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The back of The Essential Guide to Natural Skin Care promotes the book as a "complete inventory of botanicals." No book of this size and scope can be anything close to complete. Having said that, The Essential Guide to Natural Skin Care is helpful for those just starting to learn about natural personal care products and the botanical ingredients they contain. It can help shoppers to understand the nutritive importance of particular botanicals and can guide them towards making enlightened product choices. The Essential Guide to Natural Skin Care also offers a small selection of recipes and can be a helpful resource to those that are new to making their own natural skin care products.

Description from the back cover:

Nourish your skin with pure, natural homemade products

Treat yourself—your face, hands, hair, and lips—to vitamin-rich, toxin-free nourishment from nature. The Essential Guide to Natural Skin Care lists the wondrous qualities and uses of botanicals used in homemade beauty products, making it easy to customize your own lotions, creams, milks, body butters, face masks, lip balms, ointments, toners, and more.

Use this complete inventory of botanicals and other ingredients to make informed choices about eco-friendly vegetable oils and butters, infused and essential oils, aromatic hydrosols, and emulsifiers. Discover the beneficial beauty and healing properties of each, as well as practical traits such as shelf life and absorption. You’ll find ingredients that soften, tone, and hydrate skin and hair; tighten pores; fade scars; stave off wrinkles; help prevent and heal acne; promote hair strength; treat dandruff; fight infection and fungus; and repel insects. This compact DIY reference also includes practical advice and basic recipes that can be easily modified to your unique skin type, needs, and tastes.

Hélène Berton (Quebec, Canada) has been working with essential oils since 2000. Her training includes an apprenticeship at an artisanal distillery in Provence. She also gives workshops on natural cosmetics, essential oils, and aromatherapy.

Contents of Essential Guide to Natural Skin Care:

• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Part One: Skin and Hair Care Products
  • One: The Skin and hair Care Industry
    • The INCI Declaration
    • Common Ingredients
    • Natural Skin and Hair Care Products
    • Certified Organic Skin and Hair Care Products
    • Certified Organic Skin and Hair Care Products
    • Beyond Skin and Hair Care Products
  • Two: A Healthy Alternative for Skin and Hair Care Products
    • Introduction
    • Skin Care Oils
    • Toners
    • Ointments
    • Hair Care Preparations
    • Lip Balms
    • Creams
    • Lotions (or Milks)
    • Other Uses
    • A Few Additional Recipes
    • Measurements
    • Equipment Required
    • Practical Advice
• Part Two: The Ingredients
  • Three: Vegetable Oils
    • Classic Vegetable Oils
    • Exotic Vegetable Oils
  • Four: Vegetable Butters
  • Five: Infused Oils
  • Six: Essential Oils
  • Seven: Aroamtic Hydrosols
  • Eight: Some Emulsifiers
  • Nine: Conclusion
• Part Three: The Appendices
  • Appenix 1: Properties Index
  • Appendix 2: Usage Index
  • Appendix 3: English Lexicon
  • Appendix 4: Latin Lexicon
  • Appendix 5: French Lexicon
• Glossary
• Bibliography
• Index

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