Book Review: The Essential Guide to Natural Skin Care, Choosing Botanicals, Oils & Extracts for Simple & Health Beauty

The essential guide to natural skin care makes it easy to learn how to
make your own beauty products and stay away from dangerous chemicals.


Review: The Essential Guide to Natural Skin Care, Choosing Botanicals, Oils & Extracts for Simple & Health Beauty

As author Hélène Berton points out in her new book, The Essential Guide to Natural Skin Care (Llewellyn Publications, April 8, 2012), natural products are very fashionable these days and nature certainly does have a lot to offer. It is true, natural beauty is fashionable, a billion dollar industry actually. You really have to know how to decode labels, however, to avoid being fooled. Hélène Berton talks about purchasing "natural products" and also how to create and make your own beauty cosmetics. This book has everything to get you on the natural beauty path and is loaded with information and appendixes to help you stay there. Best of all, you do not need a chemistry lab to whip up your own lotions and potions. Chances are you have everything you need already in the kitchen for some of the more simple concoctions.

When you can’t get enough cruelty-free, organic, green and natural hair,
skin, make-up and other beauty products, you know it is a wise choice to
go ahead and start making them yourself. It is easier than you think to
create vitamin-rich, toxin-free nourishment from nature and Hélène
Berton wants to show you how.

Hélène Berton

Fascinated by plants at a very young, Hélène Berton remains captivated
by the power of nature for food, medicine and cosmetics. She has been
studying the alluring world of plants since her youth, when she stayed
with her grandparents in France, in a trance from the colors and aromas
of the flowers and fruit. She would pluck the leaves of the laurel tree,
breathing in deeply the powerful fragrance. As an adolescent she began
experimenting with daisy and nasturtium salads for the family at supper
and rinsing her hair with the leaves of nettle. Her love and joy for
plants has only grown and in 2000 her focus turned toward essential oils
which led her to an apprenticeship at an artisanal distillery in
Provence. Besides writing, Hélène Berton regularly gives workshops on
natural cosmetics and related topics.

Current Practices & Legal Obligations

The cosmetics industry is flourishing and the number of skin and hair
care products on the market is outstanding. What most people do not
know, however is that the skin and hair industry needs a make-over
itself. There are many hidden dangers lurking in commercial cosmetics
and the FDA has little to say about it. In fact, the FDA does not
regulate the cosmetics industry and there is no accountability for what
they actually put into their products. The reality is that the FDA
actually relies heavily on the cosmetic industry to regulate itself in
order to ensure consumer safety. All those expensive lotions and potions
could very well contain chemicals that are robbing you of your good
health – and even accelerating the aging process. If that don't scare
ya, you better read it again. Many products are harmful and do the
opposite of what they claim to do and what is even worse is that many
companies have jumped on the "natural" bandwagon, however the term
“natural” can be misleading.

One of my favorite things that The Essential Guide to Natural Skin
Care points out is that the ingredient list reveals a lot more about
the quality of a product than its price and other information that might
be provided on the bottle. Price and product labeling is not a good
indication of the actual value of contents. Helping you see beyond
expensive advertising promises and ridiculous hype, Hélène Berton makes
it easy to see that you have a choice. Marketing strategies to fool the
consumer become transparent. You have options and when you take a deeper
look you will see that you actually have a lot of options. There are so
many great products out there that really are natural and safe. Not to
mention the fact that women have been making there own beauty potions
since the dawn of time.

Homemade Beauty

Get out your apron and put in your favorite CD. Beauty is a lot of fun
and Hélène Berton makes it easy to design your own recipes that are
specific to your hair and skin care needs. By listing the wondrous
qualities and uses of botanicals not only will you be able to create
great cosmetics that are healthy and safe, you will become more aware of
the benefits of ingredients that you might see on the shelf. Make your
own toners, body butters, lotions, milks, face masks, lip balms, creams
and ointments that are safe and pure. Learn how to tighten pores, fade
scars, and give wrinkles the run-around. Discover how to repel insects,
promote hair strength, fight fungus and infection, treat dandruff and so
much more. The book focuses on ingredients that are easy to obtain, easy
to store, preserve and transport and are environmentally friendly.

The essential guide to natural skin care is a great reference book to
always have on hand. I keep my copy on my "most important shelf". For
more information please visit Llewellyn Publications.

Source

  * Paperback: 240 pages
  * Publisher: Llewellyn Publications (April 8, 2012)
  * ISBN-10: 0738729272
  * ISBN-13: 978-0738729275
  * Price: $16.95