Creating Your Own Cosmetics - Naturally: The Alternative ... (ISBN 0963775510)

Super book with some technical information.:
For the aspiring home craft chemist (or mad scientist) this book is a MUST. Smeh's book is easy to read, relatively easy to follow, and full of technical information. I had heard of liposomes but did not know what one was until I read his book. Can't wait to try making my own sunscreen. I found two problems with his book: you *have* to read the first chapters first - there's no skipping straight to the recipes with this one; and although Smeh does a good job of telling you what to avoid in your fomulas, he doesn't explain all the products in his. What's in GermabenII? What is betaine? I took this book out from the library and I'm glad Amazon has it for sale - I want it!

Useful info. on making cosmetics and on cosmetic ingredients:
Unlike most "make your own natural cosmetics" books, the recipes in this book call for things like "sorbitan monostearate" and "isosteroyl lactaylate." (Mail order sources are given in the back. You can also get the stuff at http://www.skincare-institute.com). Using the simple directions given in the book you can make shampoos, sunscreens, moisturizers, etc. Because the book includes extensive discussion of what various cosmetic ingredients are and what they do (both "chemical" and "natural") it would also make interesting reading for someone who is curious about just what they are putting on their face, and what the possible effects of those ingredients are. This would make a good companion book to Paula Begoun's book, _Blue Eyeshadow Should Absolutely Be Illegal_. I haven't tried any of the recipes yet, but I'm going to as soon as I can get the ingredients together. The recipes appear to be easy to follow.