Making your own body care products is so fulfilling - you save money, avoid toxic ingredients and actively engage in taking care of yourself. Mindful Beauty Is In Your Hands will empower you and your friends to take charge of your skin care and your life with useful tips that embrace a holistic approach. The beauty recipes included in this book are fast and simple to make. The basic ingredients can easily be found in your kitchen or at your local grocery store. Drawing on her extensive experience in the field of chemistry, Chelvanaya Gabriel explains what the ingredients in each sumptuous recipe can do for your body and why. She encourages readers to learn more on their own and experiment - describing the process of being attentive to the health and well being of one's own body as "mindful beauty", a process that we can all practice in our everyday lives and share with our friends and family.
About the Author: Chelvanaya B. Gabriel is lab manager and greenhouse supervisor at Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts. Born in the Pacific Northwest, Chelvanaya B. Gabriel has always had a passionate interest in the natural sciences, especially as they relate to personal health and well-being. Homeschooled through high school, and often surrounded by academia, she developed a deep interest in the pursuit and sharing of knowledge. Chelvanaya has travelled extensively throughout Asia with her family. At the age of 17, while living in Hanoi, Vietnam with her family, she taught English to college administrators for the Ford Foundation; and again during college taught English at Hohai University in Nanjing, China. Her interactions with students and colleagues abroad sparked her interest in non-Western philosophies and medical traditions. After graduating from Mount Holyoke College with a bachelor's degree in chemistry (and a minor in Asian studies), she worked as a research chemist at Pfizer Pharmaceuticals for a number of years. Later she attended the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, where she participated in student-run migrant farmworker's clinics, helped to establish a Complementary & Alternative Medicine group, as well as smoking cessation and AIDS awareness programs. She also worked as a night manager for the Covenant Shelter in New London, CT and participated in community theatre. At Hampshire College, she helped to revive the annual Alternative Health Fair and co-designed the popular Frog Fest in 2004, a silent auction in response to the Indian Ocean Tsunami victims. She is a member of the campus Safety Steering Committee, and chair of the Staff Advocacy Committee. She continues to find ways to actively share knowledge, and build positive communities. Her latest workshop "Lotions and Potions" has been a highly successful component of the Hampshire College Day in the Lab event. Mindful Beauty Is In Your Hands is her first published book. It was inspired by the "Lotions and Potions" workshop and a desire to share her enjoyment of the pursuit of knowledge and healthy living. She is an avid gardener and enjoys learning about the medicinal properties of herbs and native plants.