cover image The New Medically Based No-Nonsense Beauty Book

The New Medically Based No-Nonsense Beauty Book

Deborah Chase. Henry Holt & Company, $19.95 (404pp) ISBN 978-0-8050-1043-5

Several recent developments have prompted this revision of Chase's 1974 guide: technological breakthroughs, such as low-magnification photography, in evaluating skin (e.g., measuring pore size and growth rate of skin cells) and hair; new treatments (especially regarding moisturizers and acne medicines); and mandatory ingredient-labeling of all cosmetics. To make the most of this influx of information and products, Chase, a medical researcher, walks her readers through a wide range of treatments (some homemade) for maintaining optimum condition of skin, hair, nails and teeth. Every section concludes with a brand-name buying guide, and a glossary of common beauty product ingredients is equally valuable. But for all its helpfulness, the new edition can be slow going. Chase has apparently taken ``no nonsense'' to mean ``no personality''--little of the latter surfaces in her blandly evenhanded prose. Though the author's potentially refreshing no-frills approach is unusual, in Chase's hands the fun of looking pretty becomes but a sensible chore--like flossing regularly. Illustrations not seen by PW. (June)