I would like to share with you some natural skin care knowledge, one of the most popular topics amongst the female honey fans, before you spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on all those anti-aging and moisturising creams. Try some easy, home-made tonic and remedy with honey first. And remember, the main ingredient in all those costly skin care products in the store could be honey! Really, there may be no simpler way to bring a smooth glow to your skin than with these DIY honey beauty recipes.

Honey's ability to absorb and retain moisture make it an ideal ingredient in a lot of cosmetics as it helps keep skin hydrated and fresh and prevents drying. It is known that ancient beauties regularly applied a mixture of honey and milk to the face to keep the skin young-looking, radiant, and smooth. Honey's natural antioxidant and anti-microbial properties help to protect the skin from the damage of the sun's rays, supports the skin's ability to rejuvenate and refresh depleted skin, leaving it feeling silky soft and supple. One of the most common natural skin care benefits with honey is related to treatment of minor acne acne which could be caused by hormonal changes or "heatiness in the body", as traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) would call it to refer to the imbalance of yin and yang in the body. Honey absorbs impurities from the pores on the skin, making it an ideal cleansing agent.

With the wide-ranging of natural skin care recipes, it is no wonder that there exists a huge number of honey products in the market for hair care, baby care, skin care for sunscreen, hand lotions, facial scrubs and moisturizers. And for instance, the Manuka Honey Lip Balm is an effective and natural moisturiser. It contains sun protection properties to soothe and protect the lips from becoming dry and chapped in cold and dry weather. 6 Pampering Homemade Natural Skin Care Recipes with Honey: Here are some do-it-yourself, self-help, extremely easy to follow recipes to enjoy the benefits of honey in skin care. I recommend them also because all the ingredients that go along with them are so easily accessible.

1. Cucumber-Honey Toner: Puree 1 cucumber in a blender, drain and collect the juice. Add 2 teaspoons of honey into the juice and mix. Pour the mixture into a bottle. Apply on the face and neck area with a cotton pad in the morning and at night. Air dry it and rinse clean.

Store the bottle covered in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. 2. Honey-Apple Toner: In a blender or food processor, combine 1 peeled, cored apple with a tablespoon of honey and pulse until smooth. Apply mixture to face and allow it to stay for 15 minutes, then rinse. 3.

Honey-Oats Face Scrub: Combine 1 tablespoon honey, 1 tablespoon finely-ground almonds, 2 tablespoons dry oatmeal, and some lemon juice or yogurt to a luxurious and exfoliating facial scrub. Massage mixture gently onto face, then rinse with warm water. This blend gives a deeply emollient cleansing to the pores of your face. Almonds and oats are superb softening exfoliants. 4. Gentle Honey Cleanser: Mix 1⁄4 cup honey, 1 tablespoon liquid soap and 1⁄2 cup glycerin (found in drug stores).

Apply gently on to face using a face sponge. Rinse with warm water and pat face dry. 5. Hot Honey Bath: Perhaps the easiest natural skin care recipe using honey -- Add 1/4 cup of honey to your hot bath water for silky and luscious skin. This is especially good for dry skin. 6.

Honey Olive Hair Conditioner: For lustrous, silky, healthy hair and scalp, simply combine 1/2 cup honey and 2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup olive oil. Massage scalp with this conditioner, then put on a shower cap for 30 minutes. Shampoo and rinse as usual. Good for hair revitalising. Copyright (c) 2008 Ruth Tan.

Ruth Tan is the owner of the website Benefits of Honey at http://www.benefits-of-honey.com which is an immensely rich, quality resource on honey and its benefits, and a plethora of health-related issues.