What a wonderful resource! As an herbalist I was aware of much of the information given, however, most people who have not been extensively trained in natural beauty ingredients can really benefit from the the details this book has to offer.
It is a pleasure to read a book that contains knowledgeable, honest, good, advice that has the readers safety as top priority. If you manufacture products, whether it be for just friends and family, or for resale, and are not a certified profession, do yourself and your customers a favor and add this book to your short list. ( )

I like reviewing these Health and Body books because they lead me to look at branches of scientific literature that I would not normally read. Here I got interested in the authors' assertion that chemicals are absorbed through hair follicles. The research is pretty cool. If you want to look, the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology has a bunch of open access articles on differential chemical absorption using blocked follicle methods and sometimes cultured human skin that, of course, has no follicles. These studies are done in vitro and in vivo and the methodologies are well established. The articles point to differential absorption of water soluble and fat soluble chemicals depending on molecule (for liquid delivery) and particle size (for carrier delivery). There are time effects too, with absorption of some test chemicals maximizing at about 30 minutes.

The downside of reviewing the literature is that I usually find out, as I did here, that the author did not actually consult any scientists. Ms Galper and Ms Daigneault, who started out as aromatherapists, include citations in the text, but these citations are not of scientific articles. The reference lists are awkwardly placed at the end of the book not as footnotes or at the end of each chapter, so many readers won't look at them critically.

So what we have here is a book on making your own cosmetic preparations that is couched in pseudoscientific claptrap that uses deeply earnest writing to convince you that what it says is true. These women are not chemists, they know nothing real about organic certification, they are have the most bizarre idea of how the words "therapeutic" and "synergies" should be used. They also mention a reaction in cakes between baking powder in salt that I have not heard of and can't track down. Baking powder reacts with itself in the presence of water. Salt has nothing to do with it. Yeast and salt in bread, yes, but not baking powder and salt.

I object to claptrap and bad science I am not sure why it seems necessary. Could we not just write the recipe part of the book without all this? If I were their editor at BenBella Books, I would have excised the first 40 pages and red-pencilled a lot of the next 50, which is really too bad because the rest of the book works well as a reference guide and cookbook.

Lastly I have some questions for the photo stylist. The photos in the book are generally very nice with a good drama. There are a lots of carrots in the photos and none of them is oiled so they look dried out and unattractive, at least one has a purple stain that could be root rot. The cut lemon on the cover and again on page 45 is dried out and has a skin blemish.

I really can't give this book a high rating.

I received a review copy of "Plant-Powered Beauty: The Essential Guide to Using Natural Ingredients for Health, Wellness, and Personal Skincare (with 50-plus Recipes)" by Amy Galper and Christina Daigneault (BenBella Books) through NetGalley.com. ( )

Very intensive cookbook for making mainly plant-based skin care products for face and body, hair care products and other cosmetics.

The recipes are sometimes easy, but mostly pretty intricate, and sometimes even intimidating. This is for someone who is going all-in on making their own cosmetics, not really for the dabbler.

The thoroughness continues in the six pages of notes, very complete glossary, and resource list (for sourcing your ingredients).

Perfect for the person who makes homemade versions of everything!
*eARC Netgalley* ( )