Look no further than your own kitchen cabinet or local grocery store for the ingredients to a healthy, natural skincare regimen.

Stephanie Tourles prepares a batch of holistic body care products.—STAFF PHOTO BY CYNDI WOOD

An esthetician is a non-medical skin specialist. Tourles is licensed for the job in Maine and Massachusetts.

Trained in Western-style herbalism, Tourles specializes in the use of herbs in skin, hair, nail and foot care.

In her recent book, “Organic Body Care Recipes,” Tourles presents recipes calling for such ingredients as aloe vera juice, strawberries, vinegar, vodka, orange rind and olive oil.

These simple components are among those used in 175 herbal formulas for everything from skin cleanser to hair conditioner.

Although some of the ingredients (think calendula blossom or frankincense) may be hard to find, many could be found in the average supermarket.

Tourles is also a certified aromatherapist, natural health and beauty consultant and the author of seven other books.

She became fascinated with natural remedies during her childhood in northern Georgia.

His grandfather was from Appalachia, a region of the Eastern United States that stretches from southern New York state to northern Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia.

The region is known for its geographic isolation, high poverty levels and the popular use of medicinal herbs.

From learning at her grandfather’s knee, Tourles went on to receive formal training in esthetics.

She is also self-taught and has developed many of her formulas through trial and error. Other tips, such as using yogurt or buttermilk to soften skin, date back thousands of years.

“I don’t just treat the skin from the outside,” Tourles said. “I believe in good nutrition, lots of exercise — health from the inside out.”

She has found that the chemicals in many commercial skin care products, even those marketed as “natural,” are too harsh for many skin types.

Her remedies call for natural ingredients, and Tourles is a strong supporter of using organic, locally grown products.

She is in the process of writing a book about a raw food diet.

“To me, what you put in your body and leading a healthy lifestyle are more important, actually, than what you put on your skin,” Tourles said.

Tourles often gives public talks about natural skin and body care and has appeared as a consultant on several television programs and in several magazines.

For more information about her work, visit herbalsoapandskincare.com.