The Aromatherapy Beauty Guide
Tips and recipes for natural care products
Reviewed by Adrianne Morrison & Linda Kissam
A recipe for beauty? Who knew! Better yet, a whole book full of thoughtful guidance for beauty and well-being. The Aromatherapy Beauty Guide by Danielle Sade BSc, CAHP is the everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know book about making your own natural beautify products in your kitchen.
During those hours in between meal prep, why not make use of your kitchen area to create quality body care potions so you know exactly what’s in the products you are putting on your body and that of your loved ones. Bonus… your house will show off new fragrances to delight everyone who visits or lives within.
Review partners Linda and Adrianne have the opportunity to keep up-to-date on food and cooking trends thanks to the cookbooks they review. On occasion, we like to spread our wings a bit. When we received this particular book, we realized it’s really not that different from what we usually do. In his case, making food from a recipe or making your own skin care products have a familiar theme, sort of twins from a different mother.
You decide what you want to make, obtain the ingredients giving thought to allergies, sources, and the quality of the products just like when your shop for food. In the end you want the result to be good for you and if it doesn’t smell good, you’re not going to like it.
Speaking of “liking it,” both of us thought this book was a five-star effort. Lots of good information, easy to follow, and great “what does success look like” photos.
Adrianne
Author Danielle Sade, BSc in Nutrition & CAHP thanks her students who inspired her “to delve deeply into the unfamiliar scientific territory of aromatherapy” and I am glad they, and she did. Here you’ll have all you need to know—the how and the why.
At first flip through I thought, this book is going to be way too esoteric but it’s not. There’s a lot of information here—the culmination of 30 years of study, experimentation, collaborations and common sense packed into a nicely laid out reference and guidance book. Tips, benefits, and how-to-use sidebars accompany the formulations, and discussion about essential and carrier oils is included so you can inform yourself and get started creating beauty products specific to your needs.
Essential oils can be fairly expensive and it’s not easy to judge their quality before purchase. Visit the author’s website at http://healingfragrances.net to learn more about aromatherapy and products. This is not an endorsement, simply a suggestion to consider when you choose to move forward on your own journey back to the natural products of Gaia and away from the chemicals used by the cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries. Enjoy the difference in-depth knowledge can made.
I loved the opportunity to discover how to create natural skin-care products by unlocking the therapeutic power of plants. This book is comprehensive. Lots of details. Lots of ideas, lots of recipes for quality beauty and health care. It’s a lot to take in, so do a thumb through first, then go back and concentrate on what most interests you.
I think you’ll enjoy reading the author’s own story of her “journey to natural.” You might even find your own story within hers. In combination with all of the evidence-based information that’s provided, you’ll be inspired to create your own natural product formulas.
Strong but easy-to-follow directions allow you to create your own signature products that complement a natural lifestyle which should meet your specific skincare needs. What could be better than that?
The Aromatherapy Beauty Guide is broken down into four easy-to-understand sections.
The Foundation
Includes information on the tried and true chemistry of essential oils.
The Ingredients for Great Skin Care
Information on all the raw ingredients you’ll need to get started
Essential Oils
35 essential oils are explained as well as a directory of the oils best suited to personal lifestyle needs.
Creating Your Own Personal Care Products
Over 100 formulations with easy-to-follow instructions on creating products for the face, body, bath, pregnancy and personal care products for men.
Take the book for a test drive by creating your own natural beauty in the privacy of your home.
Basic Moisturizing Cream
Making a basic moisturizing cream is quite simple, but you do need to follow a specific procedure to ensure good results. This formulation outlines, step by step, the techniques for making a facial cream using basic ingredients.
Courtesy of The Aromatherapy Beauty Guide: Using the Science of Carrier and Essential Oils to Create Natural Personal Care Products by Danielle Sade © 2017 www.robertrose.ca Reprinted with publisher permission. Available where books are sold.
Skin type
All
When to use
Morning
Makes about 18 oz (530 mL)
Tips
Always start the mixer at a low speed. Mix patiently, without stopping, to ensure that the wax and oil do not cool off before they are emulsified. Otherwise they can separate.
Always research the ingredients you are using and know the recommended maximum amount you can add to products.
Your final product relies on proper storage and packaging. Always sanitize the jar before using, seal it properly and store it in a cool, dark place.
Label your finished product with the dates of manufacture and expiry.
- Bowl-style double boiler
- Glass stir stick
- Electric mixer
- Glass jar (14 oz/400 mL) sprayed with 70% ethyl alcohol
3 tbsp (45 mL) emulsifying wax NF
1⁄2 cup (125 mL)sunflower seed oil
3⁄4 cup (175 mL)warm (86°F/30°C) filtered water
20 drops (1 mL) essential oil of your choice
1 Set a heatproof glass measuring cup with spout over a saucepan of hot (not boiling) water (86°F/30°C) and heat until warm to the touch.
2 Add emulsifying wax and let melt completely.
3 Add sunflower oil and stir gently until completely incorporated. Remove from heat.
4 Using mixer at low speed, gradually mix in warm water. Continue to mix until emulsified (thick and creamy), 5 to 10 minutes.
5 Add essential oil and mix until completely incorporated.
6 Transfer mixture to prepared jars and seal tightly. Properly stored, the cream will keep for up to 3 months.
Basic Day Cream: Use carrier oils with a lighter texture that are rich in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, and essential oils that are balancing and stimulating.
Basic Night Cream: Use carrier oils that are rich in saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, along with calming and relaxing essential oils.
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Author bio:
Danielle Sade, BSc, CAHP has over thirty years of experience teaching and practicing complementary health practices where she creates educational certification programs in aromatherapy and also leads workshops in making natural product formulations for personal and professional use.
She’s passionate about sharing the sound scientific basis upon which aromatherapy is built and making this invaluable information available to everyone. The aromatic molecules of a plant not only have the power to shift the way you feel but the essential oils from plants also have powerful therapeutic properties. It’s the dynamics of these therapeutic actions that form the foundation in Danielle’s successful approach to skin care.
Note: As is common in the book review industry, Adrianne and Linda were each provided with a copy of this book for the purpose of review. While it has not influenced this review, these two writers are happy to provide full disclosure of all potential conflicts of interest.