When it comes to beautiful skin, moisturizing is important, but taking a daily walk may be even more so. Dr. Hauschka Skin Care stresses a variety of treatments like baths, meditation, journaling, and a strategic diet as much as proper cleansing and toning. Detailed by Susan Kurtz, Dr. Hauschka Skincare Inc.'s president since 1993, Hauschka's philosophy has found its way into a brightly illustrated guide to natural beauty, Awakening Beauty, the Dr. Hauschka Way

Full disclosure: I adore Hauschka's products. They combine an old-school Austrian sensibility - - with an emphasis on healing that is simple, clean, efficient, and irresistible. The line was developed in the 1950s by Rudolf Hauschka, an Austrian chemist looking to heal illness and physical imbalance by restoring the health and vitality of the entire person with a line of plant-based medicines. Each Hauschka product is made with plants that have been biodynamically harvested - a unique form of farming that considers the rhythms of the sun, moon, planets, and stars in the growing process - and from which essential oils are extracted in a specialized process that protects each plant's "vital forces."

While Awakening Beauty provides interesting insight into the history of Dr. Hauschka as a company and of course recommends Hauschka products for specific skin conditions, the book is much more than the giant advertorial I expected it to be. I found the most fascinating chapter to be the first one, where Kurtz connects beauty to rhythm. Here she emphasizes the importance of establishing (or reestablishing) a consistent rhythm in life. "By practicing listening to and, as much as possible, living by your own inner rhythms, you can find the beauty that is waiting to be discovered. Your internal rhythms are real - as real as your heartbeat, the rise and fall of your breathing, and the ebb and flow of your hormones," she writes. Kurtz gives a handful of extremely useful tips and exercises including scheduling appointments with healers (acupuncturists, massage therapists, etc.) for the same time each week or month. Sticking to the schedule will help your internal rhythms rise as the appointment nears, which increases the body's ability to benefit from the treatment and to heal more efficiently.

Hauschka's holistic approach is present throughout the book. Kurtz pushes quiet meditative moments (in the bath, during a walk, or while actively doing nothing) and a balanced diet as the foundation of healthy skin. But the guide is not only theoretical. Kurtz gives clear, user-friendly examples and some cases, instructions, for using essential oils ("a sage bath neutralizes hostile or negative thoughts and emotions"), for making skin treatments at home (a teaspoon each of honey, wheat germ, and goldenseal powder can zap acne), and for eating right. She walks readers through weekly menus and the last section of the book is dedicated to 60 recipes like banana-macadamia pancakes and shrimp, fennel, and quinoa pilaf.

With helpful sidebars on everything from daily prayers to alternative body washes, Awakening Beauty manages to be an encyclopedia of holistic skin care without losing its gentle, friend-to-friend tone. I plan to keep Awakening Beauty within arms reach so if I need to treat an unexpected zit, whip up a quick healthy dinner, or manage stress I'll be more than prepared.

Awakening Beauty, the Dr. Hauschka Way

Cost: $30.00

Where to Buy: Amazon