Combine your love of culinary arts with your concern for toxin-free personal care and you’ve got The Green Beauty Recipe Book.

Julie Gabriel – green beauty aficionado and resource for many DIY recipes we’ve posted using organic lavender – is at it again. Her newest tome is a hands-on how-to devoted to homemade bath and beauty that will help you keep both gorgeous and green.

A Cookbook with a Catch

If you’re ready to craft all-natural and organic lotions and potions from your very own kitchen, this is the book for you. The catch? Less ka-ching at the beauty counter – more pure goodness at your finger tips (and on your face, neck, arms, etc.).

With The Green Beauty Recipe book at your side, you will:

• Get guidance on formulating your own cosmetic products to minimize the risk of irritation and achieve maximum benefits for your skin condition
• Learn the (dirty) secrets of the cosmetic industry
• Create your own beauty products without chemicals using only natural ingredients
• Discover which vegetable oils, herbs, floral waters, essential oils, plant-based emulsifiers, and natural preservatives to use
• Push the envelope by packing and labeling your very own beauty products
• Get tips for safe storage
• Choose from over 250 recipes based on your own personal beauty desires and dilemmas – and learn how to combine all natural ingredients for best results
• Purge phthalates, parabens, and other toxic chemicals from your bath and beauty routine forever
• Learn about active botanicals, vitamins, minerals, and other formerly mysterious ingredients that are perfect for your homemade beauty products.

Whether you’re a curious first-time DIY-er, or an experienced beauty practitioner, Julie’s new book (available from her website)  has something in it for you.

You know we love organic lavender – the foundation of all Napa Valley Bath bath and body products.

I’d like to give a shout out to some of the specific ingredients that makes them so darn special, from buttermilk to chamomile to extra virgin olive oil!

Chamomile

Found in our Organic Lavender Bath Tea, chamomile is a natural skin rejuvenator. Cleansing and softening, it’s a natural anti-inflammatory and has been used for centuries as a soothing healing agent.

Calendula

Also found in our Organic Lavender Bath Tea, calendula is a well-known healing herb, most notably for the healing of wounds. It has antiseptic, antibacterial and antifungal properties that prevent infections.

Organic Buttermilk Powder

Good enough to drink? Not quite…but organic buttermilk powder, found in our Organic Lavender Bath Milk, comes close.  Buttermilk is the residual liquid which remains after butter is churned –  there’s actually no butter in buttermilk (except for the name!). As for health benefits, buttermilk’s Ph level makes it particularly helpful in reducing inflammation and redness.

Sevillano Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Look to the Lavender Sugar Scrub for a dose of this amazing olive oil from California’s Central Valley. It is rich in Vitamin E, a potent antioxidant, as well as oleic and palmitic fatty acids. Squalene (a natural moisturizer) and phytosterols (a natural plant steroid perfect for dry skin) add extra punch. Exfoliate away!

Treat yourself – or a loved one – to the all natural healing power of one or more of these Napa Valley Bath bath and body products. And peruse this site for fun do-it-yourself recipes!