In Beyond Soap, dermatologist Sandy Skotnicki delivers a compelling wake-up call, attributing the surge in skin problems to modern grooming and beauty habits. With a 3-step product-elimination diet, the book provides an indispensable guide to restoring and maintaining our skin's natural state, ensuring a healthy and radiant complexion for all ages.

The premise of the book is great and the author really delivers. Great read. Highly recommended. .

What you don’t know CAN hurt you. I have an autoimmune disease, and I am very sensitive to a lot of things. More and more of us are. Especially chemicals. I had not thought about how many chemicals are in our soap, lotions, shampoo, conditioners, deodorants and other products that we use daily. Something else to think about, those in gels, shampoos and conditioners flow over our entire body when we take a shower – and may irritate. They're finding that many bacteria are not only safe, but necessary, and we're killing them with these products.

Sandy is a practicing dermatologist and has run into many cases where chemicals have caused terrible problems for people. She has written a detailed explanation as to what products – including those listed as NATURAL – can be harmful, right down to what to watch out for. I learned a lot from this book and have been putting her advice into practice. I’ve purchased some of the products on her recommended list, and have seen great improvement. This book is an investment in your health and wellbeing! I highly recommend it.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the Netgalley bloggers book review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”.

I was diagnosed with psoriasis when I was five. It was 1985 and at the time psoriasis was a condition that was seen mostly in the elderly, so for a five year old little girl from Texas to have this disease was baffling not only to my family but our family physician and many local dermatologists. I was passed from specialist to specialist, each marveling at my age and condition. I hated every second of it. Having psoriasis changed my life forever and I still struggle daily with its effects.

At the time of my diagnosis the reasoning behind my having the disease was genetics even though neither of my parents or grandparents showed any signs or symptoms. It wasn't many years later that my dad was diagnosed that I felt somewhat better about my ordeal but I've never felt like this was the whole story. I am practically allergic to everything under the sun and though I am extremely careful about what I come into contact with, and use on my skin, I have often wondered if the products I've so carefully chosen are aiding in the ever-constant battle that I have with the psoriasis symptoms they are supposedly supposed to help alleviate? That's what dermatologist Dr. Sandy Skotnicki wanted to find out.

In Beyond Soap Dr. Sandy Skotnicki lays it all out for you. She explains the different types of skin, gives you a brief history lesson about bathing and makeup rituals through the generations, and then goes on to explain why our society is having the skin issues they are having. A lot of the information are things that you most likely have heard before but it is a good refresher and Dr. Skotnicki's writing style is so fluid that you will breeze right through many parts of the book.

Dr. Sandy Skotnicki has done her research and it shows in every chapter of the book which makes it a wonderful resource for anyone who struggles with skin issues like myself. The main premise of the book is less is more. We are living in a society of overindulgence and that includes what we put on our skin. When you read about the history of skin care Dr. Skotnicki provides it is obvious that we are "too clean" and using way too many products which are doing more harm than good.

I highly recommend Beyond Soap for anyone who has any type of skin ailments. I have already begun to use some of Dr. Skotnicki's recommendations and I can already tell a difference. In my opinion it is a must read!

I read SOAP as a wholistic nutritionist who sometimes has clients with skin issues as well as for myself. This book gives an extensive history of skin care that the average reader may not need. It was pretty technical for a lay person. It would serve as as a good guide for a family physician, naturopath or other holistically minded health care practitioner. The recommendations for specific ingredients to avoid in skin care products was very useful. In addition, the recommendations of specific good products to try was also very helpful and most of these are readily available and not expensive.

A thorough and engaging skincare advice. The book is meant to be read as a guide to revising your skincare regimen in light of research that focuses on allergies and other skin conditions. It is also a thought-provoking expose of the beauty industry and its reliance on the consumers buying into promises of perfection and everlasting youth. The advice is easy to follow and, dare I say after sticking to it for the past few months, it certainly works!

