Pure Nuff Stuff

If you want to do a bit of general reading on the subject, but aren't armed with a Masters degree in biochemistry (or a medical dictionary to refer to) then these are ones that I'd start with:

TOXIC BEAUTY - by Dawn Mellowship (price £7.99)  - an easy to understand and well researched, balanced directory highlighting the issues surrounding the chemicals found in everything from hair gel to hygiene products.  Dawn is a well respected beauty journalist and as a result her writing style is very easy to understand.  I like this one because you can either read it as a whole, or just dip into it to look up something you've never heard of before.  It also takes a serious look at the whole "organic" versus "natural" issue and explains what each of the many, many certifications really means to us as consumers.  And it mentions us, which was a nice surprise.  Informative and written from a more British perspective than most - which makes is more relevant to us.

SKIN DEEP - by Pat Thomas (price £7.99) - Pat is the editor of the Ecologist (more on this later) and often does a feature in that called "What's in this stuff", which is where I imagine the seeds of this book were sown.  I liked this book for the no-nonsense explanations of the basics of the industry (what things like emulsions and surfactants actually are and what they do) and for some of the lovely make-it-yourself alternatives it lists out.  It also does some nice myth-busting (ever wondered what hypo-allergenic or ph balanced actually means?) which is much needed.  A good book to arm you well when reading ingredients lists too as it has a nice directory of the most common nasties.  And again, it mentions us, which we were delighted by, again has a British influence but doesn't ignore the rest of Europe either.  

THE ECOLOGIST - If you want to keep abreast of well researched and reliable facts on every green issue from wind farms to fair trade but don't want to be preached at or spoken to as if you're a toxic drain on Mother Earth, then get a subscription to this monthly magazine.  It has good regular features and doesn't get caught up in hype, a solid reference and a good read.

A CONSUMER'S DICTIONARY OF COSMETIC INGREDIENTS -  by Ruth Winter (don't know the price of this one, sorry).  This is a very serious and weighty tome and does exactly what it says on the tin.  It's just a reference book, by which I mean that it lists the ingredient, it's source, function and the research done on it (safe levels of daily exposure) and what the effects of long term exposure are. Not a light read by any means, but well researched and very reliable.  I refer to this often, but can't refer to it as a cosy fireside read, it's a workhorse, but a good one.

COSMETICS UNMASKED - by Dr Stephen & Gina Antczak - (don't know the price of this one either, but I remember it not being cheap).  This is the Granddaddy of books on the subject and was the first I read.  Again, not an especially easy read, but incredibly informative and well researched.  Some great explanations of phrases used in the industry (do you know what a synergic effect is?  or what a buffer is?  well you will if you read this).  A great book for explaining exactly how the industry works and why things are made the way that they are.  It's more American than the others I've referred to, so the reasearch and laws it refers to aren't necessarily the case here (and it's a few years old now too), so further reading is necessary on most points, but if you want to become a very well informed consumer, you should read this at some point.

Sorry for the incredibly long post, but this is a passion of mine so I get a bit wordy :0)

Do you know of or have any other books that you think are worth having a look at?