Book Review: The Green Beauty Guide by Julie Gabriel

Back-of-the-book-blurb:  The promise of beauty is as close as the drugstore aisle — shampoo that gives your hair more body, lotions that smooth away wrinkles, makeup that makes your skin look flawless, and potions that take it all off again.  But while conventional products say they’ll make you more beautiful, they contain toxins and preservatives that are both bad for the environment and bad for your body—including synthetic fragrances, petrochemicals, and even formaldehyde. In the end, they damage your natural vitality and good looks.  Fortunately, fashion writer, nutritionist, and beauty maven Julie Gabriel helps you find the true path to natural, healthy, green beauty.  She helps you decipher labels on every cosmetic product you pick up and avoid toxic and damaging chemicals with her detailed Toxic Ingredients List.  You’ll learn valuable tips on what your skin really needs to be healthy, glowing, and youthful.  Julie goes one-step further — and shows you how to make your own beauty products that feed your skin, save your bank account, and are healthy for your body and the environment.

She is Too Fond of Books’ Review:  Before I get to the nitty-gritty review part of this post, I want to tell you where I was coming from when I happily agreed to review The Green Beauty Guide.  I’m middle-of-the-road when it comes to “natural” and “organic,” and tend to lean toward the convenience of more traditional (mass-market/commercial) products.  Sure, I shop at Trader Joe’s (once every few weeks, not my stocking-up shopping trips); and I can taste the difference in locally-grown pesticide-free produce, but my pantry and fridge aren’t stocked with only natural and organic food.

I’m the same way with my cosmetics.  I do have sensitive dry skin, and my face reacts with redness and irritation when in contact with perfumes.  I started using a line of “dermatologist tested” products when I was in high school, and have stuck with them.

I was definitely curious about what I would find between the pages of this book.  I know that little changes can make a big difference, and tweaking just a few steps in my daily beauty routine might save my health and my money.

As soon as I opened my review copy of The Green Beauty Guide I was drawn in.  The paper is a soft matte neutral, easier on the eyes than stark white or even cream.  The type is a sepia-like tone of brown, which lends a warm earthy feel.  It’s an over-sized paperback with a scored crease near the spine, so it should stand up to frequent reference over time.

Julie begins by discussing her background, and the personal reasons she has adopted a “green” lifestyle for her family.  The next section outlines many of the ingredients in beauty products, and points out that these often toxic compounds are found across the board – drug stores, department stores, and private labels available only through dermatologists.  The format is very easy to read, with large header labels, and illustrated sidebars such as ‘what science says’ and ‘green fact.’

I found myself skimming this part, but can imagine referring back to it when I want more information about a specific compound.  For a beginner like me, the complex names were out of context until I grabbed a bottle of my shampoo to check the content listing – yikes! 

The remainder of the Guide is full of step-by-step instructions for creating your own green beauty treatments, including cleansers, toners, moisturizers, body care, hair care, etc. These are the parts that are already dog-eared; regular readers of this blog will know that its very unusual for me to mark my books in any way … I’m looking forward to revisiting these sections and trying more recipes!

One recipe I tried is the Sugar Mommy Scrub, which used ingredients I had at home – sugar, olive oil, rose oil (my neighbor, a massage therapist had this for me), and vanilla extract.  Because of sensitivity on my face, I was reluctant to use this as a facial scrub, and first used it on my hands instead.  It is a wonderful exfoliant for the hands (I imagine the legs, feet and heels would love it, too!), and I followed with my usual hand cream.  I felt like I had just had a treatment with a manicurist.  Pleased with the success of my hand experiment, I made more of my potion the next day to use on my face – my skin felt smooth and clean after I used it, not a hint of irritation.

Julie includes several appendices to the book: resources for purchasing ingredients and materials, a list of 100 ingredients you don’t want to find in your cosmetics, and references/footnotes to studies and research mentioned in the Guide.

I’m buying books for the holidays wherever possible … shhh, don’t tell my sister, but I’ve ordered a copy of The Green Beauty Guide just for her.  I also purchased the ingredients for her to make Hand Rescue Cream (beeswax, sweet almond oil, lemon essential oil, and lavender essential oil).  There’s a great independent natural food store in our town, and together we chose a recipe that used ingredients found in several other potions in the book.  Julie includes recipes with a lot of crossover ingredients, which makes this Guide especially appealing to me.  

The Green Beauty Guideis the perfect book for someone like me, who wants to learn more about green cosmetics, and who appreciates the flexibility to pick and choose the changes she will make.  Author Julie Gabriel is a registered nutritionist and has worked as a writer and editor for the beauty and fashion industry.  Now, if she ever writes a book about natural remedies for migraines, I’ll be first in line to buy it!

What type of green beauty treatment would you most like to try?  Options include: cleansers, toners, home facials, moisturizers, sun protection, body care, hair care, baby care, mineral makeup, fragrance and detox/cleanse … there’s something for everyone!