positive reviews from customers. The line is available on the Web at www.healthfromthehive.com and in a few dozen locations in Florida and elsewhere. Whole Foods just started introducing it in its Florida stores and it's featured in several Broward County health foods stores.

The medicinal benefits of the BeeCeuticals products are what has impressed Marc Leach, pharmacist and owner of the Las Olas Chemist. Leach was one of the first to start selling the products about six months ago. He regularly recommends the Bee-yond Body Balm for use by diabetics on their feet and the Honey Thyme Hand and Body Lotion for people suffering from psoriasis or eczema.

''I've found this to be the most effective of anything I've tried in the past,'' Leach said. ``It's amazing to me that organic honey could have that effect.''