The Holistic Beauty Book
Over 100 Natural Recipes For Gorgeous Healthy Skin
By Star Khechara
Green Books Ltd
Copyright © 2008 Star Khechara
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-900322-27-0
Contents
Acknowledgements,
Introduction,
1 Why DIY beautify?,
2 What is ‘natural’?,
3 Essential oils,
4 Your intelligent skin,
5 Feeding your skin,
6 Potion-making basics,
RECIPES,
7 The face,
8 The body,
9 The hair,
10 The hands and feet,
11 Bathroom bliss,
12 Baby and the bump,
13 Chocolate potions,
14 Love potions,
Index,
CHAPTER 1
Why DIY beautify?
Some of the benefits of making your own skincare products are:
1. You know exactly what you’ve put in it
2. You can tailor-make it for your own skin needs
3. You can make it smell the way you like
4. You can create a product with your exact ethical specifications (e.g. vegan, organic, fair-trade etc.)
5. Your potion is freshly made
6. You can avoid ingredients that you’re allergic to
7. You can choose eco-friendly packaging and avoid plastic
8. You can make really gorgeous gifts that will impress your friends!
The main point to keep in mind, when making your own beauty products, is that the skin is part of the whole body and is actually our largest organ. You can only truly ‘feed’ the skin from within (by eating, drinking and breathing) and not through the use of external lotions. Treat your skin with the same respect as you’d treat your liver (also a large organ!). After all, if you wouldn’t rub methyl paraben on your liver or eat it, perhaps it would be prudent not to apply it to the skin also.
JUNK (SKIN) FOOD
We know that processed, junk and readymade packaged food is unhealthy, and that its convenience comes with a hefty health price.
The same is true of your skincare products.
Ready-made, processed potions are indeed convenient, but at what price for skin health? Junk products are always inferior to those freshly made from wholesome ingredients.
Choose the home-made and the fresh over the preserved and processed.
WHAT IS A ‘COSMETIC’?
In legal terms, the word ‘cosmetic’ is used to describe a wide variety of personal care and beauty products. These can be roughly categorised into the following areas:
Cosmetics/make-up – Lipsticks, foundation, nail varnish, hair dye etc.: basically any product designed to superficially enhance beauty.
Personal care/toiletries – Functional bathroom products designed for daily use: things like soap, shower gel, toothpaste, mouthwash, deodorant etc.
Skincare/beauty products – Moisturisers, cleansers, bath treats, leg wax, face-masks, sugar-scrubs etc.
All of the above are subject to cosmetic law – in Europe, the EU Cosmetic Directives, which are long-winded pieces of legislation mainly aimed at makers of commercial cosmetics. However, just to give you an idea, the law states that the product must not cause harm when used for its stated purpose and that the responsibility for determining safety lies with the manufacturer. The Directives also list lots of ingredients that cannot legally be used or that have restricted use. However, as we will be using only safe natural ingredients we don’t have to worry about that aspect, although it would be wise to familiarise yourself with the banned/ restricted list if you are planning to make potion
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