A Hand Book of Natural Beauty

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Beauty and health go hand in hand. The finest cosmetics in the world cannot disguise the effects of poor nutrition, lack of sleep and exercise or too much stress. Beauty comes from within and it is reflected in clear skin, sparkling eyes, glossy hair and a fit, trim body.

While it is not possible to change one’s features, a lot can be done to attain other basic elements of true beauty. In this book Dr. H. K. Bakhru has covered all aspects of beauty and prescribed methods for treating various problems connected therewith in a natural way.

A Handbook of Natural Beauty is your guide to looking good, feeling good and staying fit the natural way, the healthy way. It will help you discover

Why water do more for you than any skin cream

A delicious way to prevent tooth decay

How to prevent your hair from graying and a natural hair dye

A humble herb which makes your facial more effective

Exercises for a healthier, lovelier you

And a lot more from the leading expert on nature care. Many have benefited greatly after reading this book and have succeeded in overcoming their beauty problems. You too, can be one of them.

Dr. H. K. Bakhru enjoys a countrywide reputation as an expert naturopath and a prolific writer. His well-researched articles on nature cure, health, nutrition and herbs appear regularly in various newspapers and magazines and bear the stamp of authority.

Dr. H. K. BAKHRU enjoys a countrywide reputation as an expert naturopathand a prolific writer. His well-researched articles on nature cure, health, nutrition and herbs appear regularly in various newspapers and magazines and they bear the stamp of authority.

A diploma holder in naturopathy, all his current 13 books on nature cure, nutrition and herbs titled, A Complete Handbook of Nature Cure, Diet Cure for Common Ailments, A Handbook of Nature Beauty, Nature Cure for Children, Naturopathy for Longevity, Healing Through Natural Foods, Indian Spices and Condiments as Natural Healers, Foods That Heal, Herbs That Heal, Natural Home Remedies for Common Ailments, Vitamins that Heal, Conquering Diabetes Naturally and Conquering Cancer Naturally have been highly appreciated by the public and repeatedly reprinted. His first-named book has been awarded first prize in the category ‘Primer on Naturopathy for Healthy Living’ by the jury of judges at the ‘Book Prize Award’ scheme, organized by ‘National Institute of Naturopathy’, an autonomous body under Government of India, Ministry of Health.

Dr. Bakhru began his career on the Indian Railways, with a first class first postgraduate degree in History from Lucknow University in 1949. He retired in October 1984 as the Chief Public Relations officer of the Central Railway in Mumbai, having to his credit 35 years of distinguished service in the Public Relations organizations of the Indian Railways and the Railway Board.

An associate member of the All India Alternative Medical Practitioner’s Association and a member of the Nature Cure Practitioners’ Guild in Mumbai, Dr. Bakhru has extensively studied herbs and natural methods of treating diseases. He has been honoured with ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’, ‘Gem of Alternative Medicines’ award and a gold medal in Diet Therapy by the Indian Board of Alternative Medicines, Kolkata, in recognition of his dedication and outstanding contributions in the field of Alternative Medicines. The Board, which is affiliated with the Open International University for Complementary Medicines, established under World Health Organisation and recognized by the United Nations Peace University, has also appointed him as its Honorary Advisor. Dr. Bakhru has also been honoured by Nature Cure Practitioners’ Guild, Mumbai with Nature Cure Appreciation Award for his services to Naturopathy.

Dr. Bakhru has founded a registered Public Charitable Trust, known as D.H. Bakhru Foundation, for help to the poor and needy. He has been donating 25,000 every year to this trust from his income as writer and author.

I FIRMLY BELIEVE that true beauty, like good health, comes from within. What we eat has a profound effect on our health and appearance. We are what we eat-this conviction prompted me to write a series of articles on various aspects of natural beauty and natural methods of treating beauty problems. These articles were published din many well-known magazines like Body and Beauty Care, Femina, Eve’s Weekly, Mirror and Fitness.

