From the Hive

The Hive Journal

Stories, recipes, and musings from a beekeeper's life in sunny Florida

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Natural skincare products and botanical ingredients
46 Articles

Skincare

Product education, routines, ingredient science, and skin concerns.

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Beekeeper inspecting honeycomb frame
9 Articles

Beekeeping

Life in the apiary, bee biology, hive management, and seasonal activity.

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Golden honey drizzled over breakfast spread
3 Articles

Recipes

Cooking and baking with raw honey, from breakfast to dessert.

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Raw honey jar with herbal tea and lemon
24 Articles

Honey & Wellness

Health benefits, allergy relief, raw honey science, and nutrition.

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Farmers market booth with honey and skincare products
2 Articles

Events & Lifestyle

Markets, community, seasonal tips, and life around the hive.

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DIY beeswax crafts and candle making
1 Article

DIY & Home

Beeswax wraps, candle care, homemade beauty, and household uses.

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Pollinator garden with honeybees on wildflowers
1 Article

Sustainability

Pollinator health, eco-living, bee conservation, and the environment.

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Natural skincare ingredients like beeswax, shea butter, and essential oils
1 Article

Ingredients

Deep dives into beeswax, butters, oils, and the raw materials behind our products.

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Gift box with honey, candles, and natural skincare products
1 Article

Gift Guides

Curated gift ideas, seasonal picks, and occasion-based recommendations.

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Fresh from the Hive

Latest Posts

Why I Don’t Use Preservatives Skincare

July 26, 2026

Why I Don’t Use Preservatives

One of the most common questions I receive is about preservatives. It is usually asked carefully, sometimes with concern. If there are no...

Read: Why I Don’t Use Preservatives
What Ethical Beekeeping Looks Like Beekeeping

July 26, 2026

What Ethical Beekeeping Looks Like

There is a moment when you open a hive and the sound tells you everything. A steady, low hum means the colony is settled. A sharp, frantic pitch...

Read: What Ethical Beekeeping Looks Like
Honey in Your Morning Routine Honey & Wellness

July 26, 2026

Honey in Your Morning Routine

Most mornings, before I step outside to check the hives, I stand at my kitchen counter with a jar of honey and a spoon. The house is quiet. The...

Read: Honey in Your Morning Routine
Simple Recipes Using Raw Honey Recipes

July 26, 2026

Simple Recipes Using Raw Honey

I have always believed that honey is best used simply. When an ingredient has already been shaped by flowers, sunlight, and time inside the hive,...

Read: Simple Recipes Using Raw Honey
Florida Gulf Coast sunset Events & Lifestyle

March 5, 2026

No See'ums: Florida's Tiny Tormentors

What are no see'ums, why are they so relentless on the Gulf Coast, and how does our Bug Bar fight back naturally?

Read: No See'ums: Florida's Tiny Tormentors
Skincare balm ritual Skincare

February 20, 2026

What to Expect in the First 7 Days

The first week with a water-free balm is about adjustment, not transformation. Here is what your skin is doing and why patience pays off.

Read: What to Expect in the First 7 Days
Cream vs balm comparison Skincare

February 8, 2026

Why Most Skincare Is Mostly Water

Water makes products elegant and accessible, but it also changes the architecture of a formula. A look at what that means for your skin.

Read: Why Most Skincare Is Mostly Water
Local honey at farmers market Honey & Wellness

November 12, 2025

Why We Don't Ship Our Honey

Heat degrades enzymes. Cold triggers crystallization. And every batch sells out locally. Here is why we keep our raw honey within the Gulf Coast region.

Read: Why We Don't Ship Our Honey
What Spring Means for Florida Beekeepers Beekeeping

March 20, 2026

What Spring Means for Florida Beekeepers

Spring in Florida is unlike anywhere else. Learn what happens in the hive when temperatures rise and the wildflowers sta

Read: What Spring Means for Florida Beekeepers
Why Beeswax Is Your Skin's Best Friend Skincare

February 1, 2026

Why Beeswax Is Your Skin's Best Friend

Learn about the incredible natural benefits of beeswax for skin health and how HunnyGlow uses it in all-natural skincare

Read: Why Beeswax Is Your Skin's Best Friend
How to Tell If Honey Is High Quality Honey & Wellness

January 29, 2026

How to Tell If Honey Is High Quality

When someone hands me a jar of honey and asks if it is high quality, I do not start with laboratory tests or technical l

Read: How to Tell If Honey Is High Quality
Can Honey Expire? Honey & Wellness

January 27, 2026

Can Honey Expire?

