Sulfate-Free Shampoo? The Science

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Lots of people say you have to use sulfate-free shampoo to avoid damaging or stripping your hair. There also people who say you have to use shampoo with sulfates to get your hair clean. They are both wrong. I’ve been paying more attention to hair science info on the internet lately. There are a lot of completely wrong explanations, and strong …

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Fading Hair Dye With Low Damage

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I had purple and mauve hair for about six months, but the purple I had really sunk and it’s way in, and I couldn’t get it to the warm, peachy color that I really wanted. But I was a bit scared of just bleaching it because I had to bleach it twice the first time to get it to get …

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Guest Appearance on The Proof podcast with Simon Hill

Lab Muffin The Proof Simon Hill

I recently chatted all things skincare with Simon Hill on his podcast The Proof for about three and a half hours. You can listen to the first part on sunscreen here and the second part on skincare, clean beauty, haircare… basically everything else – here. The Proof is a great listen if you’re looking for deep dives on pretty much …

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You don’t need to freak out about benzene in dry shampoo

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There’s been another beauty product recall because of benzene. This time it’s dry shampoos produced by Unilever, including products from; Dove TRESemmé TIGI  Suave I’ve talked about benzene contamination in products before, specifically sunscreen. It’s a very similar situation this time. The key points: Benzene is not intentionally added to products. Rather, it’s a trace contaminant that’s accidentally found its …

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My Top (Mostly Cheap or Free) Haircare Hacks

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I’m pretty lazy with my haircare and I’m bad at sticking to routines. But I also bleached my hair so I could play with pretty colours, which dramatically increased the effort involved to keep my hair looking decent. So in the last few years I’ve been trying out a lot of haircare hacks – these are the ones that’ve changed …

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The Science of Hair Products: Shampoo and Conditioner

Sulfates, fatty alcohols, silicones, preservatives… what are they doing in your shampoo and conditioner, and do you need to avoid them? Today’s post is a deep dive into some of the key ingredients in haircare products. The video version is here if you prefer that format! Note: This post is based on a video sponsored by The Ordinary, but this …

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What to Expect After You Bleach Your Asian Hair

Purple asian hair after bleaching

I had my hair bleached to white and dyed it purple a little while back. Even though I read a ton of articles about how what to expect and how to look after bleached Asian hair, I was still really surprised by the change in haircare required! Here’s my tips and advice on what to expect when you get extreme …

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