Since my post on the science behind red light treatments, many people have asked me if light treatments make hyperpigmentation worse. This is a bit complicated to untangle, given the relative lack of data and the huge diversity of red light products. So this post is somewhat speculative – but I hope it’s helpful if you’ve been wondering! Note: I’m …
I don’t know about you, but over the last few years with existential pandemic and climate change stress, working from home and an ADHD diagnosis, my daily life routine has kind of gone out the window. I keep losing track of when I last changed my sheets, when lunchtime is, when I should go to sleep and whether I’ve taken …
Is synthetic braiding hair giving people cancer? In February 2025, Consumer Reports announced that they had found carcinogens in all 10 products of artificial braiding hair they tested. They claimed this was putting the health of wearers and braiders at risk. But is this actually true, or is it fearmongering? Here’s the video version – keep scrolling for the article. Overblown …
Red light is everywhere – you’ll see it used by celebrities, skincare influencers, and biohackers (not sure why male wellness influencers get their own special name). What does it do, and which products actually work? Let’s dig into the science behind red light therapy, or photobiomodulation. The video version of this post was part of a 3-way collaboration with Becky …
The most controversial topic in Dr Andrew Huberman’s skincare episode is probably sunscreen safety, which is hugely misunderstood even by scientists and medical doctors. Much of the confusion comes from differing sunscreen regulations around the world, and the fact that “not safe” has different meanings in everyday, regulatory and toxicological contexts. This is part 2 of my articles responding to …
A little while back, Dr Andrew Huberman, a Stanford neuroscientist with a massive podcast, released an episode called “How to Improve Skin Health & Appearance”. It had a bunch of slightly weird recommendations if you’re familiar with skincare science. He mentioned some of his sources, but didn’t have any experts talking. 1.5 months later, he released another skin episode, this …
There’s been a few viral posts about how harmful chemical sunscreens are. The latest one is a post about “Sunscreen Swaps” from @a.glimpse.of.amelia (an Australian “low-tox” consultant) and @jordiepieface (a nutritionist from New Zealand), claiming that “some conventional sunscreens can do more harm than good”. Unfortunately, most of the post is inaccurate, and it’s likely scaring people away from using …
There’s been a lot of stories about benzene contamination in personal care products over the last 4 years. This year, benzene was discovered in benzoyl peroxide, a staple acne treatment. How concerned should we be? Petition and original paper I’ve written about the background behind Valisure’s benzene analyses before, as well as questions about the accuracy of their data and …