It’s a new month, which means it’s time for another cookbook feature, and this one is a unique and fun one! So I love DIY sort of things, because creating things lights me up (in case you can’t tell from my blog). And that’s how I came across the book Hello Glow by Stephanie Gerber.
This is not a typical cookbook but it has recipes, so I’m counting it! But it kinda fits with recent posts I’ve done, especially my post on my healthy skin journey. Essentially this book is a collection of beauty recipes made from all natural ingredients.
After going through my bathroom drawers and cleaning out all of the toxic products I’d been using, I’m kinda missing some key products. (I’m looking at you hairspray!) So how perfectly timed is my getting this book?
Now if I hadn’t already been following Hello Glow, I’d have instantly been sold the moment I opened the Amazon box, because it’s gorgeous and an adorable size. I couldn’t WAIT to start diving into all the cool DIY treasures the Hello Glow book has.
Why Stephanie Gerber & Hello Glow?
I’ve been following Stephanie Gerber and her blog Hello Glow for years now. It’s absolutely full of DIY recipes for so many fun things, and her site is seriously gorgeous. So when I saw that she had a book out, it got added to my Amazon cart very quickly.
Stephanie came to this natural DIY recipes path pretty organically. She explains in the intro to her book that her father was an osteopathic doctor, so they used natural remedies for everything growing up. As a kid she was concocting her own DIY products and she was hooked!
The past 3 or 4 years now I’ve been really fascinated by all-natural products that are healthy for us to use. And along that path I stumbled across Stephanie’s site and became an instant fan. I’ve tried her Turmeric Acne Mask right here on the blog, and it’s super easy to make and my skin felt super soft afterwards.
And Stephanie has become very focused on removing toxic ingredients from her life, especially after she became a mom to her two kiddos. And even though I don’t have kids, I totally understand her desire to do that. I feel like it’s one less thing to worry about to know that the products I use on myself and to clean with are non-toxic.
Hello Glow Organization
Since this isn’t a traditional cookbook it’s a little different when it comes to how it’s structured. It starts off with a short intro to understand Stephanie’s story and how her blog came to be.
Then she dives right into educating the reader on tons of stuff. First up is understanding the essential natural beauty ingredients she uses throughout the book and their benefits. She adds a little section as well on knowing how long recipes last as a guideline and ingredients to avoid in your own products. Then she dives into Assembling a Toolkit as she calls it with what tools you need to have on hand to easily whip up these recipes at any time.
There’s so much great info in the first few pages including how to create a botanical garden and use those herbs in recipes. Then there’s a section on helping you figure out your skin type. She explains what to look for, what products to use, and she references cleanser, toner, and moisturizer recipes that work well with that skin type. So fun!
Then it’s onto the 3 recipe chapters starting with 50 recipes for your FACE. These include everything from cleansers, toners, and moisturizers to scrubs, serums, masks, makeup and a whole lot more. Then she moves onto recipes for the BODY like soaps, perfumes, and bath mixes to really pamper yourself. The final section is recipes for your HAIR including shampoos, masks, scalp scrubs, and sprays to get your hair looking and feeling healthy!
There’s a beauty glossary at the end to define some of the terms like antioxidant, pH scale, retinol, etc that Stephanie references throughout Hello Glow. And finally we have a lovely little index to quickly find what you need.
What’s to Love About the Hello Glow Book?
- Ingredient Explanations – Because I love understanding how natural ingredients are beneficial to use.
- The Toolkit Section – I think the tools are the most intimidating part, because it seems like you need a ton of things. But in reality, there are only 3 or 4 things I don’t already have on hand (like pipettes and amber glass bottles).
- Basics Section – Each recipe chapter has this section which breaks down how often you should use certain products and tips. Super handy!
- Ingredient Tips – Each chapter also includes categories based on that chapter. So you can use it based on your own needs to understand what ingredients will help you most. For example, based on your skin type what oils and botanicals will work best for you.
- TONS of Recipe Info – This one is probably my favorite thing about the book. Each recipe tells you the materials (ingredients) you’ll need, what tools you’ll want in advance, what skin or hair type it works best for, how often to use that product, and how long it’ll last when stored properly. This is key to instruct if you should make a full recipe or a smaller portion.
- Super Ingredients – You’ll find this feature spread throughout the book featuring one ingredient. Stephanie shares why the ingredient is beneficial, includes 4-5 recipes featuring it, and then provides other uses. Love it!
- Simple Recipes – While some recipes include items you might have to buy online a lot of them are things that I often have on hand. Plus they don’t typically include many ingredients, so they’re easy to use.
- Inspiring – After reading through this adorable book, I’m feeling so inspired! I want to try several of these recipes right away (I promise I’ll report back), and experiment with my own now.
- GORGEOUS Photography – This book overflows with stunning photos that you just can’t help but dive right into and want to make everything you see. Seriously, DIY beauty projects suddenly look so lovely and easy, and the photography is really instrumental in helping you see the finished product or how to store it.
Crave-worthy Hello Glow DIY Recipes:
- Oil Cleansing Balm – Your skin actually loves when you add oil to it, so this recipe intrigues me.
- Foaming Honey Cleanser – I love honey and a great cleanser, so it’s a win win.
- Hibiscus Bliss Whipped Moisturizer – This is the cover recipe, so it’s so pretty and looks like heaven for my skin!
- Pineapple-Papaya Mask – A simple and yummy mask that you’ll want to eat instead.
- Grapefruit Detox Mask – I love that you need 2 ingredients to create this mask. So easy!
- Longer-Lash Serum – This 2 ingredient serum replaces a super expensive product that I use, which excites me!
- Eye-Makeup Remover Wipes – I think I have everything for this one already, so that’s cool.
- Scrumptious Coconut-Lime Lip Scrub – I think she had me at coconut & lime on this one, if you know me well!
- Sun-Kissed Foundation Powder – Seriously we can make our makeup, people!
- Cozy Vanilla-Chai Body Oil – Basically apply this oil all over your body and for frizzy hair or chapped lips. Winner!
- Cellulite-Smoothing Kiwi Scrub – Do I need to explain this one??
- Raspberry-Basil Body Polish – She had me at basil, so there you go!
- Charcoal + Tea-Tree Oil Detox Soaps – Color me intrigued!
- DIY Probiotic Deodorant – I’m on the hunt for a great, non-toxic deodorant for every day use.
- Zinc-Coconut Sunscreen – How handy would it be to just make your own sunscreen?
- Customizable Dry Shampoo – Okay this would be pretty cool to make.
- Nourishing Peach Scalp Scrub – How amazing does a scalp massage sound right now? Sigh.
- Marshmallow Root + Argan Oil Detangler – I don’t go anywhere without my detangler.
- All-Natural Vodka-Sugar Hairspray – I find myself the MOST EXCITED about this recipe!
That’s a short list of recipes I’m loving, so if you enjoy DIY projects, then it’s a must-have book. Plus if you’re like me and want to use more all-natural products, what better way than to make your own so you trust what goes into it?
So whether you also follow Hello Glow, or today marks your first time hearing about this site, this book rocks. It’s gorgeous, inspiring, breaks down each recipe so it’s easy, and covers every type of product you could need. I’m kinda obsessed ever since I flipped through it.
Have you heard of Hello Glow before? What do you think of the all-natural products trend, and are you inspired to DIY-ing your beauty products too? Hope you enjoyed this review, and I can’t wait for you to start creating!
Stay inspired & DIY your beauty routine!
~Kelli
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