Natural Hand Care: Herbal Treatments and Simple Techniques for Healthy Hands and Nails [Paperback]

Norma Pasekoff Weinberg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 8, 1998

This book offers dozens of easy-to-make recipes, plus nutrition tips for healthy hands, strength-building exercises, and relaxing hand massage techniques.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Keep your hands strong, healthy, and beautiful for a lifetime!

In Natural Hand Care you'll find:

* Simple recipes for healing herbal creams, lotions, and cleansers

* Advice for improving debilitating conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome

* Nutritional guidelines for the healthiest hands, skin, and nails

* Effective treatments for arthritis and everyday exercises for fit hands

About the Author

As Master Gardener, freelance lecturer and columnist, Norma Pasekoff Weinberg is the respected author of two of Storey's health and beauty books, Natural Hand Care and Henna from Head to Toe! She also self-published Herbal Secrets for Gardeners in 1997. She is producer and host of the public-access television series, Herb's Daughter, based in Massachusetts, which is a show that allows Weinberg to share her gardening, health, cooking, cosmetics and crafts know-how with her fans. She has additionally spread her knowledge in articles published in New England's Holistic Magazine and Spirit of Change magazines. Weinberg is also a member of the Herb Research Foundation, American Botanical Council, Massachusetts Horticultural Society and the American Herb Society. Weinberg lives in Massachusetts with her family.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC (January 8, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580170536
• ISBN-13: 978-1580170536
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #510,169 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice book if you like to make your own products, April 18, 2000

By 

A. Gray "reader, mother, baker" (NE Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Natural Hand Care: Herbal Treatments and Simple Techniques for Healthy Hands and Nails (Paperback)

I wasn't all that interested in the first part of this book, which describes how hands and nails work, gives exercises and discussed nails/hands and nutrition. As a cosmetics editor, I did enjoy the second part of the book, which deals with problems and nail care. One of my favorite parts of this book is the manicure section. Not only does the author detail a complete 10-step manicure, but she also gives interesting tidbits such as the history of nail polish and nail polish ingredients, a list of tools you might want to keep handy, tips on choosing a manicurist/nail salon, and how to sanitize tools.

If you're genuinely interested in learning everything there is to know about the hand, then you'll enjoy reading this book from cover to cover. Readers looking for beauty-specific information might want to concentrate on the sections for nail and skin care. All of the recipes included are treatments you can make at home, though for many of them you'll probably have to make a trip to the local natural food or health store. I'm not one of those people who likes concocting beauty products at home, but I still found it interesting reading.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good book for beauty do-it-yourselfers, November 1, 2000

By 

Amy, Tatting & Cosmetics Host, Wedding Guru - See all my reviews

This review is from: Natural Hand Care: Herbal Treatments and Simple Techniques for Healthy Hands and Nails (Paperback)

Natural Hand Care is published by Storey Books, which specializes in how-to publications for country living, including gardening, natural health and beauty, herbs, cooking and food preservation, crafts, and homebrewing. This book is filled with recipes for homemade treatments that will keep hands and nails healthy and attractive through all stages of life.

Much of the book discusses topics that, while not strictly cosmetic- or beauty-related, are interesting nonetheless. The first section describes how hands work and how they're put together, sprinkling in fascinating facts such as where the word 'pinkie' comes from and how to analyze fingerprints. Directions are given for more serious applications, like a warm-up stretch and massage for hands, and for lighter practices such as palm reading. Chapter Three, "Nutrition for Nails, Skin, Bones and Joints," includes common-sense advice (eat well-balanced meals, drink lots of water) but also features a chart describing which vitamins and minerals are good for hands, skin and nails, as well as a listing of nutritional supplements (what they are, what they do, signs of deficiency).

Nail fanatics will be eager to get to the second part of the book, which deals not only with problems and nail care, but also explains how nails are constructed, what they're made of, and what makes then grow. I found it interesting that it's a widely held belief that biting fingernails actually makes them grow. A table with drawings of example nails explains nail nutrition by describing what all those ridges and lines really mean. The section on problems and remedies gives recipes for treatments such as Nail-Biters' Aloe Vera Ointment, a soak to sooth inflammation, and instructions on using henna as a nail conditioner. All recipes include ingredients listings (for items such as essential oils and chamomile) as well as directions for use and cautions for people with allergies or sensitive skin.

Part III, Skin Care for Hands, features many recipes for natural hand cleansers, moisturizers and other remedies. Included are recipes for teas to relieve hand allergies and a bug bite treatment that is made of beeswax, plantain leaf oil, vitamin E and lavender oil. There are also treatments for burns, bruises, chapped skin, eczema, freckles, hives and warts. Weinberg also gives a great list of ingredients used in commercial skin products so you can check your labels and see what you're putting on your body. Part IV discusses how to care for joints by using exercises, baths and teas, all of which would be useful to someone with arthritis or another hand condition. The conclusion examines how to care for the aging hand by improving elasticity with an avocado skin cream (recipe included), as well as how to deal with age spots, bruising easily, calluses and dry skin.

This would make a great gift for someone (maybe yourself!) who revels in mixing up homemade beauty products---if you're unsure of ingredients, just check Appendix A, the Guide to Herbal and Natural Ingredients, which gives names, Latin names, properties and other information. Appendix B, Equipment and Tools, lists things you'll need (such as a scale, spoons, a coffee grinder) to create the recipes. If you decide that you love the book and want to dig deeper into the world of natural and herbal hand care, you'll find a reading list and resources list in the back.

5 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not Reliable Information, April 18, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Natural Hand Care: Herbal Treatments and Simple Techniques for Healthy Hands and Nails (Paperback)

It has a fairly good section on anatomy, carpel tunnel syndrome and hand exercise, but too much of the information presented in the book is incorrect, some of it is foolish. The author is not an qualified expert, but has lots of opinions. Unfortunately, she presents many of her own opinions as if they were factual. Her erronous opinons are often derived from common nail myths and misunderstandings. In my opinion, this book is not reliable source of information.