Book ~ "The Best Natural Homemade Skin and Hair Care Products: 175 Recipes for Creams, Balms, Shampoos and More" (2015) Mar Gomez

From Goodreads ~ Health-enhancing oils from around the world form the base for all natural cosmetics. With these easy-to-follow recipes and widely available natural ingredients, creating effective, soothing and above all natural creams, balms, face and body oils, exfoliating scrubs, shampoos, shower and bath gels and lip balms is easier than ever.

Mar Gomez features really lovely oils such as monoi oil (a coconut and flower oil that is a staple in beauty and skin regimens in Tahiti), soy oil, nut oils (such as macadamia, almond and peanut), seed oils (such as sesame, hemp, pumpkin seed and flax) and some really beautiful exotic natural oils such as piqui, andiroba, prickly pear seed, tamanu and argan.

All these oils have wonderful skin-care properties, and there are specific formulas for all sorts of skin conditions, from dry to oily, from acne-prone to wrinkled, from young to old.

Each formula is very easy to make and only requires normal kitchen equipment and a good scale. There are formulas for anti-aging creams, firming recipes to fight against cellulite, freckle- and spot-removing oil, moisturizing facial wrinkle cream, anti-dandruff shampoos and many others.

Making luxurious, heavenly-smelling homemade cosmetics is surprisingly simple and satisfying with this book. 

I like the idea of making products from the scratch so this book caught my eye.

This book starts with the basics ... instructions on how to make and store creams, ointments, oils, shampoos and gels,

Then come the recipes under the headings of the oils ... flaxseed oil, evening primrose oil, grapeseed oil, hemp seed oil, shea butter, etc.  They look easy to follow.  The first page of each section describes what the oil is, its history and its benefits.  Included with the recipes are:

• What it's best for (example - oily skin)
• Tips (example - apply in a circular motion)
• Notes (example - exact measurements are important when making skin and hair care products) 
• Any cautions (example - don't use rosemary essential oil if you have high blood pressure or epilepsy)

Here's a recipe from the book if you have dry hair.  Mix 1oz/30grams of hemp seed oil and 10 drops of tea tree essential oil into a small glass bottle and seal tightly.  Shake to combine.  Soak a cotton ball with this mixture and apply from roots to ends.  Wrap your hair up in a towel and let stand for two hours, then wash as usual.

There are lots of beautiful full colour pictures throughout the book and the book is easy to follow.