One of the questions I hear most often when someone picks up a jar of honey is, “How long will this last?” It is usually

Read: Can Honey Expire?
How Bees Inspired My Formulations Skincare

January 25, 2026

How Bees Inspired My Formulations

Gayle Goodfriend shares how years spent alongside her beehives taught her to think differently about skincare, leading t

Read: How Bees Inspired My Formulations
Honey Storage Myths Honey & Wellness

January 23, 2026

Honey Storage Myths

Honey is one of the few foods in my kitchen that does not make me anxious about expiration dates. It sits quietly on the

Read: Honey Storage Myths
An aged stoneware crock of honey with a worn wooden dipper Honey & Wellness

January 21, 2026

Why Honey Has Been Used for Centuries

The first time I harvested honey, I remember standing very still after the extractor stopped spinning. The room smelled

Read: Why Honey Has Been Used for Centuries
Honey and Skin: Edible + Topical Uses Honey & Wellness

January 17, 2026

Honey and Skin: Edible + Topical Uses

Honey has always lived in two places for me. It sits on my kitchen counter, stirred into tea or drizzled over yogurt. An

Read: Honey and Skin: Edible + Topical Uses
Honey as a Natural Sweetener Alternative Honey & Wellness

January 15, 2026

Honey as a Natural Sweetener Alternative

When people talk about honey as a natural alternative to sugar, what they often mean is that it feels less processed. Th

Read: Honey as a Natural Sweetener Alternative
Honey sinking through a glass of water in the classic purity test Honey & Wellness

January 11, 2026

Why Some Honey Is Adulterated

When you work closely with bees, you develop a quiet respect for how much effort goes into a single jar of honey. Thousa

Read: Why Some Honey Is Adulterated
Glass jars being filled from a honey valve on a small workbench Honey & Wellness

January 9, 2026

Why Small-Batch Honey Is Different

When I line up jars from different harvests on my table, they never look exactly the same. Some are pale and almost tran

Read: Why Small-Batch Honey Is Different
A Year in the Life of a Hive Honey & Wellness

January 5, 2026

A Year in the Life of a Hive

When people picture a beehive, they usually imagine summer. Golden light. Heavy honey frames. Bees moving lazily through

Read: A Year in the Life of a Hive
Three jars of honey in pale, amber and dark shades, backlit Honey & Wellness

January 3, 2026

Seasonal Honey Variations

When I set jars from different harvests side by side on my kitchen table, I can see the year laid out in color. One jar

Read: Seasonal Honey Variations
How Honey Is Harvested Honey & Wellness

December 30, 2025

How Honey Is Harvested

There is a particular weight to a frame of honey when it is ready. The comb is capped in pale beeswax, each cell sealed

Read: How Honey Is Harvested
Unfiltered raw honey in a jar showing wax flecks and air bubbles Honey & Wellness

December 28, 2025

What Makes Honey “Raw”?

There is a quiet moment in late summer when I stand over a hive and lift a frame heavy with capped honey. The wax is war

Read: What Makes Honey “Raw”?
Jars of honey on a rustic farmers market table in warm daylight Honey & Wellness

December 24, 2025

Why Supporting Local Beekeepers Matters

There is a particular sound a healthy hive makes in late spring. It is steady. Confident. Not frantic, not weak. When I

Read: Why Supporting Local Beekeepers Matters
How Heat Changes Honey Honey & Wellness

December 22, 2025

How Heat Changes Honey

There is a moment during honey harvest when the sun hits the frames just right and the honey glows. It is thick, fragran

Read: How Heat Changes Honey
A plain jar of honey with a magnifying glass resting against it Honey & Wellness

December 18, 2025

The Truth About “Pure” Honey Labels

I’ve watched people pick up a jar of honey, flip it over, and visibly relax when they see the words “pure honey.” It fee

Read: The Truth About “Pure” Honey Labels
Honey as Natural Energy Honey & Wellness

December 12, 2025

Honey as Natural Energy

There are mornings during honey harvest when I am reminded, very clearly, that bees understand energy better than we do.

Read: Honey as Natural Energy
Honey and Gut Health Honey & Wellness

December 10, 2025

Honey and Gut Health

I spend a great deal of time thinking about balance....

Read: Honey and Gut Health
A thin thread of golden honey drawn up from a glass dish Honey & Wellness

December 6, 2025

The Antimicrobial Properties of Honey

The first time I understood honey’s antimicrobial strength, I was not reading about it. I was standing over an open hive

Read: The Antimicrobial Properties of Honey
A bowl of white sugar cubes beside a shallow dish of golden honey Honey & Wellness

December 4, 2025

Is Honey Better Than Sugar?

This is a question I hear often, especially when I am standing beside jars of honey I harvested myself....

Read: Is Honey Better Than Sugar?
A spoonful of coarsely crystallised honey lifted from a jar Honey & Wellness

November 30, 2025

Why Raw Honey Crystallizes

Every spring at the farmers market, someone brings me a jar of honey that has turned cloudy and firm. They hold it out a

Read: Why Raw Honey Crystallizes

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