This book clearly had a wealth of credible information, as it was written by a professional dermatologist. She uses scientific background of skin and skincare to explain her reasoning, thinking, and recommendations. It was so interesting to read about how skincare has developed over the millennia and how we have become suckers for the marketing of big companies. For the first half of the book the author gets you good and scared about what you're doing to your skin, then in the second half gives concrete recommendations.

I thought the book could have been edited to be a bit shorter - some topics were repeated and it may not be necessary to use as many example stories. I was getting a bit anxious 50% in when I hadn't read any concrete recommendations for what to do yet other than use soaps less frequently. I think people often read these books to get answers on what to do, so shortening the first half and getting to the details a little faster would have been even more engaging. That said, I learned a lot from reading this book and it will definitely contribute to me updating my skincare regime.

This book was tremendous. I found the writing to use sound logic and medical studies to support the point of view which made me (the amateur reader) feel like the information was more valid.

A little about me - I'm in my 30s and recently started looking into skincare and anti-aging. In my opinion, a lot of resources I've picked up seem to be more focused on skincare philosophies rather than being based on hard science. Something as simple as how often you should wash your face is philosophized (where as something like the effects of Retin A are scientifically documented but how to add it to your routine seems a matter of philosophy). For me, it's hard to trust my skin to someone that doesn't have a sound reasoning or support for their directive because frankly my skin can get angry (red, tight, inflamed, flaky) and it's not worth the risk.

This book made me feel more powerful in the way a teaching guide or textbook would do. After reading, I feel better equipped at making decisions for my own skincare and better able to recognize the signs of unhappy skin.

I received this book to review, it doesn't come out until March 2018 but I wish I could gift a few copies to some of my friends and my mom. If you're interested in skincare, it makes sense that you pick up this book. If you have some skin issues and want to feel like you understand the situation better and learn how to deal with the conditions this book is a must have!

The author, a dermatologist with decades of experience, presents compelling evidence to show that most of us are overwashing our bodies, faces, and hair, which threatens the health of our skin and its microbiome. Based on scientific research and her own observations, Skotnicki examines the most commonly allergic ingredients in skin and hair care, presents her product elimination diet, and lists products that are safe to use. I skimmed the book a bit when I got bored with some of the scientific explanations, but found her argument to wash less frequently, and differently, very intriguing (and it makes a lot of sense, based on the science). The information in the book is presented in a reader-friendly way, and I found it enjoyable and useful.

Resourceful book about the skin care. The chapters are interesting and easy to understand.

Such an informative and well-written book about how we're damaging the micro-biome of our skin by applying hundreds of ingredients by way of lotions and potions and make-up. How we strip off our natural oils only to spend a fortune on trying to replace them. And how we're giving ourselves dermatitis, eczema, rosacea and acne by irritating our skin from all these ingredients and also by over-washing. There are a couple of quotes that stand out, like," organic and 'natural' is good for food but not for skin care", and "when showering, don't lather up all over, just wash your bits".

It was eye-opening to realize that a "fragrance-free" label doesn't mean there's no fragrance, and how tried and true products can change for the worse over the years for the sake of marketing. I especially appreciate her lists of good basic products that are free of common skin irritants.

This is a book that everyone should read.

I will put my skin on a diet starting today:
Beyond Soap by Dr. Sandy Skotnicki is a refreshing read about skin care. Her advice about using skin care products makes so much sense for me. Dr. Skotnicki explains the important difference between skin allergens and skin irritants very well and she makes a point to avoid them as much as possible in order to keep our skins healthy. I believe I have been pretty good about using creams, lotions, and makeup with the least amount of ingredients in the past, but I think I can do much better with the advice in this book. My problem is dry and irritated skin from harsh winter weather and from using the wrong cleaning products. Being a soap junkie does not help in this regard. Starting today I will say good-bye to my artisan bar soap collection and put my soaps into exile to scent my closet drawers. I I will follow Dr. Skotnicki's advice to the T and see if I can avoid dry and cracked skin altogether this fall and winter season. Her approach to cleaning the whole body with less products and less often has already been put to use naturally by my husband and my daughter, who both have a lot of issues with sensitive skin. I will miss my long, hot showers and my sudsy soaps. But in the long run I believe my skin with thank me.