That's where Bonding Over Beauty by Erika Katz comes in. And, she doesn't just give moms a list of different activities that they can do with their daughters to bond with them, she has every sensitive topic and evrey beauty question covered in her book. From hair washing and trimming to shaving, dilapidating, waxing and tweezing to talking about menstrual cycles and that scary 3-letter S-word. These are just a few of the topics that Erika Katz has covered in her over 200 page book.
Additionally, you will find intricate details that help the not-so-beauty-inclined moms better understand how to do pedicures, make-up, hair, and skincare and help their daughters learn how to handle beauty issues in the most appropriate ways.
Then, of course, as promised, Erika Katz has included hundreds of beauty and other activities that we can use to create a lasting bond with our daughters. One example is to treat your daughter to an at-home spa experience.
What I also liked about Bonding Over Beauty were the pages with charts or definition boxes. They break up the reading and are great additions to the book. For example, one page has "Need To Know" definitions of the following words: Aromatherapy, Aromatic essence, Absolute essence, Aromatic oil, Diffuser, Spritz bottles, Wicker baskets. Another page has a chart with the headings "Not Great" and "Ideal". In the "Not Great" column, there are examples of food and drinks that are...well, not great for you and your daughter's skin, such as soda, juice drinks, chocolate milk, sports drinks. Then, in the "Ideal" column, seltzer, water, fresh juices, whole milk, rice milk, and almond milk are listed as the ideal alternatives for healthy skin.
You can tell that a lot of thought was put into this book over a long period of time. The thing that I like the most about Bonding Over Beauty is that although it is written in a voice that is addressing you, the mom, it's not written in a way that makes you feel like you can't sit down and share it with your daughter.
Although things have changed since we were tweens and teens, there are things that never change, like our daughters' needs for mom-daughter bonding time and age-old beauty routines that will never be outdated, as long as moms and daughters exist. Bonding Over Beauty reminds us of the many different ways we can build and accentuate that bond that lasts a lifetime between mom and daughter.