The response of the readers, especially women readers, was overwhelming. Many of them benefitted greatly from my advice and succeeded in overcoming their beauty problems, especially acne and skin blemishes, premature graying of hair, falling of hair and patchy baldness. This encouraged me to do in-dept study of the subject and to compile the information in the form of a book. I have made a sincere endeavour to cover all aspects of beauty and prescribed methods for treating various problems connected therewith in a natural way. I have also dealt with a wide range of natural aids and their application in improving looks and appearance.

There is a growing awareness at present that the cosmetics based on various kinds of chemicals are harming the users instead of benefitting them. More and more people are now discarding them in favour of chemical free products and preparations based on natural foods and herbs. I hope this book will contribute greatly to this growing trend towards natural beauty and provide a useful guide to every day beauty treatment.

Natural Beauty is a rare quality. It is a reflection of inward health and cannot be substituted by any amount of beauty aids. If you are not in good health, both physically and mentally, your skin and hair will look dull and lifeless. Similarly, if you are not scrupulously clean no cream or lotion, however exclusive and expensive, will help improve your appearance. A healthy body and a happy state of mind are thus the basic elements of true beauty.

The chief attributes of natural beauty are clear skin, bright eyes, glossy hair and sparkling teeth as well as attractive features. While it is not possible to change one’s features, a lot can be done for attaining other basic requirements of natural beauty.

One may spend huge amounts of money in an attempt to improve one’s appearance with expensive cosmetics and beauty parlour treatments. But this will at best hide any imperfections and blemishes, but it can never give those basic attributes of natural beauty.

Women have always aspired for attractive appearance and youthful looks and searched for ways and means for their attainment. In ancient times, famous beauties attributed the longevity of their youthful skin tone to the use of herbal formulas. Then came the synthetic age with high pressure advertising, and the wonderful beautifying properties of natural substances were forgotten. Women thought that chemical laboratories could solve all their beauty problems, that too in the shortest time.

Now the trend is the other way around. Recent years have seen a tremendous upsurge in the popularity of beauty products based on natural ingredients. This has lead to a revival of organic and chemical free natural cosmetics. Natural foods-fruits, vegetable, seeds, nuts, pulses and other natural substances are being increasingly used in the preparation of natural cosmetics. They not only enhance the beauty of the skin and hair but also possess curative properties.

Many are for this trend towards natural cosmetics. Every modern woman, like her ancient counterpart, wants lovely skin and glossy hair. But in her search for beauty, she has learnt that many commercial products that promise a glowing complexion and a healthy crown of hair contain hormones, antibiotics, or other irritants that do more harm than good. Cosmetic reactions may appear as dryness, skin cracking, swelling, itchiness or as a rash.

Another reason for the growing interest in home preparations of natural beauty aids is the money-saving angle. Compared to the huge amounts women have been spending each year on commercial beauty products, natural substances cost very little. Women are also discovering that natural ingredients are often more effective.

The studies conducted by research scholars in the field of natural substances in recent years, have enabled us to use ingredients like almond, lemon, peach, turmeric, honey, rose, sandalwood and henna in preparations for the skin and hair. The products which form part of Indian heritage, like reetha, amla, brahmi, shikakai and others are also being used in the formulation of corrective cosmetics to treat many problems affecting the beauty of the skin and hair. Some of the natural substances even have preservative properties. This has helped to bottle natural cosmetics for longer periods, thereby eliminating the use of chemical preservatives.

The field of natural cosmetics is very vast. A knowledge about the properties and values of each of these will help us to incorporate them in the form of specific cosmetic preparations. The natural foods and herbs commonly used as beauty aids have been discussed at appropriate places in this book as well as separately in Chapters 16 and 17 titled ‘Natural Foods As Beauty Aids’ and ‘Herbs As Beauty Aids’. The most important factor about natural ingredients is that they do not have adverse after reactions like those of chemical substances. As for the beneficial properties, they cannot be duplicated even in the most advanced laboratories.