Kanuka honey may help out the brakes on acne, new research suggests.

In the study of Honevo®, developed by New Zealand pharmaceutical company HoneyLab, twice as many participants had an improvement in their acne after using the Honevo® mask compared with those who did not use the product. Improvements included a reduction in acne severity, fewer acne lesions and enhanced quality of life.

The study results appear in British Medical Journal Open.

Participants reported improvements in their acne after two weeks’ treatment, with further improvements over the following 6-10 weeks. There were 135 participants in the 12-week study; all participants washed with an antibacterial soap twice a day and half of the participants then applied Honevo® twice daily as a mask and then washed it off.

Kanuka honey has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, witch may be responsible for its acne-relieving benefits, the company states.