Margo Marrone - The Organic Pharmacy Complete Guide to Natural Health and Beauty

Praise for The Organic Pharmacy Complete Guide to Natural Health and Beauty

Margo is one of the warmest and smartest people I know and she radiates health. Margo decodes homeopathy in refreshingly easy-to-understand ways and seeing the principles she lives by has inspired me to make healthier choices in my own life too.

Lisa Oxenham, Beauty and Style Director at Marie Claire

I am huge fan of Margo and her ethos to organic skincare and homeopathy. Margo was a true pioneer when she launched The Organic Pharmacy nearly 20 years ago and her knowledge and passion is unsurpassed. The treatments and products are fantastic and an essential part of my everyday regime.

Lisa Snowdon, English television and radio presenter

I have admired Margos innovation to organic products since she launched The Organic Pharmacy nearly 20 years ago. Her dedication to never compromise in the formulations to make the products so effective is very challenging in the organic sphere. She has led the charge in this market and I have huge admiration for Margo and all she has achieved.

Beatrice Aidin, multi award-winning freelance journalist

For almost 20 years Ive been shopping at The Organic Pharmacy and Margo Marrones wisdom and incredible remedies have kept both me and my family happy and healthy. From arnica tablets for bumps and scrapes, and Quercetin supplements which have cured my daughters eczema, through to the wonderful treatments and beauty products this really is the one stop shop for everything. Margos extensive knowledge is second to none.

Olivia Falcon, founder of The Editors List

Margo Marrone is the leading voice in skincare that is ingrained in homeopathy. She has become one of our true British beauty heroes, with decades of experience, a personable approach and an educated standpoint on how to embed a skincare regime into your daily wellbeing regime. Skincare runs deep into your overall physiological maintenance and Margo has been on the cutting edge of this for decades. She leads where others follow. Im delighted to see her bringing her knowledge to life in this book.

Millie Kendall, co-founder and CEO of The British Beauty Council

I love The Organic Pharmacy for its pioneering approach to sustainable, ageless beauty but no philosophy, however well-meaning, works unless the products work and are a pleasure to use. And Margos do. Shes a fount of knowledge.

Lisa Armstrong, Head of Fashion and Style for The Daily Telegraph and Stella Magazine

The Organic Pharmacy was the realization of my dream

This book is my opportunity to share that dream with you.

MARGO MARRONE

The Organic Pharmacy

Margo Marrone

First published in the United Kingdom and Ireland in 2009 by Duncan Baird Publishers

This edition published in the UK and USA in 2022 by Watkins, an imprint of Watkins Media Limited Unit 11, Shepperton House, 8393 Shepperton Road London N1 3DF

Copyright Watkins Publishing Limited 2009, 2022

Text copyright Margo Marrone and Claire Gillman 2009, 20212

Artwork copyright Watkins Publishing Limited 2009, 2022

Photography copyright Watkins Publishing Limited 2009, 2022

For copyright of other photographs see which is to be regarded as an extension of this copyright

The right of Margo Marrone to be identified as the Author of this text has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

Managing editor: Grace Cheetham

Editor: Judy Barratt

Designer: Gail Jones

Commissioned artwork: Wendy Plovmand

Commissioned photography: Toby Scott and Jules Selmes

Picture research: Susannah Stone

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-1-84483-786-1

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Printed in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Publishers note:

The information in this book is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice and treatment. If you are pregnant or are suffering from any medical conditions or health problems, it is recommended that you consult a medical professional before following any of the advice or practices suggested in this book.

Watkins Publishing Limited, or any other persons who have been involved in working on this publication, cannot accept responsibility for any injuries or damage incurred as a result of following the information, exercises or therapeutic techniques contained in this book.

Notes on the recipes:

Unless otherwise stated: use medium eggs, fruit and vegetables.

Use fresh ingredients, including herbs. Do not mix metric and imperial measurements.

1tsp = 5ml, 1tbsp = 15ml, 1 cup = 240ml

contents

introduction

I am often asked why I started The Organic Pharmacy or how I came up with the idea. In truth, there was no Eureka! moment, but instead an accumulation of a lifetime of experience, a passion and an extension of my own lifestyle. I am never a good salesperson unless I truly believe in what I recommend.

For me, it all began when I was 15 with my first job as a Saturday girl in my local pharmacy. I was very fortunate although I didnt know it at the time that I was able to experience a traditional pharmacy. Bottle after bottle lined the dispensary shelves, labelled such things as Belladonna, Ipecac and Peppermint water. As I cleaned each bottle, I wondered what each ingredient did and I watched as clients would come to speak to the pharmacist. He would promptly mix them a custom-made remedy for their cough, sore knee or indigestion. I loved the fact that we knew all our clients names, treated the whole family, knew their history and had formed a genuine bond with them. It was at that point I knew pharmacy was for me.

By the time I qualified as a pharmacist five years later, everything had changed and pharmacy had lost that traditional feel, along with the unique customer service I loved so much. My quest for a more natural form of medicine led me to study herbs, aromatherapy and Bach flower remedies, but it wasnt until I began to study homeopathy that I realized I had found what Id been looking for. As I learned more, I became aware of the concept of organic. And then, with my first pregnancy two years later, I started to take an interest in what was actually contained in the cosmetics that my body was absorbing through my skin and then passing on to my unborn baby. At that point I changed my life and the lives of those around me (the ones who would listen). I havent looked back since.

The Organic Pharmacy was the realization of my dream: to bring under one roof professional advice, an exceptional, personal service that enables me to form a bond with my clients and the best products in the world that are free from toxins. This book is my opportunity to share that dream with you.

why organic?

Before I became aware of organic, I shopped at my local supermarket and believed that I led a healthy lifestyle and ate a balanced diet. While I was studying homeopathy, I learned about the quality of food and how the foods we consider to be healthy may not be quite so wholesome after all. For example, previously, I was completely unaware that fruit and vegetables can be sprayed with some of the most toxic and poisonous chemicals in the world; that meat is often pumped with antibiotics and growth hormones; that margarine, touted as the healthier version of butter, is in many cases actually hydrogenated fat the kind that can give you heart disease and that salad sold in bags is first soaked in a waterchlorine mix to extend its shelf life. My healthy diet suddenly didnt seem so healthy after all.