I know I sound like the advertisements that smartly endorse beauty products for every concern and of a variety of chemical compositions on TV, in newspapers, in posters on walls and magazines of all types. You can let yourself calm down, for I am not going to promote any cosmetic or beauty treatment. The following is a secret (well-known to many of you) but that has actually produced the result I mentioned in the title of this post.

My teen years were relatively acne free. I said relatively for I did have a few outbreaks on my back but never on my face. I was considered lucky for all my good friends were worried about the scars the acne left on their teens. Then came the time when my marriage was fixed. It was my first ever exposure to beauty treatments (read facials) that I was pushed to get done by beauty over-conscious extended family and in-laws.

In my little town, though I went for the most popular beauty parlor and the promising gold facial and it’s other noble cousins, my skin refused to like the change in my skin-care routine. The outcome, I had my very first acne the night before the wedding. The skilled beautician hid them beneath the layers of make-up and the outcome was a seemingly flawless, beautiful skin on the wedding day.

All was under control till I stepped at my in-laws place. I have never been beauty conscious and have credited my genes for my looks. But this new-found land inhabited people with very different views. My MIL and her daughters have always been very particular about their skin-care regimens. Regular facials, and face packs of umpteen types adorn their faces every time you give them a call.

The outcome being my MIL took four hours to get ready on the day of the wedding of her elder daughter (that thankfully happened before my wedding) and son (that’s my wedding) making her among the last people of the family to reach the venue, even later than the bride. Been raised in an environment where my husband’s mum and sisters were utterly beauty conscious (despite the make-up only helping them look all the more scarier) I ended up in a family that constantly pushed me to visiting a beauty parlor.

The outcome being, in my married life I have had facials of a very wide variety, both in India as well as overseas. To be very frank, I never felt spending 120 dollars for a facial ever made any sense, for I still looked the same and my skin lost the added glow in two days flat. But, my husband was happy for his wife was following the footsteps of his mum.

Lets cut short to last year. As an outcome of strict bed-rest (leading to zero care for my skin) and the ton of medicines that I consumed my un-cared for skin had no sign of the popular pregnancy glow. Rather, the stress, medications and hormonal imbalance gifted me with countless blemishes all over and a few acne too. At this very stressful (due to disturbances in my personal life) phase there has been no scope of even sparing a thought for beauty or how I look.

Everything changes with time. Around a month back, I accidentally came across a house-hold remedy to cure skin blemishes that even vouched to work effectively on acne and pimples.

I don’t know why, but something made me give it a try. May be it was the simplicity of the remedy or my desire to get back to my normal self or the want to look better than I did then. The remedy needed just 10 minutes out of my busy schedule, which could even be during my bath. The most important aspect that made me write a whole post in its glory is, it actually works.

Here’s the secret home remedy to a beautiful, supple, spotless skin that’s been known for ages.

Take a teaspoon of fresh lemon/lime juice and add a teaspoon of honey to it. Mix well and gently apply over your face and neck area (or any other area that has pimples or acne or blemishes). Let it dry for around ten minutes and gently wash off with lukewarm water and apply moisturizer to your skin. Avoid using soap in the area except occasionally. Repeat daily and let me know the results.

A word of caution: If you are not sure about being allergic to honey, do a patch test on the inner aspect of your forearm. If the face-pack causes any itching or rash wash it off immediately. I am adding this word of caution because I myself develop a rash with honey from various sources.

Before any excuse to not try this tip rises in your mind, let me add, when I can try it with a six month old baby to take care of full-time, you too definitely can.

Whether we accept it or not, but a healthy looking skin definitely boosts our self-confidence by 100% and life begins to look more promising when we are confident and happy from the inside.

The song on my mind: