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For the beginning to intermediate body care product crafter, Organic Body Care Recipes is a must-have for your personal library. This 378-page book includes valuable introductory information, relevant facts and tips, an ingredient dictionary, and as the book title implies, a large selection of recipes.

Unlike many recipe books that I tend to come across, Organic Body Care Recipes includes a bit more complementary information, application tips, packaging recommendations and ideas for customizing your own recipes.

The word organic is an adjective that loosely means living matter. It is likely that the use of the word organic in the book's title may confuse some consumers who may think that the book requires the use of certified organic ingredients. Crafters can use conventional (not organic) natural ingredients and do not have to stick with using strictly organic ingredients.

Organic Body Care Recipes is not an aromatherapy-specific book, but it emphasizes all-natural or nearly all-natural recipes and includes recipes that do fit within the definition of holistic aromatherapy.

For beginners, the Ingredient Dictionary portion of the book is worth the cost of the book alone. At approximately 40 pages, this section is not especially long, but it covers a majority of the most commonly used and most nutritive ingredients used in formulating your own personal care recipes. Most entries, when relevant, include the botanical name of the ingredient, the parts used and a list of cosmetic properties and uses. I especially like that most entries also include medical contraindications and possible ingredient substitutions (so helpful when wanting to whip up a recipe on the fly but don't have all ingredients on hand!)

Despite liking this book so much, I don't agree with all of Ms. Tourles' comments that she shares in her book. For instance, she indicates that particular essential oils can be used neat and she includes a list of several including tea tree, lavender, sandalwood and geranium. I don't recommend that any essential oil be used neat. Less is always more. I'm not crazy about Birch Essential Oil being used in any topical skin care recipe, but she includes it in the Ingredients Dictionary. In some recipes, I do find the concentration of essential oils to be a little strong, but if you educate yourself on proper concentrations of essential oils, you'll be able to easily adapt recipes to suit your needs.

The book is well laid out, easy to read and is filled with complementary illustrations. Relevant, thought provoking (and sometimes just plain cute) quotes are scattered throughout the book. Within a recipe suited for mature skin, Tourles includes the following quote "There is a case for keeping wrinkles. They are the long-service stripes earned in the hard campaign of life." [She credits an Editorial in the London Daily Mail]

Contents of Organic Body Care Recipes:

• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• 1. A Natural Approach to Beautiful Skin, Hair, and Nails
• 2. The Natural Apothecary
• 3. Tools of the Trade for the Kitchen Cosmetologist
• 4. All-Natural Face and Body Care Recipes
• 5. Natural Care for Glorious Hair
• 6. In the Mood: Arouse the Senses with Herbal Love Potions
• 7. For Women Only: Delicate Subjects
• 8. Herbal Comfort Zone: Physical Stress, Cold, Headache, and Sleep Care
• 9. Bugs Be Gone: Natural Insect Repellents

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