Genny
Well-Known Member
I enjoy reading different soap making books, lotion making books, essential oil books, etc. I've read probably hundreds of them over the years. But I have finally found one that was so annoying & just overall an awful book.
It's Natural Beauty Recipe Book by Gill Farrer-Halls
The misinformation and horrible recipe advice ran rampant through out it. So I'm going to rant a little about it.
When talking about eo's they stated that you should never take essential oils orally and it is illegal for a qualified aromatherapist to suggest this and that you should avoid contact with the mouth. But then they have mouthwash recipes with myrrh, peppermint, lemon, thyme, fennel, chamomile & grapefruit eo's :shock:
Then when talking about making creams they state that home made creams will not be thick like commercial creams because commercial cream manufacturers use emulsifying machines. I'm thinking that their creams are runny because of the recipe, like this one (it's not the entire recipe, I left out eo's because I didn't want to step into copyright violations):
Cream recipe:
1 tsp beeswax 2 Tbsp almond oil
1/2 cup rosewater 1 Tbsp jojoba oil
1 Tbsp glycerin
1 1/2 Tbsp cocoa butter
There's no preservative listed, no proper emulsifier and way too much water.
In one of their facial cream recipes, it's very similar to the previous cream except they add honey. The honey is used as the preservative because, "hone inhibits the growth of bacteria". That's an exact quote from the book
All of their lotion, shampoo & conditioner recipes just involved adding pureed vegetablessick, oils, herbal water and eo's to bought bases.
Which wasn't at all what the description of the book implied.
Then when they got to soaps, it got a little confusing on some things. This book is an all natural, all organic based book, but for some of their body soap recipes they instruct you to add laundry starch to your soap.
When they talked about making cold processed soaps, they stated "Animal fats are highly saturated and clog the pores, causing blackheads and blemishes. Tallow can also cause eczema and allergies." Seriously, they actually stated that it causes eczema.
So, if you're looking at buying some recipe/info books, pass on this one. I'm glad I just borrowed it from the library.
It's Natural Beauty Recipe Book by Gill Farrer-Halls
The misinformation and horrible recipe advice ran rampant through out it. So I'm going to rant a little about it.
When talking about eo's they stated that you should never take essential oils orally and it is illegal for a qualified aromatherapist to suggest this and that you should avoid contact with the mouth. But then they have mouthwash recipes with myrrh, peppermint, lemon, thyme, fennel, chamomile & grapefruit eo's :shock:
Then when talking about making creams they state that home made creams will not be thick like commercial creams because commercial cream manufacturers use emulsifying machines. I'm thinking that their creams are runny because of the recipe, like this one (it's not the entire recipe, I left out eo's because I didn't want to step into copyright violations):
Cream recipe:
1 tsp beeswax 2 Tbsp almond oil
1/2 cup rosewater 1 Tbsp jojoba oil
1 Tbsp glycerin
1 1/2 Tbsp cocoa butter
There's no preservative listed, no proper emulsifier and way too much water.
In one of their facial cream recipes, it's very similar to the previous cream except they add honey. The honey is used as the preservative because, "hone inhibits the growth of bacteria". That's an exact quote from the book
All of their lotion, shampoo & conditioner recipes just involved adding pureed vegetables
sick, oils, herbal water and eo's to bought bases.Which wasn't at all what the description of the book implied.
Then when they got to soaps, it got a little confusing on some things. This book is an all natural, all organic based book, but for some of their body soap recipes they instruct you to add laundry starch to your soap.
When they talked about making cold processed soaps, they stated "Animal fats are highly saturated and clog the pores, causing blackheads and blemishes. Tallow can also cause eczema and allergies." Seriously, they actually stated that it causes eczema.
So, if you're looking at buying some recipe/info books, pass on this one. I'm glad I just borrowed it from the library.
