Environmental factors like chemicals, pollution and smoke, but the sun and wind are the two main reasons why your skin becomes dry and damaged. Because it feels rough and sore, you reach for the closest bottle of lotion and hope it helps.

Did you know that honey as an ingredient is good for you and your skin's health? It not only soothes your skin, it's also an effective skincare aid.

Honey as a moisturizer is nothing new. It has been around for centuries and used in natural skin care. Cleopatra used honey as moisturizer to keep her beauty undamaged.

Damage to the collagen fibers causes sagging and lost firmness. Damage to cellular membranes causes tiny breaks in the brick and mortar foundation that is your skin. Eventually, the tiny bits of molecular damage add up to fine lines and visible wrinkling. In order to reverse wrinkles, you have to repair the molecular damage.

Antioxidants are known to prevent the damage, but there has been some debate concerning whether or not they can repair it, effectively reversing wrinkles and increasing firmness. The debate may be about to come to an end as research concerning retinoids and, lately, coenzyme Q10 continues to be published.

This particular honey is obtained from the manuka bush thus the name manuka honey. Because of the presence of unique enzymes containing antibacterial properties, known as the Unique Manuka Factor (UMF), it's effective in healing skin sores and blemishes including acne and even more serious skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis.

This particular type of honey penetrates deeply into your skin to nourish, rejuvenate and to make it look younger and softer. And, because it's a strong antioxidant, it protects skin from damage caused by free radicals found in environmental pollutants.

Using this honey as moisturizer also supports the skin’s own cell renewal process. Because it promotes the production of collagen and elastin in your skin, the two proteins keep your skin firm, elastic and wrinkle-free.

Oils were and are still used to heal, relax, excite, for rituals, psychic and spiritual healing. During ancient times oil was also used as trade for gold, silver and other goods and services.

How much truth there is to the story of robbers using a concoction of cinnamon, clove and oregano which they applied to their bodies to help their immune system ward off the plague is anybody’s guess. Stories abound of the curative nature of oils.

Evening primrose oil can be used to treat eczema and other skin conditions such as acne and psoriasis, both orally and topically. If you use EP capsules to reduce the effects of the menopause, and also suffer from any of these conditions, try opening a capsule and rubbing it on one of the effective areas and then monitor it. You should eventually notice a difference between the treated and untreated areas.

It also moisturizes your skin and keeps it soft, even when exposed to the harsh chemicals found in washing up liquids and other cleaning products. Its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties are the classic properties needed of a substance to prevent or moderate the inflammatory of the immune system to triggers such as the damage caused by conditions such as acne, promoted mainly by the bacterial infection of the pores of the skin that have been plugged by excess sebum or skin oil

You can rub in evening primrose oil to have the opposite effect and smooth and help clean the pores, and then heal any damage caused by the acne to the skin. In this way scars caused by the pustules can be minimized. When it used on inflammatory skin conditions, it soothes the burning sensation of eczema, and helps to alleviate the redness and itching of that and of acne and psoriasis. The oil has also been found effective in treating various forms of dermatitis, including some severe industrial forms of the condition.